So, it seems that I have recently been thrust into the wonderful world of panic attacks. It makes perfect sense - the last month and a half have seen:
a big vacation
close friend dying
receiving a 30-day notice to vacate our rental home
moving
having our new house catch on fire
living in a hotel for a week
having half of our house off-limits for fire repair
busiest few weeks ever at work, coupled with missed time due to the above.
Everything is chill now, but my body doesn’t seem to have received the message. I’ve had about six episodes in the last week, the worst of which left me crying and gasping for breath. When it hits, I get the idea that I’ve contracted rabies from a bat that flew into the house during #7. I didn’t touch it, but I’ve always had a HUGE fear of rabies, and imagine I somehow got it anyway (you’d be impressed at the powers of my imagination). Coincidentally, many of the symptoms of rabies are the same as panic attacks. Joy.
Right now, sitting at my desk, I feel fine, and know how silly I’m being. I don’t want to be one of these panic attack people. I was hoping this was a one-time thing, but it looks like I might be in for the long haul. Any suggestions? So far my arsenal is going to include:
[ul]
[li]daily exercise[/li][li]limit caffeine to 1 cup/day[/li][li]limit alcohol to 2 drinks/day, 3 days/week[/li][li]limit sugar[/li][/ul]
I’d rather do this without medications. I’m giving myself a week to try to lick this on my own before I go to the doctor, though.
Actually I found that once I had medication available (and had used it twice) I didn’t get panic attacks anymore. Just knowing that there was a cure was enough to keep me out of the spiral.
I volunteer with a self-help support group for people with anxiety/panic disorders, and they usually tell the same story as you - everything piled up at once, and now they feel terrible. The good news is that if you catch this early, you’ll stop yourself from forming avoidance habits that make your world smaller and smaller.
I thought panic attack referred to feeling panic without an objectively determined cause.
Or something like that. If you go through a lot of shit, then it’s just panic. Or, more technically, situational anxiety.
That may sound like a distinction without a difference, but aren’t panic attacks a clinical diagnosis with a cause other than, say, my house caught on fire?
I think that anyone that suddenly starts having problems with anxiety/panic attacks should start with some bloodwork and physical exam with their doctor. There are many medical problems that can cause these symptoms- thyroid imbalances, blood sugar issues, and heart arrhythmia, for instance. It’s rarely a good idea to self-diagnose, even if you think that you are sure you know what you have. You just never know.
Wait, so you’re saying I really might be dying? Kidding. I know you’re right. And I have a doctor who is cool with the “wanting to get a handle on this before it gets out of hand” appointment.
I guess that said, anything I can do in the meantime? I suppose I could give up caffeine totally. sobs I’d honestly give up oxygen if it meant no more FUCKI’MGOINGTODIE moments.
tapu, I have no idea. I always wonder the same about people who are diagnosed with depression after something actually depressing happens. I mean, I guess my house isn’t currently on fire (I don’t think), so maybe there’s the distinction?
I guess it depends on the cause of the attacks. If it’s physiological, like a serotonin imbalance, all the excercise and coffee limitation in the world isn’t going to help. I used to dread being one of “those panic attack people” too, until I learned what it’s really about. Also, the meds don’t have any adverse effects whatsoever after the initial week or so it takes to get used to them.
I’m thinking that you pop into your doctors re the gnrl physical stuff, then go off to a therapist to find out if you need a psychopharmacologist or just the therapy. If it’s a situational thing, I think that means pretty much therapy. (That always pisses me off, for some reason…) If you do need psych meds, my advice is to work with the dr on it and not “try to do it without meds.”
In general I think we have to stop looking at psych illness as any different from other illness.
I sincerely wish you the best in getting out of this. ~tapu
I’ve been thinking about making a similar post of my own at some point - I’ll be 40 next month and have suddenly started having attacks. I don’t have any reasons I can make a connection to.
I ended up on the side of the road with my hands and feet locked up after barely being able to pull over and get the car in park a few weeks ago. Three cop cars and an ambulance later…
Yikes. Uh, happy birthday? I’ve been lucky in that mine have been confined to the comforting terror of my own bed. Have you seen a doctor other than the ambulance folks?
Yes. I’m pretty sure it’s related to an autoimmune disorder I already have or something similar - but the doctors seem to lean toward Paxil (or whichever). :dubious:
I am glad yours have only happened in your own bed but am sorry they happen for you at all. I can heartily recommend Xanax Not only has it allowed me to get through the attacks it’s had the side benefit (when it’s happened at work) of making coworkers and/or customers much less annoying. Just be mindful you don’t use it with increasing frequency or dosages. I agree with the post above that just having something you know can stop it in its tracks is helpful.
