View Full Version : I had a panic attack today & I need some moral support!
After 15 days of feeling anxious but not having a panic attack, I had one in the car on the way back from seeing my dog who is in quarantine. I do not know what triggered it, I just started with the fast heartrate, palpitations & tightness in my chest, pale face, sweating hands. I did the breathing exercises concentrating on using the abdominal muscles, it did help.
I then felt drained, jittery & shaky and SO SO SO disappointed in myself for not being able to cope with the panic. I feel scared & vulnerable & I always worry that I may be missing some other illness like a heart condition.
Oh, I need some reassurance.
:wacko: I feel trapped in this perpetual spiral of worry that I will have another PA.
help......
Blot
Try and fill your head with positive thoughts , block out all negative rubbish. I know its eaiser said than done, but try to find some inner strenth. I have had many painc and aniexty attacks, I know whats coming so I just let them get on with it, try not to dwell on them. Tell your self/body not to listen to them.
Are these feelings new to you? if they are, speak to your GP asap. The sooner you address your issues, the sooner you will come through this and be the happy person you want to be.
Dont feel trapped, its your body and mind, take control and dont be a passenger.
Good Luck
Hi Blot,
Well done for managing 15 days without having a panic attack dispite feeling anxious.
Day 1 starts again tomorrow, we all feel like it is 2 steps forward and one back at times but we are still moving forwards so don't be so hard on yourself.
Try to remember you managed 15 days be proud of that rather than dwelling on the blip that you had today.
Hugs to you
Lynnann
Forrest Gump
16-02-09, 18:25
15 days without a panic attack, that's not a failure, that's strong! No need to be disappointed.
Personally I find it easier to somehow actually embrace that I'm going to have a panic attack, rather than fear it. Of course I do fear getting them, but I try to think that "Ok, this might happen as well as just about anything might happen". When I fear them, I seem to project them into happening. It helps me if I somehow accept them.
Thanx for the support & advice Tankerton & Lynnann,
I really appreciate your input! I am on meds for the PA's, I have a gratitude journal which I use daily & this is very liberating as I have so much to be thankful for. I do a 15 minute relaxation exercise daily. Yes, I am happy that I had 15 PA free days, I guess the emotions get the better of me when I experience the symptoms. I just feel so vulnerable & weepy after an attack. Intellectually I know & understand the process of anxiety but it sure does not stop me from feeling fear! I try hard to keep focused, watch my posture, breathing, try to relax my shoulders & neck ( carry most of my tension there),so that I do not send subliminal messages of threat to my body.
I am in the process of looking for a job which is difficult in this economic climate.
Oh boy, I am droning on & on. I am so pleased that I have found this site as it is the only place where I can share my thoughts & feelings with folk who understand. My partner tries to be understanding but does not know what to do when I feel anxious & panicky.
Thanx for listening
:ohmy: Blot
Hello I am new here and I am so extremely happy that I found this website. I just want to say that 15 days without an attack is so great! Just remember this happend to you before, you are going to be ok, and adopt a "so what" attitude toward your panic attacks.
Hey Forrest Gump & ji1987,
I do appreciate your support. Yes, it is great that I did nit have any PA's for 15 days. Forrest, you are so brave being able to embrace the attacks instead of fearing them. I need to pluck up the courage to do just that.
ji1987 - welcome to this site!, you are absolutely right, I have had them before and nothing bad happened so WHY do I feel so scared? I fear the fear instead of acknowledging the PA for what it is, I distort it as I am so worried that it may not be a PA but a manifestation of some sinister condition.
Talk about being a cracked vessel/pot.........
Thanx again.:hugs:
Hi Blot,
I read some of your previous postings.
Your situations seem to be stressful. Your job, and your health problems. Don't try to do on oyur own, leave it to Jesus. (I know you are a christian)
Do you think you have GERD? or acid reflux? I saw, on the internet, many people suffering from GERD also suffer from anxiety. I guess it is because GERD affects on the breathing and swallowing difficulty in the throat. Any problem in the throat area seems to easily trigger FEAR, as heartattack does. So, if you think you have GERD, have some thorogh examination and find some way to reduce the symptoms.
