No More Panic - Members Stories
Last ModifiedHere are a few personal stories from sufferers of Panic,Anxiety, Phobias & OCD.
I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to tell me their story and allowing me to publish it here. If you would be prepared to write a few lines about your own experiences then I would love to hear from you. You can remain completely anonymous if you wish. Please use the Contact page to send me your story.
Meg's Story
I have written this with the benefit of hindsight- so what may seem obvious now when I point it out, wasn't at all obvious then.
200 miles from home + working 70 hours a week for last 3 years + 60000 business miles a year + taking on new projects and responsibilities + a broken long term relationship = being just fine.
Everyone said to me it was all too much and to slow down but I kept saying I was fine and I really was fine. Tired and fraught maybe, but still feeling and doing well.
Working hard and playing hard suited me and I loved my lifestyle.
Edward's Story
I am 28 years old and for the last ten years I have been suffering with panic attacks and depression. I will never forget my first attack. It was early on a Sunday morning and I was standing in the bathroom brushing my teeth when I suddenly my face began to burn up and then proceed to feel numb. All that morning my throat was dry and I was convinced that something was caught, but I shrugged it off and did my best to forget about it. Then suddenly, as I stood in that bathroom with my face feeling numb and my breathing getting shallow, I panicked and began clutching at my throat and screaming that I was going to die. I had never been so afraid in my life and my mother came rushing to see what was happening. As much as she tried to calm me down and reassure me that I was safe, I couldn't grasp that concept and the panic went on all that day.
Sherry's story
Hi! My story goes back probably since I was 6 or 7. I remember just laying in bed on night thinking to myself that we don't die. it's all a dream and when I wake up it'll be all over. Everyone will live forever, well I found out that’s just not true. I was 16 when my grandmother died, I really honestly didn't care. I was molested by her husband and alls she said was well next time you need to wear pants over here. But she passed on and that night, I had a huge anxiety attack. I went to the hospital and that's exactly what they told me. So they sent me home.
Pamii's Story
I have really been depressed more than anxious. My anxiety didn’t start until I was the tender age of 23. I was diagnosed with depression when I was 11. Back in April/May time this year I took a massive panic attack before I went to bed as my stomach started to feel weird and not like it usually was. Last year on Boxing Day I suffered the worst possible experience, my granny died suddenly and it was something I was not prepared for as she always told me she was gona live to see her telegram from the queen. Then in February this year (just 2 weeks after I turned 23) I was told I have excess acid in my stomach, this was a shock as I have always been healthy and active in past years.
Garry 's Story
Hi my name is Garry and I have suffered mental health problems for a number of years. I would say I suffer from a fear of thinking about thinking. At around the age of 17 or so I was witness to be a fundamental Christian who I worked with. I was told, very often that unless I accepted Jesus I would burn in Hell forever. This made me very anxious, and subsequently made me very aware of my thoughts and the thinking process. Let me add that I am not suggesting that all Christians are bad, or all religion is bad or makes you ill, but I would say that was the effect on myself. I would say this level of anxiety pretty much kicked on and off over the next 4 years or so.
Kevin's Story
My name, Kevin, age 40 this year. My story starts about 30 years ago when I was a victim of sexual abuse by a friend of the family. I was only ten and didn't know what was going on. As I became a teenager I got into trouble stealing from shops just generally being a pain, until I got kicked out of school for stealing from other pupils. I got sent to a boarding school to try and turn things around.
Laura's Story
I am a 43 years old woman, married with 4 children aged 10, 8, 5 and 2. I did Ph.D in chemistry and always worked fulltime.
I have started to have panic attacks shortly after I had my last child (2 years ago), the first episode being during driving in a motorway, the second (a very big one) in the London underground (stacked in a tunnel). I was very scared because I had no idea what was happening to me
Finn's story
Hi all here’s my story from the beginning. I was seven when mum and dad split up and I went with dad to my aunty’s house before us getting our own home, at the same time I developed psoriasis which covered me from head to foot and I ended up in hospital for 3 months with it, little did I know it would have a profound effect on my life afterwards. Mum and dad got back together and I began a battle with psoriasis that I have till this day.
