Panic Attack in Supermarket?

[JamesJ]

My first post.

I've battled with "anxiety" for over 7 years now. There are times when things are really good, this year has been a pretty good year and I manage to forget about my anxiety most the time.

Today I had a strange one. At least I hope it was an anxiety attack. It certainly has the hallmarks but it wasn't the usual type of attack. Let me explain.

I went into Tesco, which I never have a problem with. I wasn't anxious or anything. But I started to notice my eyes wouldnt focus. I was moving my eyes around and it was like viewing a flickering DVD. I started to focus on reading labels and it was so strange. I then thought maybe it's related to my circulation, maybe my arteries are blocked because I'm not a healthy eater, maybe I'm going to die.

I worked myself up into a frenzy. It was scary not being able to focus on anything for longer than a second. I've no idea what happened.

If I was to explain it myself, I'd probably say that my eyes found it hard to adjust to the bright lights. Or the reflections on the packet were causing the labels to become difficult to read, which in turn starts me thinking there is something wrong with my eyes and oh boy ... its the downhill snowball effect from there.

As I approached the end of the shop I was agitated to the point where I was annoyed at people walking past me and I was telling my girlfriend to hurry up. Thankfully she understands my situation, most girls would have ran a mile.

I also felt weak, and hot. I felt like I was sweating, but I wasn't. My stomach started to feel as if it was very hungry but I wasn't hungry and I was shaking very lightly.

The moment I went outside, it all stopped. I had a packet of crisps just incase I was hungry but I ate those whilst outside so I doubt if it was hunger it would have cured it that fast.

I'm now at home, much safer :D I still have the after effects of the attack. It usually takes a couple of hours for my anxiety to go back to 0.

Was certainly a strange attack though.

Has anyone else every had anything like this? I have read that bright lights in supermarkets can cause attacks even when you dont feel anxious.

I'm 26, male, btw.

[Vixxy]

You could have had a sugar crash, I get dizzy and find it hard to focus on things when I have them. That might explain why you thought you were hungry too. I would imagine it triggered a panic attack that then stopped you from being hungry. Does that make sense?
I find shops hard, even when I'm not anxious I always feel like I'm struggling to remain upright and my eyes don't seem to take everything in. I believe it's because of sensory overload, there is so much going on in a shop. So many lights, noise, people, displays, bright and shiny things that it just becomes OTT and hard to make a sense of.
Try not to let this attack effect you, if it was anything seriously wrong with your eyes or body then it would have continued on afterwards, not fading as you left. You'll be fine :) Just take it easy for the rest of the day and make sure you go back to the supermarket soon so that you don't build it into an obstacle!
Take care :)

[HarrogateChris]

Supermarkets are horrendous. They are crowded, competitive places, lots of choices to me made and bucket loads of stress.

At the moment, holding onto the trolly is literally a white knuckle ride for me!

Chris

[debs71]

Absolutely JamesJ....I have had all those feelings and sensations and they SUCK!!!!

My panic attacks tend to come on lately when I am in public, usually when shopping like you, and - although I haven't experienced the vision symptoms of panic much - I have had all the things you mention like feeling sick/hungry, empty feeling stomach, weakness, legs like jelly and very, very hot, and I actually sweat buckets so it is literally running down my back (sorry for the minging description!) I also have a tendency of passing out, and that for me is the worst possible scenario and I dread getting to that point.

Like you say, what is strange is that I can not be feeling anxious AT ALL and yet it hits me like a ton of bricks. So weird. I haven't heard about the bright lights things but maybe there is something in that as epileptics have to be careful of bright lights and flashing lights due to it disturbing the electrical activity of the brain, so maybe there is a connection to mental processes in panic too.

Anyway, I sympathise greatly.xxx

[Anxious_gal]

there are so many simple reasons your vision went funny and you jump straight to your going to die, this sort of thinking is only going to make your anxiety worse .

the lights in supermarkets are awful to begin with, they often hurt my eyes, maybe the light bulb was actually flickering! this has happened me, i calmed down and felt silly after realizing it wasn't my eyes!

also being anxious makes it hard to focus as your eyes tend to dart around and not rest on anything longer than a second, its a very tell tale sign someone is nervous.

They use florescent lights which people with anxiety can be sensitive too, they can also trigger migraines in some people.

I get the same symptoms in supermarkets, I really dislike them, i get headaches from the lights and the white floors which reflect the light.

[JamesJ]

Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it. All the above seem to make sense. The sugar crash seems like a reasonable explanation, but then so does the blowing things out of proportion.

Take for example one time I was lying on the bed playing the xbox. There was a control pad under me which I didn't know what there and it vibrated. I felt a vibration in my chest and I had a panic attack. When I realized it was the control pad it all stopped.

I think I am past the days when anxiety ruins your life. I'm fairly ok doing most things and rarely have any obstacles or problems. It hasn't always been like that ...

When I was 21 I was at college doing a teaching course. I got on the bus one day, had a major panic attack. I got off the bus, went home, and never returned to college because I was scared of it happening again. At that time in my life it did ruin me. I didn't leave the house and drank a lot. I also developed Bulema because I was scared of saturated fat.

But, on the other hand I am thankful. Because I ended up at college some years later doing computers and then ended up in university. Without making this a life story I now work from home and would consider myself well off. Perfect solution for someone with anxiety but its been a struggle.

Every fear I have is relating to a heart attack. I've had lots of tests, all fine, but it don't cure the root cause. It's because I have palpations, daily, some are pretty bad. Some make you jolt upright and you think it's game over (literally, even someone without anxiety would think the same).

Anxiety has probably rewired my wires and caused me to have PAC's, or maybe I'm sensitive to foods, probably need more sleep, or need to exercise more. I guess its the same for most of us.

I will cut the long post here. Just wanted to say thanks.