However, controlling fear is, i think, a different manner. I think fear comes from some unknowns, but ultimately from the fear of death. So, you will have to remove the fear of death eventually...
I know you are a christian. Did you pray when you start to feel uncomfortable? Please trust me and DO PRAY! If you can not pray, only call on the name of Jesus repeatedly! Others can laugh, but you should not. Be prepared a BIBLE in your car, hold on to it while driving. Be prepared for any Worship CDs in your car, and listen to it while driving. Trust me it helps! Prayer will not disappoint you!
Hallo Gofishing,
Your post is so reassuring to me! Yes, I absolutely prayed & that is why the panic attack was a mild one. I may very well have reflux as I find that I do suffer from indigestion & need to chew on a Gaviscon.
I am not sure that I fear death, I fear not being able to get to medical assistence if I need it. It freaks me out. Wow, I do not think I have verbalised that before!!
Along with the meds I am on, & the techniques I am trying, I pray & spend time reading God's Word. Yes, the past 6 months have certainly been a challenge as I have been unsettled. Moving from one's homeland, leaving family & friends behind is HUGE.I believe that it is the right move for me so I need to keep focused & look forward!
Thank you for your support!
:winks:
Hiya Blot,
You went 15 days without a panic attack, that's really good going. I'm going to attempt to beat your record. :D
Just concentrate on the fact that 15 days without a panic attack is a big achievement. :D
all the best for another 15 days
mick
Thanx Mick, you have a bet on - lets see how it goes!! Good Luck!
:yesyes:
Forrest Gump
17-02-09, 14:27
Forrest, you are so brave being able to embrace the attacks instead of fearing them. I need to pluck up the courage to do just that.
Thanks, although I'm not sure I would call it brave, it's more like I don't have much choice. The anxiety and panic attacks will come, at one time or another, regardless of whether I fear them or try to avoid them. I'm not saying there's no cure or nothing that one can do, as I've learned here there are many things that one can do, some of them individual and some seems to apply to most people. But for many of us this will probably stick around for a while and I need to accept that. It's like sharing an apartment with some kind of monster. He's been living here for a while and every now and then he attacks me, but somehow I have to accept that he's here, doing what he does. If i don't, I'm going to get surprised every time he attacks and it will be much worse.
I wish he would share the rent though... :huh:
I am not sure that I fear death, I fear not being able to get to medical assistence if I need it. It freaks me out. Wow, I do not think I have verbalised that before!!
I know that one for sure... I live in Thailand and many times that I've had to go to the emergency in a taxi (forget about ambulances) fearing that I was having a heart attack, I've got stuck in traffic. Here in Bangkok the traffic is terrible and you can literally get completely stuck for hours. Upon finally arriving to the hospital, sometimes the nurses didn't speak any English and my Thai is not very good, so simply explaining what's going on while having a full blown panic attack has been the worst. The second part, the fact that they actually don't help you if you don't have any money (and my insurance has expired), has really put the worst imaginable fear into me at times when I was broke due to previous medical bills. I was recently diagnosed with a minor heart condition (which together with some other bad news gave me these panic attacks for the first time in my life).
I don't know... there so much that one can not do anything about, that one just have to accept. Sure, a lot can be fixed over time, but right there and then, many times you just have to accept it. At one time I was in Laos and got a full blown panic attack sending me to the hospital in a tuk-tuk (a three-wheeled motorbike with a benched area for passengers), holding on for all I was worth since I ended up in spot where I would fall off on the road if I didn't. Life really puts you in the weirdest places...
All the best
Hallo Gofishing,
Your post is so reassuring to me! Yes, I absolutely prayed & that is why the panic attack was a mild one.
If you keep praying, and pray more and more ask help desparately from Jesus even though you are not in the mode of PA, fear will go away. Just be patient, and trust Jesus. He has the power. Fear is the one that Satan can use to take control of people with very minor effort as dmckinsey once posted. Except fear for God out of his majesty, which is called WISDOM, every other fear comes from Satan.
I am not sure that I fear death, I fear not being able to get to medical assistence if I need it. It freaks me out. Wow, I do not think I have verbalised that before!!
