Panic attack lasted an hour almost called ambulance

[WiredIncorrectly]

I don't know what's up with me at the moment but I get tachycardia daily. Just had the worst episode. I think it was anxiety because I had a feeling of "I can't control what is going on". My heartrate was beating very fast. I counted it at 174bpm.

It then went down to around 140 where it remained for 30 minutes. For the next 30 minutes it went down to 112bpm. And finally it's back to normal 80bpm.

But wtf?! I'm confused as to whether that was anxiety, or the fast heart rate caused the anxiety. I was just watching something when it happened.

I honestly thought I was a goner. I couldn't find any position that was relaxing. I could feel my heartbeat pounding away all over my body. There was no escape from it. And it's impossible to remain calm like that. I looked in the mirror and looked pale, and my mouth felt dry. Freaked out even more.

It's getting me depressed because now I fear this will keep happening at least once a day. I'd rather not be alive than go through anxiety and tachycardia every single day like this. Horrendous.

[WiredIncorrectly]

Concerned it's SVT because SVT HR's are usually between 150bpm and 250bpm (holy bejebus! I couldn't imagine 250bpm).

[ankietyjoe]

Don't overthink it bud.

I've spent 36 hours like that, several times.

What's going on is the same stuff that was a few weeks ago.

[WiredIncorrectly]

36 hours with a very fast heartrate? Was that in your younger years? I remember when I drank my heartrate was always fast and it didn't bother me. It does bother me when it pops out of nowhere. It'll be forgotten about tomorrow.

How are you doing buddy?

[ankietyjoe]

Nah dude, last time it happened was just over a year ago. It's an accumulation of stress. I would get that thing like you do where whenever I move my heart rate skyrockets.

First time it happened was about 8 years ago where my heart rate got stuck around 120bpm and went up closer to 140-150bpm when I moved. Spent the night in A&E where they found nothing wrong and attributed it to being stressed.

Over the years I've learned it's from adrenaline and also with me, muscle tension.

I'm still not sure what the exact mechanism is, but my muscles can get tenser and tenser over the period of weeks, and it feels like all of a sudden something 'let's go' and all sorts of toxins are released. I know that toxin buildup is a bit of a medical myth, but I'm just describing what it feels like. I have to constantly stretch, and each time I do, my HR spikes for 60 seconds or so. I've learned to live with it now and pre-empt it happening, 'cos the stress isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Oddly, when I used to sniff a lot of coke 20 years ago my heart rate would go up for hours on end (at least 12) and I wouldn't even think about it.

[WiredIncorrectly]

Ah, you did mention that in another post. Same thing happens to me when I stretch too. But during these attacks I have to remain completely still and try to breath deep and slow. But oddly this just makes it even faster when I do the breathing. I can handle 120bpm. When it hits 140bpm and above things start getting a little worrying. 160bpm+ and it's immediate panic mode and a feeling of terror.

I watched this lady on Youtube who recorded 300bpm. She managed to revert at hospital naturally but just the fact your heart can do that is messed up.

From what I've read (I don't read to diagnose or worry, just interest) it's the electrical system that gets out of whack. Lots of things can mess up the electrical signals. I'm sure many of the chemicals released play a part too; like the toxin buildup in the muscle being tensed. That sort of makes sense in theory.

Bit nervous to sleep tonight though. Woke up last night with tachycardia. Lasted about 20 minutes and went away. The nervousness to sleep will feed the problem. The less sleep I get the more chance I'll wake up with a night terror. Almost always. They're even worse than waking up with tachycardia.

In other news, got myself a 5TB hard drive. I'm hoarding sample packs. Also chopping up the audio files from all DC and Marvel movies.

[ankietyjoe]

Stop watching those videos ffs lol. You know the drill dude.

Stop prophesising. Whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen.

Are you still off the meds? Did you go back on? Do you remember launching at somebody with a machete? It's all stress, and all adds up. It rarely hits you the same day. It's usually much later on, weeks sometimes.

As long as your adrenaline is high, your heart rate will be high. You have to practice calm as much as possible when your heart isn't racing as when it is. A holistic, overall way of dealing with stress and anxiety.

[WiredIncorrectly]

Stop watching those videos ffs lol. You know the drill dude.

Stop prophesising. Whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen.

Are you still off the meds? Did you go back on? Do you remember launching at somebody with a machete? It's all stress, and all adds up. It rarely hits you the same day. It's usually much later on, weeks sometimes.

As long as your adrenaline is high, your heart rate will be high. You have to practice calm as much as possible when your heart isn't racing as when it is. A holistic, overall way of dealing with stress and anxiety.

Woke up this morning and even before my eyes were awake I was reaching for my pulse. And just like that my heart was up to the 140's. Within 10 minutes is was back to normal so yes this is all in my head.

I'm in a hole mate. And yes I'm on my meds but the one med. that I try not to take is the diazepam.

[ankietyjoe]

Right, so just coming off the meds and going back on could mess with your system for weeks on end.