Jodie's Story
Hi my name is Jodie and I have suffered with health anxiety, depression and panic attacks for most of my adult life. I am now 44 years old and so I feel that I've been this way for too long! Looking back over my childhood I was always an anxious child, a worrier but I never dreamt that this would lead to the problems I now have. I had my first panic attack when I was 22 and I was out Christmas shopping which I know is enough to give anyone panic attacks. I had recently changed my job and was not happy in my new workplace, my Grandfather had died and I think these things all had a knock on effect on me.
Michelle's Story
Part 1 - The prelude
After the bombings of 7/7 in London I hated getting the tube. Every time I was on the tube I would think about being blown up. I carried on getting the tube until one day I got stuck in the tunnel. My thoughts raced, had a bomb gone off? How long will I be here for? Not knowing what was happening at the time I felt hot, flustered, I couldn’t breath and I felt faint. As soon as I got to the next stop I got off and took a bus instead. To avoid getting the tube to work I bought a bike. I became dependant on my bike and even road it in the snow, ice and storms. I knew it was dangerous but I told myself I was doing it to keep fit, I was in denial that it was because I was afraid of the tube or rather having a repeat of the experience I had, had on the tube. Over winter I began to wake up and feel really miserable seeing how awful the weather was and how I had no choice in my mind but to ride through it. Everyday became a drag.
Gab's Story
I recall being shy quiet child I would find it difficult to talk about things and be chanted at for bottling things up at primary school, I also wet the bed until my mid teens and this was quite disruptive in more ways than one as you can imagine. I had a relatively happy childhood despite some major set backs at key stages.
Ken's story
I am 45, with a 19 year old son. His mother & I split up when he was a tot, and I am now with a new partner. My story... for the first 7 or 8 years after splitting up with my ex, I had no social life, working long hours Mon-Fri and spending every weekend with my young son through choice, remaining on relatively civil terms with my ex, trying to be as good a father as possible under the circumstances, and giving him as normal as family life as possible. We would all spend 'family occassions' together, birthdays, Xmas, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, etc we would all go out for a meal together, etc.
Colleen's story
I had my first panic attack when I was 19 years old. I didn't have another one until I was 21, single and pregnant. It made sense that I would have them since I was scared to death of the situation I was in. I didn't start having regular attacks until after the birth of my daughter. They were few and far between, but they scared the heck out of me. I thought I was loosing my mind.
Fiona's story
It all sort of really started when I was aged 12 at High School and ever since then the panic attacks have come and gone through various stages of my life. I am now 21 and here is my story.
Emma's story
I've always been an anxious person. From as far back as i can remember I had a phobia of being sick. I still have it to this day but not as bad as i was back then. but because i had this phobia it made me anxious and because i was anxious i felt sick, it was a vicious circle. I didn't eat much and as a growing girl nearly in her teens i was diagnosed with anorexia. I didn't accept this as i knew i was stick thin and hated it. I hated it with all my heart. I knew in my heart i didn't eat because i was afraid of being sick. As well as this i was a very nervous person.
Malv's story
My whole life even as a kid I was involved in a Water Gardening business and when I turned 16 I was able to work and get paid for it . I was working untill age 20, the last 2 years I was there I worked 7 days a week 13 hours a day... it was like a drug to me.. at that time i was a manager of a certain department and a sales rep .. I was always getting a raise it became a game to me, everytime I made more money for the company my boss would be happy and I'd get a pat on the back and a raise lol .
Sassy's Story
My story-A Fellow Survivor..
I was 17, 4 months pregnant and stuck in a queue waiting for my MacDonald's.
Suddenly out of the blue, i fainted. This was only due to the fact that my body
needed sugar..nothing was wrong with me, i was simply hungry..hence why i was
stuck in a queue for a MacDonald's!
