View Full Version : panic attacks
Hi all,
I started having panic attacks just a few months ago (aged 24 ) and they are really starting to get me down. I have my frist one while playing a football match and now every time I go to play I just feel so scared. I can play the match but the days following the match i just feel like i can not cope or fight off the attack from happening and it is also the same when i have been out on a night out and the next day always turns into a major attack. My greatest fear is that i will collapse and loss control. Also alot more lately i have been feeling dizzy. It is really starting to get me down as I am finding myself not doing things that i love like play football or going out for a drink with my friends - I am just wonding if anyone has any good tips? And am i doing it wrong thing by avoiding doing the things that i associate with having a painic attack?
Any help would be great. :weep:
:yesyes: he ciggs,
unfortunately my friend you have already worked the answer out for yourself! that is that YES you will make it worse by avoiding!!! take it from one who knows the more you avoid the worse it gets!!!! it is not the other way round!!! you CANNOT go mad, LOSE control or DIE from anxiety/panic, even if at the times it feels that you will, otherwise those things would have happened by now an you wouldnt be on here asking for advice!!!!!
the key is to KNOW this and to not AVOID, and to also know that the anxiety/panic ALWAYS goes down on its own anyway even if you do nothing at all and if you stay at the scene of your attack.
i could go into the nature of this process of why an attack happens again and again in the same situation, but im assuming that you either know about this or will find out for yourself or will ask at a later date?
by taking yourself away from all of these situations will almost certainly guarantee that the opposite of what you want will happen - you will have more and more panics and they will get stronger and stronger(as in my case)
because you will CONDITION your mind to think that there is danger EVERYWHERE when in fact there is NO danger at all!!!!
so ciggie just stick with it and relax in between times and just believe that you can get through these panics without giving up your life! THEY WILL GO if you know they cant harm you!!! which they cant!!! and never will!!!
if you need reassurance that they arent harmful just keep coming on here to read the stuff that people have to say who are experiencing panic on a daily basis and who are geting on with their lives regardless, it hasnt killed them they are still here to tell the tale.
all the best with it :winks:
i'm afraid she knows it all, i've only recently had panics and like you have avoided things i love, but it makes it worse and its depressing so you just have to carry on like normal and believe in yourself and believe that this will not hurt you in any way.
xxxxx
yorkylover
14-08-07, 16:47
Hi ciggs and :welcome:you are not alone and there is lots of support here for you and friendly advise.:yesyes:
right dogg,
the best thing you can do right now is familirise yaself with all the symtoms and sufferings involved in a panic attack.
i say this because as long as you know that when 'it' happens and by that i mean an attack of some kind, you will have knowledge to know that it is not life threatening.
you have to remember that a panic attack is your body's own way of protecting itself.
you wont faint, throw up, die any of those things because that wouldnt be the body PROTECTING itself, would it?!
but i know mate, you feel right now that you're gonna be the one, the very first one in the history of panic attacks to die from one....mate, its never gonna happen.
as soon as yo accept that, then you can move forward.
now prepare yourself for the months ahead because as you start to accept the things, feelings, worries that will come upon ya, ya body will try even harder to worry you, so if one day you feel good and then the next you experience something you have never felt before, THEN YOU'VE CRACKED THE BAD FEELING YOU HAVE PUT YOURSELF THROUGH PREVIOUSLY....dya see what i mean, ya body knows now that when it last tried to make you feel dizzy, it didnt work so it will try something new.
keep on defying what you think is harmful until you have ticked all the boxes and you are free from fear.
...you may not be rid of the feelings, but at least you know that they wont hurt you.
take it easy Patrick...
Thank you for your kind words and advise. It is nice to talk to ppl who are going though it also. It is such a scary time. Does anyone get more attacks when they are tired? Cos i seem to have worse days when i am tired.
Yes ciggs, it will happen more when your tired as that is when the brain is overwhelmed and has become exhausted, then you have no energy to fight the panic and anxiety, but if you keep remembering the tips then soon they won't happen at all
xxxxx
Thanks you SammiB. I realy do hope i can beat them. I now it is not like threatening but i just have to remember that when i am have an attack. I really dont want to let it start ruling my life.
