Anyone here deal with panic attacks?

I have always had some issues with anxiety but dealt with it ok. Lately I've been under a lot of stress from a number of different things. I also got sick which is unusual for me and had some reactions to the meds I was on. This morning I was beginning to think I may have been having heart problems. The doctor at the walk in clinic said my heart was still fine and asked if I had any issues with anxiety, that it was possible I was having a panic attack. I am following up next week with my doctor but am worried I may have more attacks in the meantime. I'd like to avoid taking more meds if anyone has any ideas.

Had a couple over the years man. They suck. A lot. Combined one with a sternal inflammation and I was sure it was a heart attack

Not sure what to tell you though, getting rid of the stressors in your life is key. Easier said than done though, otherwise they wouldn't really be stressors now would they?

Maybe talk to the people around you (personal and professional) and ask them to help you lower your stress by not leaning on you so hard?

Good luck

The key is not to care. I believe the Millenial term for it is "meh". And being worried about panic attacks is probably the beginning of a spiral.

Just kidding. I have no valid information or experience to provide, only the promise of emotional support from 2000 miles away. I hope you get on top of it.

From experience, just stay on top of it, do not ignore, anxiety can drag you down fast.

Welcome to my life.

Seriously. Ive only gotten them under control in the last two years.

Believe it or not, keith is pretty close to spot on. The key is not to care....in a way. The problem lies in what we panic about. For me it was always money. Money could set me off and it could take days for me to come down. Eventually after 3-4 therapists, a couple years on meds, and weekly group sessions for about the last year, i managed to get it under control. I still need sleep meds, but im off my dailies. Panic can still be an issue, but ive learned how to control it.

Step one is understanding it. Panic isnt rational. From a physiological standpoint, its your body saying "yo, E36 M3 aint right, time to move". Heart rate jumps, brain kicks in to overdrive. Body wants you to to run. In a masic sense, physical movement (a brisk walk, some sort of weightlifting) can help. Additionally, shocking the senses can help as well. Things like cold water to the face. Distracts you long enough to get it under control.

The mental part, thats the one that sucks. There's no real easy button. Having distractions or what they call soothe items can help. For me it was extremely loud music. I blew car speakers. But it distracted me from the panic. I know a lot of people that went with smells, a cup of tea, a hot bath. Ymmv.

Then, there's the logistics of a panic attack. Learning the emotional vs. The logical. Id venture a guess that in 95% of situations, you don't have real need to panic. The problem lies in a bunch of little things piling on til its one big thing. Job stress, health. Finding ways to cure those can be difficult. I actually left my insurance career over it all. There's other things i just can't cure. My ex wife was always going to berkeley up $$$. I couldnt fix that. I had to let it go.

I'm happy to give you more in detail if you'd like. Im always down to help, and this truly is my forte. Just let me know.

If it is any consolation, I went to the ER once with similar symptoms.

Much to my surprise it turned out to be a heart attack.

I didn't learn my lesson but I hope you do.

Panic attacks – that’s just your body's way of telling you that you’re not drinking heavily enough.

Joking aside, get a good cardio exam to rule out any possible issues, take it easy, and watch this a few times.

Meaning of Life

They aren't equipped with a switch to be turned off, breathe deeply and try NOT to focus on whats going on. Try to stop everythng for 2 or 3 minutes. I cut back on my mid-day sugar and caffine load and it seemed to help too.

A couple shots of Jack Daniels on the way to work should help.

JK - the wife has had them and she seriously thought it was a heart attack. She's watching her stress level - me bring home and not at hotels also helps and we believe in the power of prayer so we have that going too.

Wally: Do you snore or suffer from untreated sleep apnea? Because, basically, when that happens your body is on low- to mid-level adrenaline flood the whole time you're trying to sleep. That's because as soon as you actually start to fall asleep, your body continually panics because it thinks you're choking. It even makes you have to pee more because adrenaline increases heart rate and kidney function, and your body wants to offload waste in case fight or flight is necessary.

I ask, because you and I share a, uhh, husky build and I went for years with this before finally having a sleep study done and getting a light-duty CPAP setup. I kid you not the machine made an instantaneous improvement in my life, mood, and wellness.

In reply to Duke:

The CPAP has made a world of difference in my mothers panic attacks. She still has them but not as frequently.

My wife suffers from them. Not fun. Medication can help. Dogs help immensly. Music helps--something like a Steve goodman singing the Dutchman or John prines Angel from Montgomery. And me telling her "it's ok".