Jessica
I've always been anxious - as far back as I can remember. As a child I was
interfered with by my much older cousin, I didn't mention it to anyone because
for some reason I felt guilty and my family isn't the kind of family that speaks
about things. I was never close to my mother, she is a doctor and worked long
hours. At the age of twelve I had my first episode of health anxiety - I thought
I had HIV after I found a bruise on my breast.
Vashti
Hello out there. I am Vashti. I live in Adelaide South Australia, but did live in London for 8 years when I was young. I had my first panic attack after having surgery for an ectopic pregnancy in 1990.
Alison
I have always been an anxious person. As a child I can remember being very upset when adults drank because I was worried who would look after me if something happened. On family trips when we would stay in hotel rooms I would grab the phonebook and find out where the closest hospital was just in case.
Dawn
Hi my name is Dawn aka crazylady.My childhood for the first 11 yrs was dominated by physical and mental abuse.The abuser's where my parents. I was sexually abused by a family member and one of my "friends". When I was 11 yrs old my mum moved us out of our home on 25 th August and married her new husband on 7 th September.
Anon
My anxiety and depression started at the age of 18. I was 2 years into my degree course at Uni . I had managed to cope with the workload ok in the first year, but by second year I began to get very nervous - kept thinking I'd faint in the lecture hall. I just felt so uptight all the time. A train journey to college, normal social interaction , walking around the city - the noise, the bustle just had me so stressed up.
Jim
I've always been a worrier, always scared at what people may think of me. But it never got me down until recently. I had my first "attack" in 2003. The doctor said it was SVT, caused or triggered by panic. He explained about how ancient man would hunt dangerous animals, and said we've still got the genetic code for this - but in our modern lives anything can trigger it off.
Dave
Just thought I would share my story with everyone as a new member. I started having panic attacks about four months ago - one evening while I was at work - I had a migraine a couple of days before, which was out of the ordinary for me, I was taken to hospital from work as I'd never had a panic attack before ( I thought I was dying ) a feeling all of you here are no doubt only to aware of.
Mark's Story
My story begins with symptoms that were never recognised by me as
psychological. When I was in my late teens and early twenty’s I often felt
breathless in situations like pubs, concerts, classrooms. Quite often I would
wake up in the early hours breathless and frightened. I always believed I was
going to die.
Jean's Story
A couple of months ago,a Gp said to me "When did you start feeling
anxious?".I immediately said " Almost 2 years ago when I stopped smoking,as they
were my crutch and it has been pulled out from under me. They kept me sane and I
enjoyed every single one of them that I smoked over the last 50 years"
However,when I got home and thought about her question,I realised that I was
anxious even as a child.I remembered 2 stern faced nurses wrapping my little
sister in a red blanket and carrying her out of the house,and my mother and
grandmother sobbing their hearts out.
Karen's Story
Hello:
My Story is weird I guess... I still don´t think no one feels like me, when I
was 18 I got married I got pregnant the first month of being married then when I
was 6 month of pregnancy, one day I remember I woke up and felt like if I had
something in my eye (left) like something that did not let me see good,
Sassy's Story
My story-A Fellow Survivor..
I was 17, 4 months pregnant and stuck in a queue waiting for my MacDonald's.
Suddenly out of the blue, i fainted. This was only due to the fact that my body
needed sugar..nothing was wrong with me, i was simply hungry..hence why i was
stuck in a queue for a MacDonald's!
Anonymous Story
I've always been anxious - as far back as I can remember. As a child i was
interfered with by my much older cousin, i didn't mention it to anyone because
for some reason I felt guilty and my family isn't the kind of family that speaks
about things. I was never close to my mother, she is a doctor and worked long
hours. At the age of twelve I had my first episode of health anxiety - I thought
I had HIV after I found a bruise on my breast.
Jason's Story
I'll keep this story short (hopefully), I'm 23 and have been having panic
attacks for the better part of 3 years. I'll list what makes me have these
attacks:
- Job interviews
- Driving; but only when I have people in the car with me
- Speeches or just being put on the spot
Sam's Story
Throughout my short lived life, i have suffered all kinds of abuse. obviously
when you're a child you don't understand what is happening, you would regard
everything as 'normal' because you're childhood is about innocence. my family
constantly argued with each other becuase of my mums illness. my mum had an
mental health problem and was aggressive.