Also, it's not all in your head. Head/mind/body, linked. You know that already I think? It's not just thought patterns, it's the complex feedback between the mental and physical.

Try and recognise your pattern of feast and famine, up and down.

This is why it's just as important to practice calm when you're not panicking as when you are. But also, try not to make a self proclamation of 'omg I'm cured!!!' next time you don't feel terrible. Even the emotions out as much as possible.

I know what it's like to sit with high heart rate for hours on end, as much as a day sometimes. I know it's hard, but next time it happens practice sitting with it and letting it be. I'm only saying this because once it's happened it's kinda too late to then practice calm, so you might as well practice living with it for as long as it's present right? What I found is that trying to make your heart rate come down provides you for the opportunity of failure.

"I can't stop this, I can't live with it, I can't take it...."

That mental pattern will just fire more go juice into your system. Better -

"Oh well, I know this stops by itself eventually so I'll just let it be for now and try not to w@nk"......etc.

The key here is practice. It took me a long, long time not to react to extended periods of high heart rate. It happens still sometimes, especially if I have big meal. That trigger of digestion and increased heart rate (that you cannot force down) will sometimes cause a CNS reaction in me. Last time it happened was about 2 weeks ago in fact. I ordered McDonalds for the kids (meaning I also ate McDonalds....cough) and that triggered my heart rate up to about 90. Because the misses hadn't been doing well that week and I was working until 2am most nights because everybody was home the accumulated stress put me on my ass for the evening. I had to retreat to the bedroom for the rest of the evening and chill. Heart rate didn't come down below 100bpm until about 11pm (5 hours later), at which point I was mentally and physically exhausted. But, I just watched CHiPs and Dempsey and Makepeace on TV (!) and next day got on with it again.

[WiredIncorrectly]

Thanks Joe. You make a lot of sense. I've been building a direct debit subscription platform for a friend and I think that is a part of the stress. I'm under no pressure, and facing no issues, but it feels like a monster on my back, when it should feel like a friend. If I pick a little deeper maybe I'm subconsciously worried that it'll mess up and I wont be paid. It's that "What if ..." negative thinking again.

I can't think what else could be causing this.

You mention TV. I have a cartoon that calms me down. I've never heard of CHiPs. What's that about?

[ankietyjoe]

CHiPs is a buddy cop show from the late 70's/early 80s. Hashtag nostalgia.....

But anything like work can cause stress. You have to complete a task to be able to afford food etc, it is a stressful existence. But as you point out, NOT presuming or thinking the worst is the way forward. Those Bob Proctor talks are always a good way out of that I find. Of course he's full of it and ultimately a motivational speaker, but that doesn't mean that was he's saying isn't true. I know you know about the power of visualisation etc.

I'm still the same with my work. I have a ton of it coming it, but I'll still procrastinate and suffer with imposter syndrome sometimes, even though all the feedback on my work is good. Never get any kind of critical feedback, but something inside me still feels like a pretender sometimes. I think it's just the nature of being creative and instructional.

I always find the Mr Bean cartoons nice and calming lol :yesyes:

[WiredIncorrectly]

I'll have to give it a watch. I like all the old shows. I'm still on Only Fools and Horses, and On The Busses. I used to use Mr Bean as a calming exercise. Never seen the cartoon but I'll check that out. Him and that Robin Reliant crack me up.

I can totally relate to procrastination and imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome sucks, had it all my life. I don't think we value ourselves enough. I read the article "How to give zero f**ks" (good article that I think you've read) and for a while that did change my perception of a lot of things.

On the topic of the medications I didn't have any of this anxiety when I stopped them for a week. The side effects were rough, but anxiety and tachycardia were non existent. That's when I felt cured :roflmao:

Thank you for the discussion Joe, it's been really helpful.

I like Bob. The only thing I don't like is the "click here to subscribe" link on his videos. His email marketing strategy must be making him a mint. Fair play to him though.

[WiredIncorrectly]

The power of intent. I was watching a graffiti documentary. These artists were phenomenal with spray cans doing huge murals to make Detroit look better. Anyway, they went to the Jungle to learn the power of intent. The guru guy said "Face the wall. Make your intention to the wall, and act on it".

That quote is powerful.

[ankietyjoe]

I think all these resources should be used as 'for educational purposes only'.

What Proctor says 'might' work for you, but for me it's really about exposing myself to a different way of thinking. Other people may well take away a different message from exactly the same words, and be motivated to react in a different way than I did, for example.

But yeah, working in anything remotely creative is much harder than people realise. It's not really like most other careers because your work has the potential to be scrutinised on a very personal and subjective level. Learning to trust your own skill can be tough for sure, but that's where practice comes in again. If you do something long enough, you'll become very good at it.

[WiredIncorrectly]

I've worked with a handful of programming languages for over 20 years. I've taught programming in the past. Yet I still can't get over imposter syndrome at times. And yes the creative field is hard because the possibilities are infinite and there's no real way to judge your work against others. But every time you, I, and others who deal with IS consistently pull off work that people praise you for.

What would you say you're an expert at if you could pick one thing?