Lindalou64
15-08-07, 13:10
Hi Ciggs Sorry Your Going Thru A Hard Time At The Moment.....when Ya Say After Going Out Do Ya Mean Drinking? Thats A Big Panick Attack Right There Waiting To Happen.......and When Ya Said Ya First One Was Playing Football So Now When Ya Play Ya Feel The Same Thats Cause You Are Thinking About It I Think We All Think About The First One And Where It Happened Hun I Know Its So Hard Not Too But We All Have To Try And Let Go Of The Negative And Turn It Around With More Positive Thoughts, I Wish You Well.........linda
Hi Linda,
Thank you for you advise. Yes i do mean going out for a drink but it is only the day after that I feel really bad. Is this a common thing? Sorry i am really new to this.
Hi Ciggs, I gave up drinking altogether because I start panicking when I was out and then the next day I couldn't see that i was just a hangover and I got very anxious for the whole day so easiest thing for now is just not drink (not nearly as much fun of course!) When I'm tired I get very upset as well so being tired is definitely not good for you. Everyone has given great advice and I really hope it helps and you don't have these attacks for very long:flowers:
northern_sky
15-08-07, 20:52
Hi Linda,
Thank you for you advise. Yes i do mean going out for a drink but it is only the day after that I feel really bad. Is this a common thing? Sorry i am really new to this.
All my big panics have been the day after drinking a lot. :sad:
thank you all for the support. I really think it will help. :)
Hiya,
i understand what your going through, ive only just started getting panic attacks again and already im not doing the same things as i was. My first big attack in this phase which started it off was at the gym so now im terrified of going back, il only go if someone else is coming with me who i can meet there and when im there i'm hardly doing anything cos im paniking and scared of losing my breath, its horrible cos i dont want to quit but im paying alot to go, but its so hard letting go of things you used to enjoy esp when they were good for you! Its a bit like you with football.
also like you it putting me off sociable things like going for drinks etc, things i wouldnt normally think twice about, but now they auddenly seem like horrible situations, all i want to do is stay in the house where its safe, although ive not got to the stage where im not leaving the house yet.
Anyway this all happened to me 2 years ago, i went on for about 3months doing what were doing now, gradually letting the panic stop you doing things. For me it got to the stage where i didnt want to leave the house, couldnt drive anywhere, wasnt seeing anyone and couldnt be alone in a room even if there was someone in the house. And the reason this happened was cos i let it happen..the fear completley took over.
But one day i was scared of driving to work again and was asking my mum for a lift which had become habit and she just turned round and shouted at me basically saying that when i get a full time job i cant afford to not be able to get there etc or il just lose my job! I realised she was right and reluctantly drove in but it was so liberating doing what the fear had been stopping me from doing. And from then on i forced myself to start doing things again, i did it really gradually but after a couple more months my life was actually back to normal and the panic had even stopped all together!I couldnt believe that was all i had to do, i imagined needing years of counseling etc
But i do appreciate how hard it is, cos like i said my panics have started again and again im letting it affect what i am doing with my life, but we must fight it and continue to live normal lives, cos as emmas said the more you let it control you, the worse it will get!
Remember you're not alone :)
Hi Beauty,
Thank you for your reply. It is nice to know i am not alone. I thought I was going mad there for awhile. So glad i found this site. I am a very out going person but the fear of a panic attack was starting to rule my life and i though I was doing right by stoping doing the things that I love but I know now that is wrong.
Beauty you have beaten it before you can do it again. :) We both just have to go for it. I am going to go back to football next week and hope for the best.
Yes i am too, im not the kind of person people would imagine having panic attacks cos i am confident and happy, but it can happen to anyone!
I think that'l do you so much good going to football, the fact that you've gone will probably give you enough of a buzz to prevent it from happening anyway and then even if you do feel it coming on what is the worst that can happen?!
The weirdest thing is when i did get better back then and when i was fine it wasnt that I'd just forgotten all about the panic etc and had stopped thinking about it, i would still think about it but it just didnt scare me anymore, i felt on top of it somehow. Thats taught me that it isnt the thoughts themselves which cause the problem, its how we handle them and our reaction to them.
I'm a bit nervous about tonight, Ive just this week started avoiding driving cos it means im on my own and im scared of paniking and having no-one there! I work at the same place as my mum now and she drove us both to work on tue cos it was my bday but then i asked her on wed as well cos i was tired and again today she has driven me in, and i could see she was getting a bit annoyed this time cos normally i prefer driving myself and being independent. I am determined to beat this, cos if i cant drive myself my social life is more or less over cos where i live theres no buses etc So tonight im going to my boyfriends which is only a 15 minute drive, im already nervous cos ive not driven on my own for 3 days now and it already seems scary! But i have to do it cos the longer i put it off the worse it will become!