Happi's Story
Hi my name is Happi! I am 59 years old and have been married for 34 years. In 1998, I suffered a total breakdown…mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. For about six months, I suffered from extreme anxiety, many panic attacks, and a serious major depression.
Shadowwin
My User name says it all Shadowwin. That is who I was for a very long time a woman who sat in the shadows of life and watched it spiral by as if I was watching a movie on Television. I actually adopted the name about 10 years ago just before my panic attacks began and right after I was raped I wanted to be invisible, I wanted to be forgotten, I wanted to melt into the darkness and just hide from it all
My Daughter - Hannah.
Hannah at the age of 3 was a confidant and happy child. When we had visitors over and she had to go off to bed, she would stand at the door and blow kisses and say night night. She looked like a doll; she had white hair and was very tiny. On holiday she joined the kids club. Woke me up one morning all dressed and said, “I’m off” Where are you going I asked, ‘off to the kids club’. This did make me smile
Rachels story
It all started when my uncle died in December 2002, he was healthy, funny, a hard worker.. It was a week before Christmas exactly and he came home from work one night feeling a little ill, went to take a bath and a lie down. My aunty heard him fall and he couldn’t move, he was taken the hospital and died instantly. He had died of a brain haemorrhage. The whole family were devastated and how quickly it had happened was really scary
Pauls story
I was 19 and in my first year at Uni when a build up of irrational thoughts and obsessive thoughts developed. Looking at my first assignment I thought, "what if I can't concentrate to do this" although rationally I knew if I applied my mind I could
Amys story
Hi, The crazy thing is is that I'm sitting here nervous about writing this. I've never really been open about my experiences because none of my friends understand. I can feel it now, that empty felling in the pit of my stomach and my hands begin to shake. But never the less I will try to ignore it and continue
Anonymous story
Im 25 years old and sometimes I feel so low and edgy it feels as though I cant breath! Ive been trying to work out why I feel this way and there are a few reasons - when I was younger I was mentally and physically abused by step father for years - I turned to drugs when I finally escaped from my hellish home - I finally found happiness many years down the line and fell pregnant only to nearly die giving birth due to contracting pre eclampsia which led to an emergency casercaen which led to horrfic post natal depression
Sians story
It was that time of year again, Summer. Sunshine, warmth, fun and sports day! That dreaded day that filled me with panic, anxiety and fear. Why would a 7 year old be afraid of sports day? Because she was terrible at sport? Always came last? Fat and unfit? No, the opposite to all of the above. Stick insect thin, brilliant at sport and always won! But that was the problem, I always won and I couldn’t bear the thought of coming 2nd, 3rd or dare I say it, last
Keiths story
Hi just wanted to let other people know about
my personal experiences of anxiety.
My anxiety started as from when I was very young. In fact I've not really known
any different than being anxious all the time. It's only the last couple of
years, I've learned that it doesn't have to control you all the time. That's not
to say I don't get anxiety because it still causes me massive problems but I now
do things I wouldn't dream of doing 20 years ago
Carols story
About nine years ago I had a miscarriage and a ectopic pregnancy in a matter of six months, then my relationship broke down. I was single for about a year and met and fell in love with my current partner. A couple years into our relationship we was having problems with his children who I adore and love very much. It all became too much for me and I couldn’t sleep, night after night I started pacing up and down sometimes I was still pacing when my partner got up for work. I started getting pains in most parts of my body and generally started feeling unwell. One day I was sat on my settee at home watching TV when I felt like my heart had stopped
Sals story
I had had some really hard times, divorce with
a daughter who was only 9 months old, but I coped, I felt relief as well as
hurt. How strong I was was an asset to how I coped nothing could take that away
from me. I decided my life was happy I had a home, I had Sam and I had a job I
enjoyed.
Money did become a little bit tight I would admit it was due to my spoiling Sam
but in reality my wage couldn't afford to keep us both. That is when I decided
to join the prison service. Another major step in my life. Suddenly when Sam was
3 years old there I was travelling down south every week from Sunday to Friday
then home for the weekends, I coped fine, how when I look back I don't know how,
maybe I was a much stronger person than I took credit for
Sues story
The feeling of going crazy, the horrible
physical symptoms, the suffering in silence, the hiding it from everyone, the
need of safe place/people, the fear of loosing control, the dread of dying,
etc... etc...
The list is endless and the remedy for a solution seems absent.
Of course you all know I'm referring to those two words that so many people
misunderstand for something that happens when one is particularly stressed, PANIC
ATTACKS.
Oh how stupid people can be! I still get asked "Why are you having a panic
attack, what are you panicking about?" They simply don't get that its not a
choice and that we are not stressing about anything in particular and no, we
cant just snap out of it!!! Most importantly we are not attention seeking!!!
Lucys story
I had my first panic attack at 11 years old, due to being badly bullied at school, that only lasted for short a while, my teenage years were pretty good, out socialising etc, with friends, I settled down with my partner and had a kid when I was 18 then bang panic attacks, sweats, shakes, felt I was going out of control, it was horrible
Sarah story
My first panic attack took place in Norway in July 2003. It was a Sunday morning and I had been at a wedding the night before. I had drunk quite a bit of alcohol, had very little sleep and, when I woke up, had lots of coffee. Needless to say, these three things didn’t mix very well at all!! I was sitting at a café with my boyfriend and his family when suddenly I felt my head ‘closing down’
Sams story
Put it like this, in my twenties I played with brass bands, jazz bands, played on television, (I'm not famous at all by the way) flew to Manchester on my own every other weekend, had a date with a rich and famous musician in Windsor, lived on my own, travelled frequently on my own round Ireland, loved every flippin' second of it. Met a gorgeous bloke, had a baby, moved to England and lived there for 2 years and then came back to Ireland when I turned 30 to have have our second child nearer to my family and then bang! A miscarriage. I seemed to recover fine and went on to fall pregnant a few months later thankfully
Wills story
My first panic attack was at an army camp when I was 15. I was so tired from the activities and night hikes, my body just went crazy and I flipped out. I spent the night in the infirmary and my life changed forever...the next week I went on a family holiday to Canada and it was terrible. I remember having attacks all the time, travelling was a nightmare
Kate stor
I was having the time of my life on a working holiday with friends, I was 23 and nothing bothered me, I just loved having fun. Then I found out that my Dad had Mesothelioma (cancer) and would shortly die. Up until this point my family life was perfect and my Dad was the most loving amazing easy going Dad, I really did not have any problems to speak abou
Anonymous story
Hi my first encounter with this was not to long ago. I started feeling this kind of sickness during my last year in elementary school. I never wanted to tell my parents, because either way they would think it is just a stage of growing up or undergoing the teenage stage in life. But in me I knew I wasn't crazy and I knew I needed help
Jades story
It started on September 2003, the 2 year anniversary of the 9/11. I went up to form room at school and all of a sudden, I couldn't breathe, my limbs became stiff. I didn't know what was happening 2 me
Andys story
Coming
to this website and reading all the stories, I was in hopes that I would find
someone who has been through the exact thing that I have........but
unfortunately life aint that easy.
It all started when I was 12
Anonymous story
My “panic attack” starts at the end of august 2003. It's consequences on me was disastrous and terrible. I have never dreamt myself of having this attack and seeing psychiatrist and psychologist
Christines story
December 2001, me and some friends were partying at my sisters house and we were all really drunk some of them were taking drugs also. My boyfriend at the time had one too many joints and one too many to drink and he started being violently sick all over the place. No one seemed to bother except me, I ran into a bedroom and lay there shaking. I did not know what the heck was going on I just wanted to go to sleep and wake up feeling better but I couldn't sleep, all I could hear was my boyfriend being sick in the toilet, I thought he was dying and would choke
Helenas story
This is the story of how I suffered from panic attacks and increasing weight for 17 years. Neither I nor my doctors suspected that the two conditions might be related. Over my many years of illness, because of moving house, I was treated for anxiety by a total of twelve medical experts, under whose care my panic attacks became progressively worse, and more frequent. I had consultations about my weight with my GPs and, despite following their advice, it increased from 140 pounds to over 300
Nicole story
My story
starts back some 22 years ago...
As seems so common my anxiety was undiagnosed for several years but my problems
began when I was 17 and still at school. By the age of 20 I found myself
unable to work and living a home with my parents. I tried many different
treatments and spent time in hospital undergoing behavioural therapy however I
just became worse and worse
Debbie story
I am a 33 yr old female. In 1999 I fell pregnant with my partner who at that time I was only with for 4 months before I fell pregnant, he was kind, gentle and everything you could wish for. However during my pregnancy he became possessive and wanted me to get to work 10 mins late everyday, because I shouldn't like my job so much, he made me meet him every lunch time even though I only got 1/2hr and was in mad rush there and back
Hayleys story
This is rather a boring story, but we all start our anxiety from somewhere, so I'm going to be detailed about it. I have always been an anxious type, liking everything perfect, striving in business, and being in control at all times. Although I am gentle and understanding and have this ability to 'feel' how other people 'feel'
Anonymous story
I’m 24 and had my first panic attack 6 months ago, it is hard to pin point exactly what has caused this as there has been so many troubles in my life. My natural Mother was an alcoholic so my sister and I were put in to care when I was about 2, we went from family to family in foster care until we got adopted when I was 5, as far as I can remember life was good until I turned to my teenage years. I think that my adopted Dad couldn’t stand the fact that his little girl was growing up, so what did he do, he turned to violence and mental abuse, making me feel useless, fat, ugly etc
Sallys story
I am 16 and have been diagnosed with an Anixety disorder and been out on Luvox to help me overcome my anxiety.
My first experience with my anxiety that I can remember is when I was about 10. I was sitting in the living room, just watching television when all of a sudden I had this overwhelming feeling, a feeling of dread, I had no idea what it was and why it was happening and that made it worse
Ammars story
I was born on fifth of February in 1963; I lived all my life in Saudi Arabia. Born in a Moslem family and I have a strong sense of belonging to this civilization yet I have many disagreements with most of Moslems. I am a happy active person with no inhibitions or preoccupations whatsoever. I was hardly affected or influenced by my surrounding. I used to adopt a style of life that contradicts with the Islamic concept of life. I used to lead a healthy life and the only complains I had were with my digestion system as I have esophagus hernia now and my snoring is pretty annoying for my wife
Vikkis story
I was first diagnosed after my divorce although I realise now that I suffered from an early age. I remember as a child that when ever I used to go out for family meals that I would start to feel sick and would want to leave the table. Once I was in a bathroom or public toilet the fear would subside
Charlies story
Yesterday was a terrible day, not so much for me, but more so for my best friend who suffers panic attacks in the water. We were on jet ski together wearing life vests. We picked a Friday afternoon (7-11-03 a day ill never forget) to go to Tucker town reservoir in NC, with not many people on the lake. We took turn turns riding the jet ski from the bank of the lake. My friend Robert flipped the jet ski and was 50 yards from me off shore. He grab the jet ski and was ok, but then I could observe his change. He leaned back let go of the jet ski and went into his panic mode(the last thing he said " I need help"!)
Dowdykats story
I
first experienced my first panic attack back in November 1999.I should have
recognised the symptoms as I had been to my doctor who had said I was suffering
with stress.
