Fear of death when panic attacks occur

[seleana]

I had my first panic attack after smoking weed about 10 years ago. I never smoked again after that. I was so high that it scared me and I felt like I was dying. The more I tried to calm myself, the panic increased. I went to sleep and I was fine. Shortly afterwards I noticed that anything death related or bad news, or if I would get really angry would cause me to panic and feel like I could not breathe. This usually happens when I am alone, in my car or very upset and stressed. It is becoming consuming! I don't want to be on meds, has anyone else had this problem?

[kellie]

hiya hun you are deffo not alone with these feelings. when i see adds or things on the tv about cancer i switch over as i feel sick, light headed, sweaty, my heart races, and my breathing goes funny. i also have a fear of death so i understand what you are feeling and saying. here are some big hugs for you :bighug1: :bighug1: :bighug1: :bighug1: we are all here when you need to talk ok .

take care

kellie.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[cassi23]

Hiya Hunni,

nope you are definately not alone. I spent almost 3 months absolutely obsessed that I was dying and everything in the world was wrong with me, if i heard/saw an ambulance blue lighting I had a panick attack, heard bad news, heard of someone in hospital = panick attack, if anyone mentioned symptoms to me, i would magically have them the next day!

When you can rationalize during a panick attack and tell yourself that you are ok, your body is just having a response to a misinterpreted situation and releasing lots of adrenaline and you are NOT going to die, you will find that you have them less and less.

I hope you feel better soon, take care, love Char xxxxxxx

[AnxiousAllTheTime]

Hi hon,
You are difinitly not alone in your feelings! I feel the same way about death and dying! I obsess over it really! It doesn't help that I have OCD, b/c that makes it even worse! What I try to do to cope is avoid situations, conversations, etc that might talk about death and dying! I hope you feel better soon! and just remember theri just thougths and this cannot hurt or kill you! Remember to breath! :hugs: Hugs

[seleana]

Thank you guys so much. I am glad to know that I am not alone. I think it helps to have support of others who are going thru the same issues b/c not everyone understands.

[Tom_M]

Anything that scares you gets registered in the brain, creating a negative anchor. So every time you encounter the thought, word, smell, sight, or anything else associated with the panic event, sets it off again. The only effective way to neutralise it is to re-anchor what ever sets it off. I used to have a fear of death, and at 59 years of age, it's getting closer by the day. I won't go into details of how I overcome it, but you can overcome most fears if you perceive them in a different way.

[andrewc]

Hi Seleana

The thoughts of death you are experiencing are perfectly "normal" if I can call them that when you are having a panic attack. I totally agree with Tom that you have to find what is triggering them and anchor positive thoughts. Of course this is not easy to do by yourself as you may not know what is happenning to you so thats where a therapist comes in. The thing to remember as the other posts said is that Panic attacks and anxiety cannot kill you as they are not physical problems. Keep posting as there are a lot of helpful people on this forum who will gladly point you in the right direction should you wish to do so.

Best regards

Andy

[Granny Primark]

I have a terrible fear of death. I think its cus my mum always talked of her sister dying at the age of 25 of a stroke and that i was the image of her.
I had 6 sessions with a counsellor and each time she gave me reassurace that a panic attack couldnt kill you.
However on the last session she said that she could make me have a panic attack and then show me how to breathe through it, but due to my high blood pressure it would be dangerous.
Some reassurace!!!

Take care
LYNN xx

[jenii]

my main thing when i have a panic attack is thinking i am gonna die, thinking it right now actually! but the thing is the aches and pains i have got are normal ones i wouldnt notice if i didnt have the disorder and i big them up so much in my head my breathing gets funny, head dizzy etc which again is just the release of adrenaline. I am freaking but typoing on here and talking about it with people who not how you are feeling is a great way to calm yourself. come here whenever you need help.

[freakedout]

Hello,

yes I too have fear of dying during a full blown panic attack, for me it is choking related, I feel like I am literally going to choke to death, like my throat is closing in on itself. It is frightening in itself which makes the panic continue for longer, but despite lots of panics I have not choked to death yet. You would think this would be enough to reassure me that I will not die, but unfortunately the panicsymptoms totally take over and I cannot be rational, and I STILL think I will choke to death at the time. It is horrendous.

I have very occasional minor health anxieties, which are not really a problem for me, but in general day to day life I do not have a fear of dying, sometimes its quite the opposite and I have a morbid fascination with death and dying. Strange I know,

take care,

Freaky