Yeah im relieved to hav found the board too, last time i could only speak to my friends and family, most of which have never experienced this, therefore couldnt really help much. But on here we can get advice from people have been there and know from experience how to deal with things :)
Yeah i really do hope it will help cos i have been going to watch the matches and it really get me that I can't push myself to play but hopefully this will be the end of it i am sick of it letting it beat me. And you are totally right - what is the worst thing that can happen.
I think you need to take you own advise for tonight - if you start panicking tonight what is the worse thing that can happen to you. You can just pull over and calm yourself down. Just get up and go and before you know it you will be half way there.
Yeah I have found it very hard to talk to other ppl too. I have a great family and boyfriend but talking to them is not the same and i feel like i am boring them now.
Yeah i know how you feel, ive been with my boyfriend a year and never had the panic before while im with him, he is concerned but just doesnt know what to say. And like you said im afraid i am boring them with it now and also it sounds silly but i dont want it to make me look weird and put him off me :huh:
and my mum can be supportive but she looses patience with it very quickly and ends up getting annoyed at me.
Yeah i will just go for it 2nite, i know il end up doing it, im just worried what will happen. But like you said if i do panic i can just pull over, theres always people around if it gets extreme or i could ring someone on my mobile to talk to and distract myself.
I found before though that some things only get better gradually so even if you do them and it still feels weird and scary if you keep trying it will bit by bit feel better and more normal each time. I find if you can conquer your biggest fear the little every day things seem minor and therefore just fall into place! x
I find it really good to talk to my boyfriend cos he has been with me when a few of the attacks have happen. I find telling him how i am feeling at the time of an attack really helps me calm down but i can see where you are coming from cos i am the same with my friend i haven't told any of them cos i am afraid they will think i am weird.
My sister are good too but they are the same as your mam they loss patience with me.
Try not to think it is going to get extreme cos you have done it hundereds times before and nothing has happened. We just have to face it and keep doing the things that scare us
Hiya ciggs,
not sure if youll see this but i thought id let u know the drive last night went fine! And i drove myself to work this morning which was even easier! :D
So theres proof that when you face your fear its never as ad as you expect!!
Good luck for the match, let me know how you get on! :) :)
Hi beauty,
That is great to hear fair play to you. :)
Yeah i will let you know about the match. not till next week but i am thinking about it already - not good.
Yeah i was the same about that drive, i was thinking about it all day and imaging the scenarios etc but it was one of those things where once i was actually there i was unusually calm, as though being there made me realise 'i am still here and fine' so i just got on with it. Im sure there will be times when i do panic driving etc though but its encouraging to know i have done it! xx
Yeah i just have to forget about and just do it when the time comes,
Yeah i think once you do it once and nothing happens it is easier to do it the next time.
Exactly! You will be fine , and it will feel so good to have done it i bet it will get you on the road to recovery and doing the things you love again! :)
Thanks Baeuty. I'll let you know how it goes. :D
Hi Ciggs, ive had panic attacks for quite a few years now, and the most difficult time for me was right at the beginning when i had my first attack, because i didnt have a clue what was happening and thought i was going crazy because no one else understood what i was going through either.
The best advice i can give you is whats worked for me. whenever you feel an attack coming on then automatically try any put the thought out of your head and think of something completely different. If that doesnt work then just think to yourself ok! im having an attack but so what! accept whats happening but try not to make a big deal about it.
It is really difficult to think this way in the beginning but if you keep practicing positive thinking they will go away and you'll get them less often.
Also if your getting them after a night out then thats probably cos when you have alcohol in your system no matter what quantity, your not in full control of your mind, and your aware of this at the time, so what i would try and do is not stop drinking and going out with your mates but drink less, to a level where your comfortable that your still in control.
Hope this helps don't worry things do get better even though it doesnt seem like it right now.
POSITIVE THINKING!!!!
Jaynie.x x x
thank you for the advise Jaynie. I do make a big deal out of them with is
probably a bad thing too. I've got to get myself into the positive thinking mode.
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