Now, I'm jumping into the world of things you don't want to hear and you already know. I shouldn't say it, but am going to since I'm selfish and enjoy your Facebook posts and grm posts. Your weight and health isn't helping this. It is all related. Weight is hurting the sleeping, which increases adrenaline. Both weight and sleeping increase blood pressure, which makes anxiety worse. Lose weight, it'll help everything. Says the guy who needs to drop 20-40 pounds to get his bp and sleep apnea under control

I was having them during my divorce. They're scary. I thought I was having a heart attack. My doc checked me out and said everything was fine. He gave me some stuff to help out when one came about, but he mainly suggested things that have already been mentioned above (running, no caffeine). Once the dust settled from the divorce, I haven't had one since.

I hope you get some relief.

I had them bad in my 20's. Some things, like caffeine, can be a trigger. You need to figure out if that's part of your problem. You also have to realize that stress is a choice. Really. If there is stress in your life, you need to deal with it.

You can learn to control them. I did, and when I felt one coming on, I could stop it almost right away.

Used to get them very frequently. It sort of runs in the family, many of my immediate family members have some sort of anxiety issues.

We have two family members gravely ill right now, my eldest aunt is in a nursing home temporarily after a heart attack just before Thanksgiving (artery harvesting went awry, there was an infection and some gangrene in her leg. Doing fine but needs medical care) and my grandmother is now bedridden, on an oxygen machine, and needs 24hr care. As an upside, the increased contact among all the different family members is resulting in a lot more frankness than we're really used to.

One of my cousins mentioned chemical help (nothing abusive, or prescription). My youngest aunt has said, semi-jokingly, that she deals with it by being angry at everything. Which is probably why I grew up kind of scared of her, but now that I'm not a kid we get along really well. We're closer in age than she is to most of her sisters, which is kind of weird when you think about it.

I found after much introspection that blood sugar pays a huge role for me. Like, if I haven't been eating well, I am more likely to have some sort of panic attack. So any time I start to feel that kind of depressed/manic sensation, I take stock of my recent eating habits, and that maybe my current mindset ISN'T because all the things are crap but maybe it's just because I need to eat a Snickers. It's been pretty good since I had that epiphany.

Had them back in high school. Figured out I could get through them by sitting in a corner, closing my eyes, and visualizing doing something familiar that required my full attention.

I would "fly" my airplane around the pattern of our local airport, visualizing and moving my hands and feet through all the motions. You could do the same thing driving a race car around a familiar track.

Thanks everyone. I've had a CPAP machine for a few years and wish I had known about them 20 years ago.

I used to have problems with anxiety though nothing serious but for the longest time I'd been fine. A couple years ago some things changed and I haven't been dealing well with them. I've put weight back on, get very little sleep and am running around like mad to try and keep up with everything going on. My wife and I usually the people that help everyone else so having my own issues on top of that is wearing me down. I need to try and make some time to get things sorted out again.

I practice yoga with two people that report suffering from panic attacks regularly. Both say that their yoga practice has helped them immensely. Not saying that you need to start a yoga practice, but it is known for calming effects. Meditation might also be worth considering.

Something else to consider, my trash compacting robotic buddy, you've lived in New York through some exciting times. PTSD isn't just for soldiers and can manifest itself is strange ways. Talking with a professional about that may benefit you as well.

Trying to figure out how to help the missus with anxiety related troubles.

She gets triggered from loud noises. She basically has a big attack if we are around fireworks/etc. She is a strong and independant person, but it just makes her freak out and she knows it isnt logical, but it has just been that way all her life.

Last year I took her to the Jefferson 500 and she was fine with the smallbore cars (had a lot of fun watching), but couldnt handle the big bore cars (even with earplugs, I think it was feeling it in her chest).

We have also tried the gun range and she was fine if she pulled the trigger, or if I pulled the trigger with her right there. The guys sighting in a hunting rifle on the far side of the line, not so much.

She is looking into medication to take some edge off as a tool to overcome, but we are trying to figure out any and all methods to overcome it.

Plus we are really under a crunch now as she got us tickets to the USGP in October and I have no clue how that will go for her. She is determined to overcome it, but I really want to find the best ways to help.

In reply to Wall-e:

Glad to see your sleep apnea was diagnosed and are now on CPAP. Been there too w/ obstructive sleep apnea and have been on CPAP well over 10 years now... what a life changer.

Noticed that when I lost weight (280-205 lbs) I didn't need the machine but maybe once or twice/ week depending. Most think weight gain causes sleep apnea as added weight pushing on the lungs, restricting wind pipe etc. but been told sleep apnea actually causes the weight gain by slowing metabolism, hormonal thing I 'spose. Then there's cranky/ sleepy people that crave comfort foods fwiw, btdt myself. I experienced positive results w/ diet change, exercise and weight loss. Vowed to get my life/ health back and next step was eliminating stressors in life.

Quit the old, over working, life-sucking, stressing job last year. Work 40 hrs/ wk now w/ minimal stress. Let my diet go in the work transition and put weight back on, time to get w/ the program again. Coincidently just got off the phone w/ the sleep clinic an hour ago to schedule a new sleep study. My old CPAP had fixed settings per doc's prescription, new ones can adjust pressures automatically. Hoping that will be the answer, no more 10-12 hours of catch up sleep on my first day off.

Panic attacks and anxiety aside I'd start w/ a good, healthy nights sleep, say berkeley it to everything else if necessary but get that good sleep first. Sleep tech told me there was a reason why older folks (60ish and up) didn't show up in sleep stats back in the day. Sleep deprivation/ apnea stresses the heart and they likely died of a heart attack.

Sleep science is relatively new but good enough for me.

Good luck Wall-e

In reply to Apexcarver:

I busted out a real keyboard for this one, so I apologize now if it's a bit....lengthy.

In your time frame, medication might be the best option. The unfortunate thing with panic attacks is there's no instant cure without drugs. The good news is, they have some REALLY good drugs to take care of them in the interim. I can tell you from personal experience, You just don't give a E36 M3 when Valium is on the table. Now, I am not an advocate for medication use, but let's face it, it can help. In the interim, there are several options.

Exposure therapy is a possibility, but you have to do it gradually. You can't just throw her next to a deagle going bang and hope it works out. She's never going to adjust. Start small. Slightly out of her tolerance and work up as she becomes accustomed to it. I'm actually doing a similar thing right now with SWMBO 2.0. Her ex was a terrible driver that thought he was Fittipaldi, so she's adverse to...pretty much everything car. I keep working on showing her that we have control, that the car is made for xxx and so on. If and when I ever get back into cone smashing, I'll make her ride, and eventually drive. Pretty hard to get hurt in a parking lot, in a prepared car.

Beyond that, there's a couple other things to try. Distraction is always a help. IDK if she's actually into racing or not, but if she's not, giving her something to focus intently on can help. First, if her brain is occupied with say....scrapbooking (Or whatever it is women do these days) find her a way to be able to focus on that while at the track. She will be less likely to be anticipating that bang or that boom, and may not even notice it when it happens. Which brings me to the second thing, and one of my personal favorites, something called one-mindfulness. It first made sense to me when someone told me a thing about Buddhism. Buddha was only able to ascend to the next plane of existence because he was able to exist purely in the moment, focused only on what he was doing at that moment. All other problems and worries fade away. Now, if you're familiar with something called "the zone" (pitchers, racecar drivers, all describe it as such) you know what this all means. It means you're so focused, your mind just pushes everything out. All that matters is whatever you're focused on. I find myself doing it all the time gaming...and occasionally when wrenching. If you're doing it right, you can basically be set on fire and not really notice. Almost as good as valium, without the whole schedule 3 narcotic thing.

Really, I know why your wife could feel that way. My ex wife was the same way with loud music. It's a very foreign feeling to have something hit you so hard in the chest without physical contact, that it shakes your guts. Unless you can convince your body that it's ok for it to be doing that, your body is going to go ahead and assume that it's time to go, and kick in with the fight or flight. Think of the times when you're underwater and you know you need to come up for air, but you're still holding your breath, trying to stay down. Eventually the flight response kicks in and you surface. Feeling concussion in your chest is a very similar thing.

I can't imagine sleeping without my machine. I'm sure my weight isn't helping but it ses to be somewhat hereditary as well. My father and brother both have it and my brother is much thinner than me but has our fat neck.

I never thought of talking to a professional, I usually just complain about things to my brother or dog. I may have to look into it.

Yup had a few here. My most epic was I almost ripped the dash out of an MX-6.

Don't berkeley around with them. Get help

In reply to mndsm:

Thanks, it mirrors much of what I have been thinking. I have also been thinking that medication could be a helpful tool in conjunction with exposure.

I think its mostly startle related, but its hard to pin down.

She actually is into racing, watched F1 before we got together and has flagged hillclimbs and a lemons race since we got together and didnt have too bad of a time with those. Lemons just wasnt as loud and the hillclimb didnt have many loud cars and it was one car at a time. She also works autocrosses as an organizer with me and has been fine excepting one turbo car with something like an anti-lag system (read launch two step rev limiter with BANGBANGBANG). Hell, shes done ride alongs in Cobra replicas and had a blast.

I guess its a combination of startle and when the noise just washes over her.