# Anxiety/Panic Dopers, How does it feel? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 10, 2011, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anxiety-panic-dopers-how-does-it-feel/592157 "2011-08-10T02:10:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anxiety-panic-dopers-how-does-it-feel/592157/21 "2011-08-12T00:16:38Z")
> [@JFLuvly](#): > > In another thread I was talking about my first panic attack, or so they called it at the hospital. I was out walking my dog last month and it hit me out of nowhere. I crawled up on a womans step and got her to call me an ambulance. I have never in my life felt anything like that,it scared the shit out of me and I have not been the same since. I know I have had a huge amount of stress in my life lately, but thinking back to the things I have seen and been through, I don’t understand why this happened. Nothing has ever bothered me before. This is really taking its toll on me. > > So what I would like to know is how you feel when the anxiety/panic kicks in. Also has anyone ever gotten over this? or am I doomed to this for the rest of my life? This [underlining mine]. This right here. The same thing happened to me 6 years ago and I went to the hospital, the ER doc gave me all kinds of tests,[push my hands, cough, smile etc] and then said: You need to stop thinking you have everything figured out and feel a little. [paraphrase of course, I can’t remember it verbatim] But since then I’ve fostered a mindfulness practice, meaning I meditate as often as possible and breathe my way through life, instead of packing it all away and thinking I handle everything with ease. I don’t know you, so this could be totally wrong, but for me meditation was amazing! And non-chemical. However, I will say after that incident I had a prescription and use it for a period of time to think through and work through why I was so unknowingly anxious. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_I\_Am](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@Sam\_I\_Am](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_I_Am)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anxiety-panic-dopers-how-does-it-feel/592157/22 "2011-08-12T00:19:50Z")
I don’t have time for a long response about my experiences, but look into diaphragmatic breathing. It might afford some control over the attacks. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anxiety-panic-dopers-how-does-it-feel/592157/23 "2011-08-13T23:57:22Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > You should consider an appliance for your mouth for when you sleep, as you are no doubt clenching when you sleep and it is possibly causing the pain in your shoulder. Wow - thanks for this **Zipper** , I’m going to look into that. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anxiety-panic-dopers-how-does-it-feel/592157/24 "2011-08-14T00:00:57Z")
**JFLuvly** I can’t really comment on your issues since I’ve had attacks of one sort or another since childhood, I can only imagine how terrifying it would be to be thrust suddenly into such experiences. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anxiety-panic-dopers-how-does-it-feel/592157/25 "2011-08-15T00:49:04Z")
Yup. Same thing for me as others have described. I’ve had, I think, three or four full on panic attacks in the last year and several that I managed to kill off with medication before they really hit. I felt like I’d been dropped naked into a grizzly bear den and was going to have to fight my way out bare handed. The worst part was that there was no grizzly bear to point at. And what really, really killed me was that after my first attack, I did some reading and found that most panic attacks last about fifteen minutes. Not mine. Uh-uh. FOUR FUCKING HOURS - basically until I remembered that the muscle relaxant medication I had was the generic name for Valium. Took five milligrams, waited 20 minutes. No better. Took another five milligrams. My mom, the RN, got home, asked me what was going on, and by the time I got to my second paragraph of explanation, she was taking my shoes off, pulling a blanket over me, and telling me I was going to have a very nice nap. Which I did. I don’t like panic attacks. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anxiety-panic-dopers-how-does-it-feel/592157/26 "2011-08-15T22:12:27Z")
I can’t talk about it, not even here. It lasted 4 days. Hell. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anxiety-panic-dopers-how-does-it-feel/592157.md?page=1)