[ankietyjoe]

Honestly, the thing I know most about is anxiety and stress.

I'm not really an expert at anything musical, but I am very good at a lot of things, that's why they keep paying me to make videos about it. Depth of knowledge. Arguably synthesis and sound design, but there are other far better at it than me. One of my social media pals is a guy called Howard Scarr, the sound designer that worked with Hans Zimmer on the Batman films, and another even better pal of mine was called by the mighty man to do sound design for the Bond movie last Christmas. I'm good, but not THAT good. Maybe one day....

But anxiety, I studied that to death. In fact I studied psychology properly alongside a family friend. I've studied it for nearly a decade now, in depth.

My Doctor once told me (2011 I think it was) that if I didn't want to take antidepressants I'd have to learn to live with it. So I did.

[WiredIncorrectly]

Synthesis and sound design are rare skills. Hanz Zimmer is a genius, love his work. Your friend is a lucky guy. I'm currently sampling from the DC movies, they're a great source of awesome sounds. Do you do folly recording?

I recall I was going to buy a system that was built for sound design. It's used in Hollywood and about 3k per machine. I can't remember the name of it now.

I agree you know a lot about stress and anxiety and are an asset to the forum broski. You've unknowingly helped so many people.

[ankietyjoe]

I have a couple of field recorders that I sometimes use for foley, although my sound design is almost exclusively synth based. I'm currently working in a plugin called Pigments however that has a pretty killer sample/granular oscillator so I'm putting some custom samples in there for sure.

I'm pretty sure a lot of people here don't see me as an asset lol. I have a specific delivery method sometimes, but only because I know that 95% of anxiety is self inflicted and I don't see the point in pussy footing around.

[WiredIncorrectly]

I see you as an asset and you often take the time to reel me back in. :bighug1:

[Rluvz]

Nah dude, last time it happened was just over a year ago. It's an accumulation of stress. I would get that thing like you do where whenever I move my heart rate skyrockets.

First time it happened was about 8 years ago where my heart rate got stuck around 120bpm and went up closer to 140-150bpm when I moved. Spent the night in A&E where they found nothing wrong and attributed it to being stressed.

Over the years I've learned it's from adrenaline and also with me, muscle tension.

I'm still not sure what the exact mechanism is, but my muscles can get tenser and tenser over the period of weeks, and it feels like all of a sudden something 'let's go' and all sorts of toxins are released. I know that toxin buildup is a bit of a medical myth, but I'm just describing what it feels like. I have to constantly stretch, and each time I do, my HR spikes for 60 seconds or so. I've learned to live with it now and pre-empt it happening, 'cos the stress isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Oddly, when I used to sniff a lot of coke 20 years ago my heart rate would go up for hours on end (at least 12) and I wouldn't even think about it.



Hi Joe!, Just wondering, I do get adrenaline being released at UN-NEEDED times. Usually when I start to take a nap, just jolting awake due to adrenaline. Although sometimes I do get sleep paralysis+Jolting i can tell it is the wrong signals of adrenaline and drift off to sleep after awhile.
Another point i'd like to know is the muscle tension. Like yes i know this is really common among anxiety/panic people, but I find that my muscle tension is primarily on my lower back..
So in regards to stretching, does it help? I think my back 'pain' is also contributing to 'stress' aka 'physical stress' instead of mental, because i really can't find any reason why I'm 'stressed mentally'.

[ankietyjoe]

Hi Joe!, Just wondering, I do get adrenaline being released at UN-NEEDED times. Usually when I start to take a nap, just jolting awake due to adrenaline. Although sometimes I do get sleep paralysis+Jolting i can tell it is the wrong signals of adrenaline and drift off to sleep after awhile.
Another point i'd like to know is the muscle tension. Like yes i know this is really common among anxiety/panic people, but I find that my muscle tension is primarily on my lower back..
So in regards to stretching, does it help? I think my back 'pain' is also contributing to 'stress' aka 'physical stress' instead of mental, because i really can't find any reason why I'm 'stressed mentally'.

I think the word 'stress' is misunderstood a bit. People tend to assume that stress is a mental thing, work, money, relationships etc. But stress can be anything including bad diet, smoking, exercising too much, physical trauma, illness etc etc. It's anything that makes the body compensate for something else. Stress in itself is part of life and the body can compensate, but not when it's long term.

The adrenaline you're experiencing is likely to be because your adrenals have been overworked for a long time. It's something I still experience now, but because I know what it is (and my life is at full stress every day for various reasons) I can compensate for it myself without it becoming a chronic problem.

Muscle tension is just the same thing. Your CNS is constantly 'on', so muscles tend to mis-activate. If it's lower back it could also be compounded by bad posture, not getting enough exercise etc.

Exercise is one of the best all round solutions for both the problems you're describing here as it provides the body with the perfect antidote to adrenaline which is endorphins. Just be wary of exercising too much as this is just as likely to make you feel worse as it is to make you feel better.

And watch what you eat. We have been used to eating mostly processed crap over the last few decades, and a good diet makes a massive difference overall, over time.