Yeah, I understand. it is almost impossible those horrible feelings. No body , even your family, wouldn't understand what you're going through, if they never experienced PA.
I once called 911 when I felt uncomfortable, although 911 didn't help much the first time I got choked up. I really thought that 911 or medical doctors had some solution. But, since the experience of the second call to 911, (they came, didn't do anything except recommending to breath easy, then charging for ambulance later), I figured that they don't have any solution. If I have to die, I'll die. Also, because of my severe allergy started from last year's January, I visited many doctors. And again, I figured that they don't have any solution instead of those sprays, pills and antibiotics, even sinus surgery, which reduce symptom only for temporary, but eventually cause worse problems....and medication makes you more dependent on them although they don't cure. (But, don't get me wrong, I am not totally against medical methods)
Recently, I decided to NOT use cellularphone any more (bc some controvertial issues), so I started not to carry it. Then, suddenly I could feel FEAR (not PA), thinking "what can I do without the cell phone, if I'm in any emergency situation?". Somehow, I developed the dependency on the cell phone hoping that cell phone will rescue me when I am in trouble, which is a false hope..(except some extraordinary case) So, all the worry or fear is coming from the thought that WE CAN CONTROL EVERYTHING. The truth is not. Only God, creator of heaven and earth and our lives, can controll them. So, I'd rather depend more on God instead of cell phone :smile:
Fear of not carrying cell phone is just a example how unreasonable fear can sneak in. Any fear of not getting medical helps can be used as an analogy. One of the reason I really wanted to stop the medication after 6 months of PA, I realized those fear developed from the dependency on the medication...I feared the situation that I forgot to carry those pills.
Along with the meds I am on, & the techniques I am trying, I pray & spend time reading God's Word. Yes, the past 6 months have certainly been a challenge as I have been unsettled. Moving from one's homeland, leaving family & friends behind is HUGE.I believe that it is the right move for me so I need to keep focused & look forward!
Thank you for your support!
:winks:
I know now how much comfort I can get from my homeland in the country side. I can not visit more than once a year...bc it takes almost 20 hrs by plane. I missed so much my homeland and my parents. Before PA, I never missed them this much. Also, I now understand how much more comfort I can get from Heaven, our ultimate homeland. The comfort from Heaven shall not be compared with the comfort I get from my homeland in this world.
God Bless You, Blot. You will get better and better. Just be patient. Jesus is taking care of you, even though you may not feel that.
Amen Amen, and Amen Gofishing! Gofishing and Blot I included you on a private email. Blot after reading the private email that you send me, I replied letting you know that I had a mild PA today as well and I mentioned to you exactly what you said on this forum and I didnt notice what this forum said until after I replied to your email. I read this forum and I was like wow that is exactly what I told you (To keep praying to God and he will deliver you from this illness). With much respect, I do not want to say much to offend the non-believers that may come accross this forum but I would like for all of us to communicate through private email to discuss God's healing.
Blot "Hallo Gofishing,
Your post is so reassuring to me! Yes, I absolutely prayed & that is why the panic attack was a mild one.
Gofishing
I am getting the chills again, there is so much similarity here. I feel like there is not enough room here on this forum to express to you my feelings of identifying the similarites there. God bless you. There is so much connection here on NMP. and expecially when speaking with you and Blot. I love you 2.
Blot,
Here is some info on GERD,
If you suspect GERD, try one apple a day ideally in the morning, also try Apple Cider Vineger everyday (probably 1+1/2 tea spoon with water in a mug. You may find better info onthe internet.). Many people say that this was a miraculous cure for their acid problems. Acid+Acid=Twice of Acid? No, it seems not that way.
If this doesn't work, try Aloe leaf. (Not the Aloe Juice sold in the food market). You can find good information on how to make juice from Aloe Leaf on the internet.
Hi dmckinney (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/member.php?u=18064),
It is good to know that you get help from prayers. I now start to vaguely understand why and where Holy Spirit keeps leading me. There is a reason why God allowed you (and other people too) to be put in this spiritual battle and made you experience fear face to face, while majority of people never see it. You may not see the reason now, but eventually the Spirit will show you his purpose. So, trust Him...under His guidance through this, you will grow even more stronger than ever.
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