Who else has experience with limited symptom attacks?

[Ditapage]

I think that's what they are, hoping somebody could shed some light on it.

My attacks usually all begin with a funny feeling in the head like I am spacing out and need to run away. How long that feeling lasts depends on how much worry I attach to it. If I am really anxious that feeling will lead to the full blown attack.

I haven't had as many full blown attacks lately but tonight while sitting in traffic I started to feel anxious and the spaced out feeling came over me but then the light changed and my attention was back on the road.

My question is are these spacey head attacks the beginning of a panic attack and I'm stopping them from becoming full blown? Still, the spaced out head feeling is terrifying - I feel like I could have panicked if the light hadn't changed. My panic seems to be triggered any time I am required to wait. I have had this happen several times at traffic lights because I guess its a situation impossible to run away from. You can't get just out of the car. I used to worry I was having seizures but I figure seizures aren't selective about when/where they happen.

Can anyone relate?

[icingsugar]

Hi, I can relate. Sometimes I feel myself kind of blank, and when I release and my thoughts come back to me I feel scared. Sometimes if this happens when I'm in bed I can kind of snap out of it before a panic attack by rolling over or moving suddenly.

[Davit]

The simple answer is Yes.

[xvolatileheart]

I can totally relate! Are you on medication? I've noticed that since I started citalopram, I don't have full blown panic attacks (except in my sleep, but that's a different situation). Instead, I get what you describe - the weird feeling, then a bad thought (e.g. "I'm going mad" or "I'm going to faint") but instead of going into full-on adrenaline panic, I kind of snap out of it. Sometimes, if I can't distract myself or get away, it will just kind of simmer there, the symptoms and thoughts hang around, but it still doesn't reach panic level.

I see it as progress. Our minds are learning that we can have the thoughts and feelings without going into fullblown panic which is a good thing! It takes a while to re-train the brain.

[Ditapage]

Thanks everybody for the responses.
Icingsugar, I experience exactly that. They used to freak me out, but I think what most people just brush off as "zoning out" we attach fear of losing control to it. I can make it happen by staring intently at something and holding my breath which tells me the breathing has a lot to do with it.

Volatileheart I'm not on meds but sounds like we both are stopping panic in its tracks which is awesome. I saw my psychologist today who said it was a sure sign of overcoming anxiety. Thanks for your post because I wasn't sure about medication (I am scared of side effects, personally) and it's encouraging that panic CAN be stopped without it. My problem was I feel a host of different strange sensations (or I am just super sensitive to everything my body is feeling) and I panicked over them. Nowadays I am getting better at letting them pass over me without attaching what if thoughts and having a panic attack. My psych said "stop engaging with these thoughts" and every time my body starts feeling weird or I overreact to an innocuous sensation, I hear her saying that, and remember that thoughts are jus thoughts,they aren't reality. Helps a lot.