Over the past two years I've had 5 episodes which I thought were panic or anxiety attacks. I've never had these episodes diagnosed or even told anyone other than my mom and husband. They've always occurred when I was feeling stressed and overwhelmed, they've always happened at work. It seems like it's triggered by a "final straw" sort of thing - like, I'm already stressed and kind of depressed, having a bad day, bad week and then a customer or a co-worker pisses me off....my breathing starts to get a little heavier, and then it's like my brain forgets how to breathe. I'll take a deep breath and then hold it...and then when I finally let it out, I hold it there too. My pulse goes up, and my brain gets a little fuzzy...mostly because of the whole forgetting how to breathe thing. I start taking big, gulping breaths to try and get some air, but even with that, I feel like I can't get enough air in my lungs. If I just let it happen, it'll be over in 5-10 minutes, but if I fight it, it can last hours until I finally succumb. After wards I feel exhausted. I decided to do a little reading about panic attacks, but it seems like all the information says that I should be feeling/fearing impending doom and death...but it's nothing like that for me. It's just like life gets to be too much sometimes and for whatever reason that makes me unable to breathe. Am I suffering anxiety attacks, or could this be something else?
Also, I'm not interested in anti-depressants - although there is a history of depression in my family, there is also a history of very bad reactions to anti-depressants, so that's not a suggestion I'm looking for.
april2009-01-30T15:10:19Z
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Certainly sounds like anxiety to me. I've had a few 'attacks', but once I realized what it was, I was able to calm myself down and get over it pretty quickly. Instead of anti-depressants, I'd suggest a workout routine of some sort. If you could even just take a break and walk for 15 minutes I bet it would help tremendously. An anxiety attack or panic is caused by too much adrenaline and it needs to be 'used up'. Try to get out and move around as much as possible. Good luck to you...this used to scare the mess out of me until I figured out how to deal with it.
It definitely sounds like panic attacks. The "impending doom/death" is just one of the symptoms, but not necessary. It is absolutely nothing to worry about, I used to get panic attacks all the time, sometimes three times a day. They would sometimes trigger without warning, and other times they would trigger in situations where I last had a panic attack. Anti-depressants will do nothing to help though, I don't think that should be an option.
Panic attacks are nothing to worry about as they do no harm to you physically. The worst possible outcome of getting panic attacks is if you develop a panic disorder, in which you purposely avoid situations where you may get a panic attack, for fear of having one. I never get panic attacks anymore, simply because I learned they are harmless and are nothing to fear.
The best way to deal with an attack is if you feel one rising, just breathe deeply - WITH THE STOMACH, not the chest. Inhale for 5 whole seconds, hold it in your stomach for 5 whose seconds, exhale for 5 whole seconds. Do this two or three times and your panic attack will disappear. Breathing deeply and slowly stops the adrenaline rush, so it is impossible to have a panic attack unless you are breathing quickly.
Eventually, you will automatically breathe deeply before having a panic attack, and not even realize that you did it.
I would like to make a suggestion to you. First of all, go get a complete physical from your physician to make sure everything health wise is on the up and up with your body. Stress takes a deep toll on the body especially the heart. Second of all, Where is your outlet? You need to find an outlet for all your pent up stress. Your taking it our on your body in an unhealthy way when the tip of the stress gets to be too much. Before letting it build up block by block, you need to find an outlet of release to let some of that stress go before it builds up . Some suggestions I can provide are: Find someone to talk to. A counselor is best and not a psychiatrist if you want to stay away from taking pills. Put an activity in your life that you enjoy that benefits you whether it be walking everyday, jogging. going to the gym, an aerobics class, etc. Third, Don't be afraid to ask for some time alone. If you need a nice long bath to relax, tell your husband. Fourth, Take some moments during the day when you are not stressed and TAKE TIME TO BREATH. Take long deep breathes through the nose and out through the mouth. 3 or 4 times should be sufficient. All the best to you. I hope you find yourself less stressed.
I'm no doctor so of course take everything with a grain of salt, but in my opinion I would say you are experiencing anxiety attacks. I use to experience the exact same thing. I never had thoughts of impending doom or suicide. It felt exactly as you described "last straw" sort of thing. My breathing would deepened and i too would "forget" how to breathe, usually followed by uncontrollable crying for just a minute or two. Changing jobs and getting out of stressful situations helped me. I also got more involved doing Pilate's and yoga.
Hi there, I just laugh about my past 3 years of panic now. I was not able to go anywhere without carrying xanax. Fear of having another attack was the most important subject of my days.When i first found joe barry's web site i started to cry because of my happiness.