no reason=no cure?

[ellenclarke81]

I have been recovering well from panic attacks but last week i had one at work. the trouble is, there was absolutely no reason for it, and i did everything i was supposed to to be ok that day. i had exercised, id had enough sleep, and was having a very positive day. work (call centre) was quiet, and was sitting at my desk reading a magzine, it was only an hour and a half till hometime. out of nowhere i felt the panic coming. I got a drink of water, ate a sandwich, popped to the loo to practise breathin for a few minutes. got back to my desk, nothing had changed, it just built up and i ended up running to the toilets again and hiding there frozen until my supervisor found me there 45 minutes later. Now i cant handle going back to work, i think they're gonna sack me for calling in sick the rest of the week anyway (im a temp) and i feel at rock bottom because, if i did everything in my power to stop it and it still came, then im powerless to stop it aren't i? what else is there i could do to stop it??

[minny]

The horrible thing about panic attacks is that there doesnt have to be a reason for one to come along! They have a nasty habit of jumping on us just when we least expect it and it sometimes feels like we will never beat them.
Is there anything (other than this) that your worring about that may have triggered the attack? Just keep at the exercises you relied on to subdue them last time.

Good luck

Minny..xx

[seh1980]

hi Ellen,

My panic attacks often come out of nowhere for no real reason. They can happen on the most positive of days, which is very annoying. Maybe there was an underlying reason why it happened, one that only your subconscious was aware of...

Sarah :D

[jo-jo]

Hi there

Sorry to hear about your panicky day - unfortunately panic attacks very often do seem to come from nowhere. I've had them out having a nice walk with my dog, out shopping (and I love it) and sitting watching the TV so they don't always come when something bad is happening. What I have found however, is that there's usually been something going on in my life at the time and I see my panic attacks as being a bit like a pressure valve going off. Has anything been going on in your life lately that has made you anxious or stressed??

Having a panic attack doesn't mean that you won't be able to control them in the future, you are doing lots of positive things which is great so keep practicing your breathing, take lots of exercise and make sure that you make time just for 'you'. Have you tried a relaxation tape at all? Once you can teach yourself to really relax, its a lot harder to have a panic attack but for most of us, relaxation doesn't come that easily and takes quite a bit of practice.

Best wishes, Jo xx

[nomorepanic]

I too used to panic at work a lot and would go and sit in the loo or a walk outside to get some fresh air. When things got so bad at work I used to take half a Diazepam.

You could get some rescue remedy and carry that with you then you can sip it in water - it may take the edge off the panic.

I was also told to start running up and down stairs to get the heart going a bit and it should help with the breathing. Sometimes sitting still is worse than running around. You need to do something with the adrenalin so exercise will help.

Hope it gets easier for you with time.

Nicola

[Meg]

Although I agree it does feel that a panic attack comes from nowhere , they usually come from a thought that pops into your head and the thought that follows that and the next one.

Take a few minutes to to really think back to your last out of the blue panic and not what you were doing before it happened but where your thoughts were leading to. It can be anything form noticing something alittle different with your body or even congratulating yourself on a brilliant day and thinking back to a not so good time .

Energy follows thoughts, whatever sort of pictures you create in your mind that energy will follow rapidly.

Distraction will get you through short sharp episodes but changing your thought patterns will lead you to full recovery .


Meg

It is impossible to get out of a problem by using the same kind of thinking that it took to get into it.
- Albert Einstein.

[julia]

meg u always talk so much sense can u look at my thread and help me out pleeeeease !x

[alihud]

Im still learning to control mine but it is getting easier and i find that exercising helps to get rid of them,i used to go and lie down but all that did was help me focus on them more so now i do a dance or go up and down the stairs,i know u cant do a dance at work tho lol but u could run up and down the stairs.Also have a paper bag in ur handbag and take that into the loo with you as re-breathing will help too.Rescue remedy is also very good.Also positive positive positive,im always thinking negatively when i have them and i always try to be kind to myself instead of berating myself for having one.I know they can feel really scary and when your in one you can seem to think straight so you could always write a list you could look at when your having one to remind you of your coping strategies.
Ali xx

[Typer]

I have to say, I never suffered from a panic attack until I got/still get thos e awful ectopics... now I get panicky for no good reason.

It starts in the pit of my stomach and then just takes my whole body over. I just cannot understand any of it.

Anyway - I hope I learn to control it or even make it go....right now I am taking the approach of someone on here (who was that?) to tell the feeling to go....no to shout at it to go...

edit: h I just found this by Barry and so far it has helped me a bit as well as smiling when I awake:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=65983

[nomorepanic]

meg u always talk so much sense can u look at my thread and help me out pleeeeease !x

I am afraid that Meg isn't really on here very much now

[sarah jayne]

Most of my panic attacks come out of nowhere, thats what scares me the most. They always start with a sudden pain in my chest so of course i always panic that its my heart and im going to die. It happened last week whilst i was out xmas shopping, i was in tk max looking at clothes and the next minute i was in pain and thinking i was going to die ! I dont understand what makes them come on so suddenly...

[Hopeandlove]

why arent you taking anxiety med or a ssri that helps anxiety????????????????

[Brunette]

Unless you really can't function, meds are not the way to deal with panic attacks.

[Rennie1989]

Don't let this experience detere you away from your healthy habits, keep them up.

Panic attacks can occur what seems to be out of the blue but there is always a reason for them, sometimes it's not obvious. Maybe keep a diary of when these attacks come, what you were doing at the time, where were you and the symptoms experienced. It may give you some insight as to whether something not obvious is triggering them.