My brother has just started panicing there for no reason at all. Feeling completely uncomfortable and somewhat afraid to leave his room. He only spoke to me on the phone about it. But wants me to google panic attacks. He has never suffered from ANYTHING like this before.very controlled drinker, no drugs. He is 29.
Any idea what I can recommend to him right now? does breathing into a brown paper bag work? and must it be a brown paper bag? Is there any other tips for these situations?
See a doctor – not necessarily a head-shrinker, but an MD. Take drugs, take therapy. ETA he probably is having panic attacks. I had them too for a good long while – drugs can be a very effective tool, but IMO usually when under a doctor’s care. Alcohol is an extremely effective anxiolytic, as well, but that’s not going to work for him as well as non-toxic benzos and some work on his part on figuring out how to deal with crippling anxiety.
FWIW, some studies have shown that breathing in a bag makes certain kinds of panic attacks worse due to an involuntary reaction to CO2 levels in the blood. Like **Jeledin **said, only a doctor can really determine the cause. My unqualified advice is not to have him breathe in a bag but do what you can to convince him everything is fine and to just breathe normally until then.
It happens to me from time to time- I get purely physical symptoms, with no attendent panicky thoughts (besides “Wow, what is going on with my body?”)
I wait them out- they never last more than an hour. Once I acknowledge that it’s just a random panic attack, I’m able to handle it well enough to wait it out. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s not the worst thing in the world.
I had the same issue. I’ve adjusted my entire lifestyle to deal with it. My brother didn’t, though, and he suffers constantly.
Can you get to his house? He needs an MD and a dose of klonopin.
Oh, snap, I missed the part about breathing into a bag. I’m not an MD, but that can’t possibly be a good idea, as noted above.
And, maybe I was too harsh about alcohol – if he truly needs to get something done, my internal medicine specialist (my GP) admitted that alcohol is usually extremely effective. Not good for the long term, but if he needs some help getting to a doctor or a pharmacist or out of the house to check his mail or do laundry, that might be as good as the help he can get for now, at least until he gets some more long-term help. Most people (read: all) will not tolerate a toxin like alcohol for any length of time. I know a lot of people think benzos like Valium or Xanax are teh eviliz bad, but at least they won’t kill your liver or turn you into a rummy. Ignore those people, is what I’d tell your brother – if a doctor prescribes them, and he’s a good doctor, believe him (while monitoring yourself) and ignore all the WebMD whiners. Do what works for you.
As everyone has said, skip the breathing in a bag bit. But, doing breathing exercises IS a very good way to try to deal with it. Long, slow, deep breaths for both the inhale and the exhale.
I once talked a friend out of needing to call 911 with that alone.
Panic attacks can be self reinforcing in that the more you are afraid of panic attacks the more likely you are to get one. For some people, just being told that panic attacks never hurt anyone, if you feel one coming on just sit down and wait for it to be over, is enough to prevent them. Medically this is a suprisingly common condition and a sedative such as Klonopin usually works very well.
I’d still go in for a consult with an MD – I think DSMIXHSIV might call this panic disorder with agoraphobia, but I’m not a therapist.
One thing to add – drugs (I’m thinking of anxiolytics like benzos) should be thought of as tools, not the only tool. Something like how Bobby De Niro’s character in Ronin, when asked about his 1911 pistol, said, “You know, it’s a toolbox!” (or something). I know a lot of people around here and elsewhere scoff at using these powerful tools, but it’s better than having to pound a pint of scotch before getting outside, if it gets that bad. When I was working for the census last year, I was at my worst anxiety-wise and woke up alternating vomiting and trying to get down enough straight vodka to get out the door. That was before I broke down my pride and sought some high-quality care. I both enumerated and denumerated – oh, wait, those are synonyms!
I was expecting a nitpick about benzos not being “toxic,” but they don’t cause esophageal cancer and, used correctly, are not habit-forming. Same could be true of alcohol, I guess, but I think any medical researcher would back me up that sedatives are far safer when used as directed.
I have had panic attacks that have made it impossible for me to remain seated in a chair or on my feet. I usually have to be in the floor. If my face is near a floor vent with cool air, that helps. But sometimes the best remedy is to put my face into a bowl of ice water. When I was teaching, I sometimes kept a spray bottle of water in the faculty lounge fridge.
Some people experience panic attacks as feeling like they are having heart attacks. That does hurt. Just because it does not cause permanent damage doesn’t mean it won’t hurt you. Waking up every morning with the jitters that sweep over you like waves of nausea and dread hurts. Feeling like the walls are closing in on you at a grocery store hurts. And your brain can’t function at that moment to tell you just to “calm down, this isn’t going to hurt you” because it is busy in fright mode.
Ever had anxiety bad enough that you cannot sit or lie still for longer than a few seconds – and that condition continued for hours? That left me basically incoherent with difficulty walking. I thought I was going to explode even though I knew people don’t explode. That hurt. I went to two hospitals before I got the medicine to calm me down. It was never that bad again.
Please take panic attacks and anxiety problems seriously. We all seem to agree that the person should see a doctor.
While it’s probably too late now, get him to a doctor as fast as you can.
Feelings of anxiety and dread are common symptoms of both pesticide poisoning and heart failure, as well as symptomatic of several other serious conditions.
If a 29 yo man with no history of panic attacks suddenly starts feeling extremely apprehensive, get him to a doctor ASAP. Do not fuck around posting to message boards. While it probably is a panic attack, if it isn’t he could well be suffering irreparable heart or brain damage.
While it’s all very well to tell someone that panic attacks don’t hurt people, laypeople shouldn’t be diagnosing panic attacks over the phone based on such vague symptoms as “apprehension” and “nervousness”, which can be symptomatic of all sorts of things.
I clicked in to suggest masturbating, but Blake’s post rained on that parade.
Needs to see an M.D. I’d also suggest medical hypnosis to help the problem, but not without seeing an general practitioner first.
Just checking in to see if the OP’s brother was OK. I see he hasn’t been back to update us yet nor has he posted anywhere else here since the OP. Bah humbug.
Moved from General Questions to IMHO.
samclem, Moderator
Like everyone said your brother needs to see a doctor. This may be panic attacks but he needs someone to take full medical history and rule out other causes. Hyperthyroidism can cause anxiety for example. What if controlled drinker actually means a pint of liquor every night and he wakes up feeling shaky and anxious because of withdrawal.