Meds can help as does CBT. Should you have an attack while working that out…
Deep breathing. Google techniques and make sure you use your diaphragm. Chest breathing doesn’t help. Two techniques I like are as follows:
Breathe in slowly for the count of four and then breathe out for the count of four. Calms me down when I start feeling jittery.
If I’m already panicking, I breathe in through the nose quickly for the count of four, then breathe out through the mouth slowly for a count of eight.
Deep breathing is great because you can do it anywhere.
If you have the opportunity, a brisk walk also helps. In fact, you should probably make sure you’re getting some regular physical activity. You don’t have to get a whole new crazy work out routine going. You can add some walks to your routine to just get moving. For some reason, keeping moving helps with my anxiety and panic.
tapu, in your first post I think you’re confusing panic attacks with panic disorder and/or generalized anxiety, which are only two of several possible causes of panic attacks.
Gesturing Mildly, panic attacks suck and I’m sorry you have to deal with them. I wish nobody did.
What I’ve learned to do is recognize the symptoms of an oncoming one, and find a distraction - any distraction. What makes them happen/makes them worse is a vicious cycle of intrusive thoughts. It’s nice if you have a friend or loved one you can call up and tell them you’re feeling panicky and you need someone to talk to about something completely non-anxiety-inducing. But listening to music, turning on the tv, etc can help too. Or even just performing a task that requires focus and concentration - when I’m lying in bed in the middle of the night and I feel the panic coming on I practice counting in French and Mandarin.
campp’s advice is totally right - you now know that it’s panic attacks, and not rabies or your heart. Or in my case, I thought that my anxiety-induced, irrational thoughts (I’m a failure. My friends all hate me. I have some horrible medical condition and I’m dying.) were completely sane and I believed them, because I didn’t know that anxiety can cause irrational thoughts until I was older. That’s one part of the fear gone already - you know it isn’t going to kill you, you know you’re okay and it’s something you can fight to get in control, and you know it isn’t a personal failing.
In terms of meds, some of the people I know who get panic attacks take beta-blockers, but only situationally, for instance one of them gets panic attacks when she flies so she takes the pills before a flight. She doesn’t feel dependent on meds because she doesn’t have to adhere to a strict schedule of taking them or be on them all the time.
Interesting. I always thought my house was filling up with carbon monoxide, which also causes symptoms similar to panic attacks. I can totally understand how the rabies idea came up.
I learned to defeat my panic attacks for the most part (I still have them rarely) by sitting through them and concentrating on experiencing every unpleasant, terrifying, cold-sweat-inducing second of them with full awareness. This is obviously something that is easier to do if you are in a safe place. Even though there are no “safe” places in panic disorder, there are places you understand rationally are safe. For instance, if I’d have one in the house when my husband was home I could be confident the house was not actually filling with deadly gas because he was fine and because he knows about furnaces and venting, etc. I once had a doozy of a panic attack while I was in my counselor’s office, so I could process the sensations by describing them to her as they occurred. That was amazingly helpful.
Defining the sensations that are troubling you (for me, mouth and face numbness, cold sweats, pounding heart, faintness, feeling disconnected from my body) and recognizing for each in turn that the sensation itself cannot do you any harm takes away their power, if you get my meaning. I also think the suggestions of a doctor visit and CBT and reading some of the books Cat Whisperer mentioned are right on. My method above, which is sort of a mindfulness technique (even though I’d never heard of mindfulness at that time), might be helpful to you in the short term.
Thanks, everyone. I can’t tell you how much it helps to just hear that other people have gone through the same things (though I’m also sorry to hear it!) Going to make a Dr. appointment next week, and check out some books in the meantime! I’m going to kick this thing in the ass. Pretty soon, panic attacks are going to be posting on message boards about ME.
(Isn’t it a cruel twist of fate, though, that the symptoms of panic attacks mimic so many horrible, fatal diseases? When I was in the middle of one, I tried to convince myself that my #1 fear was actually compound fractures, not rabies, just so I’d be worried about something treatable - didn’t work.)
This is my understanding, too. When I have a panic attack, in general, nothing big or eventful is going on. It’s just business as usual, and suddenly I’m panicking. If I have a reason to panic, well, that’s totally normal…not a disordered event.
I feel your pain…but not really. My doctor has determined my ‘flight or fight’ reaction is out of whack and I pass out cold when I get a panic attack. Luckily I’ve gotten pretty adept at realizing they’re coming on (mostly in crowds so I avoid them and I take anti anxiety drugs when I can’t) and can get somewhere safe before the inevitable.
Not only has it allowed me to get through the attacks it’s had the side benefit (when it’s happened at work) of making coworkers and/or customers much less annoying. Just be mindful you don’t use it with increasing frequency or dosages. I agree with the post above that just having something you know can stop it in its tracks is helpful.