Who me ..stress I have run a very busy Banking department with over 100 staff
for the past 8 years... surely not stress that's for wimps!!!......it hit me for
six. I became too frightened to go out in case I had a panic attack and when I
did it was an ordeal just to go to the local shops and get a newspaper
Annes story
I suffered my first panic attack in 1991 at the age of 20. I don't even think I knew it was a panic attack - all I knew was that I felt really sick and I had to get out of the club I was in. I hadn't been drinking, but I was performing as a singer in a band and I was due to go on stage...something that I'd done hundreds of times before with only 'normal' stage fright
Emmas story
I can’t remember when I had my first panic attack. I just know that I have been suffering them for years. I didn’t realise what was happening to me for, it must be around 6 or 7 years!! I am a known hypochondriac and because when I started to feel ill, I thought the worst. I have had brain tumours, cancers of everywhere. You name it, I have had it. Looking back, I’m quite sad as you have said, all them wasted years
Anonymous story
I think my problems began when I was 13 years old. I wouldn't have described my family life as ideal. I had been raised by my grandparents after my parents divorce, my father was distant (although he only lived 10 minutes drive away) and my mother spent a great deal of her time in pubs and with boyfriends. A little while before my 13 birthday we (my mother, brother and I) moved out of my grandparents into a house of our own. The first time I noticed something was wrong was when I began having difficulty going to school
Simons story
Being in athletics for 15 years and being a top flight distance runner winning two county XC titles and helping my county to a inter-county world trails gold medal and living a full life touring the country in races I though I would be the last person to have panic attacks, until a year ago last summer when things just fell apart for me
Williams story
I'm 31 years old, and live with my partner and son in Scotland, UK. I've been with my partner for 6 years and my son is almost 2, before my son was born I kept what you would call 'bad company' we used to do drugs, not injecting or the likes, smoking pot and taking 'E'. You cannot begin to imagine how much I regret this now
Mandys story
Looking back
as a child I believe now I suffered from OCD it would take me an hour to get to
bed after I had done all my rituals, like checking under my bed, checking my
shoes were in certain positions in the cupboard!, touching the walls... and if I
wanted the loo I would have to go through the same stupid rituals again... Well
after five years of this, it left me and
then the panic's started around the age of 18
Anonymous story
Just before last Xmas 2001, I stopped gambling. Even today, a year later, I'm not too sure if it was an addiction or an O.C.D. I do tend to see it as a bit of both. I'm not sure why I stopped then, maybe I got lucky for a change. I was delighted though, I had tried to stop for years. I'd been going hard at it for about 12 years, plenty of debts and not very much of anything else to show for it at the finish
Anonymous story
Up to the age of 19 I had always been happy, confident and was the life and soul of the party. At the age of 18, I passed my driving test, got a placement at university and travelled across the United Sates by myself. I thought I had the world at my feet
Jennys story
My first Panic Attack was at the airport waiting to board a plane to the Algarve. Not that I was afraid of flying I'm not never have been, but for some reason I could not get on that plane. My husband said "Come on you will be alright when you are on the plane". He couldn't have been more wrong. The moment I reached the top of the plane steps and saw everyone in their seats looking at me, I wanted to turn round and run. We sat in our seats and as soon as the plane started down the runway I just wanted to go home. That two and a half hour flight was the worst experience of my life
Jennys story
I feel like I'm going to vomit (but I never have). I start to shake more, my arms, legs, and my head are now involved. I have this terrible feeling of fear, but I don't know what I'm afraid of. I want to run, but I'm shaking too badly to move. My vision starts to blur, and the room begins to spin, not my whole field of vision, just parts of it
Anonymous story
I never wanted this illness and I would never wish it upon anyone. It is frustrating, scary, annoying, debilitating and very hard to cope with. When I get a Panic Attack I want the world to swallow me up so I don't have to deal with it. I want to bury my head in the sand and never come out, sometimes I want to die
Sharon Site
Hi, I've made this website to try to help other people with Panic Attacks. I suffered Panic Attacks myself for 3 years, so I know what you're going through. I am recovering well and so can you
(Sharon has agreed that I can link to her site for her story:
Darrens story
September 1996 I had my first panic attack I had just split up from my girlfriend, that night I had my first attack. I remember feeling dizzy and my vision went blurred. Time seemed to stand still my breathing went shallow, I thought I was going to die. That moment my ex girlfriend knocked on the door and punched me in the face shouting and swearing at me. My hearing was buzzing I could not understand what she was saying to me. She turned around and kicked me in the shin and walked out
