to push your self or not?

[panelman]

hi i just wondered has any one ever, when either getting or going through a panic attack has just continued what they were doing or even pushed themselves physically to let themselves know that it wont harm us. the reason i ask is that every time i feel one coming on, i straight away stop what im doing, lie down and start to do breathing exercises till it passes and the reason that i do this is because with the physical sympthoms i get im afraid that i will die there and then on the spot if i were to continue with what i was doing for example work or exercising. i once read that i should try running up and down the stairs when i get one to convince myself that its not a heart attack. now as much as i would like to try that and i can tell you that i am fit enough to do it, im afraid that i will cause some ireverasable damage by doing it while having a panic attack or that it will not subside by doing that. i guess you can see where im coming from that i would like to be able to handle them better when im away from home. there are no beds to lie down on and do my breathing exercises on in a town centre or the likes.:unsure: well any advice or personal experiences would be very much appreciated thanks in advance, henry

[june]

I have carried on walking through shops because i was afraid to stop:blush:
So in a way you could carry on what you were doing BUT BUT i would ask a doctors advice on this:hugs:
Best wishes
june

[spaced]

hi
you need to push yourself past panic to get over them. when i was getting myself over agoraphobia just one example the supermarket was a nightmare so if i feel like i'm going to panic i make myself walk up and down the isles a few more times even though i'd want to run. you have to take small steps and build on it staying in the situation that makes you panic a bit longer each time. i once went out and did some gardening in the middle of a panic i had the chest pains really bad so i needed to prove to myself that i wasnt going to have the heart attack, i didnt. step by step things get better part of the panic is the fear of the panic and its symtoms once you show it your not scared anymore it gets a lot easier, you could say you need to stand up to the bully.

[purplehaze]

I was at a football game with my son and had a panic attack in amongst 50,000 people and at the same time my son is shouting "lift me lift me" and all I am thinking is s**t I need to get out of here. Jude was only 4 at the time and had started climbing up me like an evil monkey. I am reaching for a paper bag while making sure he does not fall, while all around me a sea of fans push forward as our team score, I lose the paper bag as I hold jude tight. He is bouncing on my shoulders. I am looking at my bag being stood on then everything goes dark. Thankfully it was just Jude covering my eyes with his scarf.

All around me fans are saying "great goal eh" Jude is using my head as a drum but now I am more calm.

So I never really pushed myself it was just the circumstances I was in but there have been other times were I have just got on with it and other times where I have not. At the end of the day its just doing what works for you


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[LACEYA1961]

Hi!

One of the other posters suggested you ask your dr about this and I agree.

From my own personal experience, though, I've found it okay for me to push through my panic attacks sometimes to a certain degree. Walking outdoors is difficult for me but when I feel the panic starting to hit me I don't run to the house to lie down, I make myself stop and breathe and focus on things around me. The other day I tried something new when I was outside when I started panicking and it really helped...I stopped walking and leaned against a post, breathed and started naming things around me. It took my focus off what was happening to my body.

Now day before yesterday I was totally paralyzed in my house when it was time for me to leave for a dr's appointment and nothing helped except to go to bed until I calmed down. I didn't even think about trying to calm myself down by using new excercises I've been trying lately...I just had that incredible fear that overwhelmed me. But yesterday I tried "baby steps" and got myself into the car and to my dr's appointment. I sat in the car for a little bit before taking off, then got down the road a bit and the a little more, etc..until I was at the dr's office. Then I focused on getting out of the car and standing there for a few minutes. You get my meaning. For me the baby steps are working. I'm still fairly new to all of this panic stuff so I'm trying different things and using all of the suggestions I get from this forum. Some have worked and some haven't.

I'm telling you all of this so maybe during an attack you can try to push a little (depending on where you are and what you're doing).

Take care!

Lacey

[eeyorelover]

It is a good idea to check with your doc first.

I was housebound for 4 years and the way I got out and about again was to push myself a little at a time until I was comfortable with the new situation and then go a little further.
I first went out in my own yard!
I had all the dizziness, heart pounding, feeling like I might pass out, blurred vision, all the anxiety symptoms that made me want to stay in to avoid them. But as I did it for a few days the symptoms subsided and I would go a little further.
I think it retrains the way we think and really helps to get past the fear!
Good luck :)
xxx
Sandy

[panelman]

thanks for the replies every one. they are so very much appreciated as the lessons learned from the experiences of others that are dealing with, or have gone throught these terrible situations, are never to be under estimated as what i can only describe as an invaluble source of imformation for myself aswell as many others like me. i forgot to mention that my gp has told me to push myself more and more and that also i have had alot of cardiac tests done aswell as blood tests which have all come back clear. when it comes to a physical illness i have every faith in my gp. how ever when it comes to panic disorder, i have found that over the 9 years that i have suffered from it that my main source of help has come from other suffers or self help. once again thanks so much for telling me about your own experiences, and i wish every one on nmp the very best of look in dealing with their own illness.:bighug1:

[Anxious_gal]

I think it is ok to push yourself through a panic attack, but not ok to push yourself over the edge, like if you have anxiety and you work too much, or take on too much I think the stress can build and build and that's not good.
the more you keep doing things even if it causes you to panic eventually your body will realize panic attacks are not dangerous,

[LACEYA1961]

It is a good idea to check with your doc first.

I was housebound for 4 years and the way I got out and about again was to push myself a little at a time until I was comfortable with the new situation and then go a little further.
I first went out in my own yard!
I had all the dizziness, heart pounding, feeling like I might pass out, blurred vision, all the anxiety symptoms that made me want to stay in to avoid them. But as I did it for a few days the symptoms subsided and I would go a little further.
I think it retrains the way we think and really helps to get past the fear!
Good luck :)
xxx
Sandy

Hi, Sandy...you did exactly what I started doing a couple of weeks ago. I forced myself to face the open space outside and sometimes it's very hard. Congrats on your progress! Please let me know if you're trying anything else that is helping you.

Take care,

Lacey