Panic Attacks

[Pyong Kawaguchi]

Hi everyone, I suffer from panic attacks, they come randomly, atleast 5 times a month, I'll have it where sometimes I get them on and off for a week at a time, no panic attacks for a week, then they come back etc. basically random but they come with a few at a time.

I know they are panic attacks, but I don't get any mental symptoms, mostly physical symptoms.

I really need help with these so if someone could talk to me about them (if you know anything) about dealing with them or getting rid of them for good, that would be great.

I'm getting to the edge of my limit of being able to continue living with these.


Thanks.

[Guardian]

Are these the kind of panic attacks in which you hyperventilate, get pins and needles and your hands and toes curl up (sometimes you get cramps as well) and you feel as thought you can't catch your breath? or is this another kind.

I have come across a lot of people who think they are having an asthma attack when really they are having a panic attack. For this I know that the more they breath the worse they will feel and the best thing for them is to take long slow breaths get their breathing to calm down and as their C02 gets back to normal the pins and needles and cramps will resolve slowly.

I'm sorry that this is really all the help I can give as I am guessing you know this and are looking at stopping the attacks full stop. I know they are quite often associated with high levels of stress, especially over long periods of time. So maybe you need to take a bit off your plate and let off some of the burdens you've got going on, or find an non stressful outlet. (I use snowboarding when I'm stressed.) However I could be wrong, for all I know it could be some deep psychological trigger. Maybe a visit to a professional in this area of expertise might be an idea.

Hope this at least helped you in some way, you're not alone in having panic attacks, plenty of people have them. Hopefully there are people here or who you can contact who can be more helpful than me.

[Donut]

You made it sound like you're considering killing yourself at the end there. The only advice I can offer is this: My sister also suffers from panic attacks. I don't know how bad they are, but I do know she's on medication for a few things, including those. You should really seek professional medical help.

[Pyong Kawaguchi]

@guardian
The panic attacks i get are, chest tightening, elevated heartrate, overly intense sensitivity to physical anomalies (say i bump something, I'd feel it a lot more intense than it is), sometimes chest pain.

@donut
I've tried medications but they've only made it worse, not really sure what to do from here.
Also, I am seeing a therapist for various issues, but I've not gotten far yet because I just started seeing him.

[Donut]

My mother has a similar issue. She suffers from depression, and the medications therapists were putting her on were not working. They made the issue worse. After seeing a bunch of different therapists, one finally tried putting her on a medication that did the opposite of the other meds (Suppressive vs "happy" pills I think, I don't quite remember how she said it). Basically, it was the opposite of what you'd think to prescribe somebody with depression, but it has worked for her for a couple years now.

You might be experiencing a similar aversion to medication. You might consider mentioning that to your therapist or doctor. I bet your therapist can help you in the mean time. Hang in there man.

E: You might want to check out reddit too. My girlfriend showed me a sub-reddit a while back dedicated to helping people struggling with similar issues to yours. I cannot for the life of me remember what it was called, but I'm sure there's more than one. Those people have the experience that can help you more than we can here.

[Bodzilla]

Are you depressed as wel?, could be acute anxiety depression.

My grandmother had it, they gave her some ECT treatment and it did wonders for her. Also medicine isn't a 1 trick pony where this will cure this.
There's alot of variables at play so tell your doc, these didnt work, lets try something different.

[Bodzilla]

Also if your struggling with depression, as i have for many years remember this, and make it your core manta.
You only live once, everything is temporary and your dead a long, long time.

[Higuy]

I don't really have these but I did have a couple a few years ago, almost exactly like Guardian explained. It sucked. I'm not really sure how to deal with them either - I went the doctors while having them but the time we got there they had stopped.

Not sure if you're struggling with some depression like Bod and Donut said but I've struggled with some similar issues and I helped a girl I'm fairly close with it get out of it. If you need people to talk to we are all here.

[Dwood]

You've discussed this with me before, and I've given you advice on it, but at this point, all I can say is that I feel your pain. I've had panic attacks in the past, and they're nothing to take lightly.

[Pyong Kawaguchi]

Are you depressed as wel?, could be acute anxiety depression.

I used to be depressed but I've been fine for around a year now.

[n00b1n8R]

My girlfriend gets these pretty bad, it's been a problem for about 6 months now after she just woke up in the middle of the night thinking she was having some kind of heart attack. It's fucking with her sleeping something chronic to the point where she doesn't go to bed until like 4:30 and then wakes up around 3. For example, she didn't sleep last night.

She was on a prescription for it for a few months but it didn't seem to make much difference and she decided she was going to stop. Good luck with managing your symptoms man, it's tough. Sorry I couldn't be much help but I wanted to share my experience.

[.Wolf™]

A friend of mine used to get them regularly, what he did was held his breath for a short time to increase CO2 in his body (Like a 3 seconds or something). Repeated it until he felt he had control again. Other than that, I'd say speaking with a good friend or a family member probably helps. Avoid stressful situations. Hope you get through it.

[Pyong Kawaguchi]

Thanks for the support everyone, I just saw my doc and I'm getting some new medication that we're hoping will help with the issue.

I'll keep you all posted. :)

[Ki11a_FTW]

Being a victim of the same thing a few years back, it all goes to one, thing, it's all in your mind. You can control your thoughts, the way you think of things, you can control what you think about. I didn't take any treatment for it, but I did miss a lot of school and spent a lot of days alone coping and getting over it.

Try exercising, make sure you get out (if you don't already) and stay active. It is literally a mind game, and once you beat it, it's very hard to lose control again.

(e:just noticed this was a month old, but oh well)

[Pyong Kawaguchi]

Being a victim of the same thing a few years back, it all goes to one, thing, it's all in your mind. You can control your thoughts, the way you think of things, you can control what you think about. I didn't take any treatment for it, but I did miss a lot of school and spent a lot of days alone coping and getting over it.

Try exercising, make sure you get out (if you don't already) and stay active. It is literally a mind game, and once you beat it, it's very hard to lose control again.

(e:just noticed this was a month old, but oh well)

Thanks for the tips and input, I've started a new medication that helps with the anxiety, it doesn't rid the issue though, however it does also help with my depression and similar issues. I've been feeling better in general lately, and I've been active more than usual lately and I think that is tied together.

Thanks!

[Cortexian]

It's all the guilt you've built up over social engineering things from people for free.

Send me GTX 780 ti's for free plz kthx.