how long do they last?

[dabbler30]

how long do your symptoms last for when you have an attack? its just that ive been felling tight chested and like someones chocking me for days now(if not longer).i know it cant be anything more serious as it takes a little while in the morning to start and stops when im fully distracted and my mind cant wonder off.It does seem like im just constantly trying to hold off a full on panic attack day in day out . The only things that help are sleeping,reading things on here and telling myself im not about to have a heart attack.

[Tom_M]

Hi dabbler30

You should always get checked out at you doctors first. But if it is anxiety, you can get a lot of relief by doing breathing exercises. What you have to do is practice breathing so your tummy rises with each exhaled breath, instead of your chest. Learning how to do this will relax the muscles in your chest and get ride of that tight feeling.

Tom

[dabbler30]

ive had a chest xray,ecg,bloodtests etc and they where all fine.Panic disorder was suggested by the duty doc when i went to a&e one night.Luckly so far that attack is as bad as it has been for me. But i have since then never been back to how i was .It seems ive constantly got the symptoms i mentioned to a greater or lesser degree.

[purplehaze]

Panic attacks come and go like the scottish weather. some times its a good day sometimes its a bad day but if you live in scotland your always wondering if the sun will ever shine.

I have reached the point where I can have the panic and just let it come and go because it will go and yes it is not an nice feeling but the only way to overcome the attacks is to have them and to face them. There are no short cuts.
The best thing is to have small goals and keep a record of when the attacks come and write down how good/bad you really felt coz most times its not as bad as you thought.
There are a number of things that you can do now
1. reduce caffine..coffee coke etc
2. if you smoke stop
3. try 15mins a day of meditation
4. excercise

It is about reprogramming our thoughts and telling ourselves we can do this.

I have the symptoms everyday but I refuse to give in to them.


again let others know how you feel and get the support of family friends etc in the short term just to give you that extra confidence

take care

[lenor]

Hi,

That's a great questions! An actual panic attack doesn't last that long, however you can often have acute anixiety for days and it can go up and down without actually having a full blown panic attack.
It sounds like classic reaction to a huge panic attack, and of course you are going to feel anxious for a while after as it is such an awful feeling when you are going through it that you never want it to happen again. Your body will be on alert and often will react without you actually having thought much about it (sometimes just a change in your breathing to feeling a little hot can set them off)
Purplehaze is right (love the Scottish weather thing!) there are no short cuts. You have to retrain your mind and body not to react and it isn't easy. However breathing is a key thing, when you feel your chest tighten start by trying to take deep, slow breaths and stick with it for a few minutes. It sounds simple and does work. I must admit that I am great at giving this advice but still find it hard to do myself!

Hope you feel better soon
X

[Insomniac]

Hi there

It certainly does feel like forever when its happening, and the tension and stress can leave you feeling pretty rubbish after PA. Sometimes it can be hard to settle for days afterwards as you worry about having another one. I tend to be too aware of my body's reactions to everything and that only makes things worse.

Light exercise and some breathing exercises like the others mentioned do help. The breathing exercises listed here on Self Help section really DO help. Recognising which muscles are tense and trying some basic relaxation exercises can help too. Tensing and relaxing while breathing slowly is a good one. It can take time and practice, but lets face it what else do we have when we feel anxious. And its another good way distract ourselves! :yesyes: