Panic attack and plane

[Ahmed]

Dear friends, here i come after disappearing for 2 years without a panic attack. Yet.... it comes again and i really and begging for your help.

I was flying back home yesterday and the flight was only for 2 hours, i was cool and calm till the air turbulence hit us and here suddenly i started sweating and going from my seat to the toilet, crying badly in the toilet and simply going back to my seat and again to the toilet and so on. I handled it and i was lucky not to have a panic attack scene.

The thing is, when i left the plane, i felt my stomach upset, and my whole body that is weak, even my legs cant carry me no more. I went home, i tried to eat but i couldn't. I woke up this morning breathless, i feel like i cannot breath no more and i felt my world is ending. Even when i stood up to have fresh air from the balcony i felt as if dizzy and would faint.

Please tell me it is only the symptoms and it will go away

Ahmed

[LauraJF]

I'm sorry you had a difficult flight yesterday Ahmed.

It is only the symptoms and you will feel better. Be patient with yourself. Even people that don't suffer from an anxiety disorder find turbulence difficult to handle.

You might feel a bit of anxiety for a while but it definitely will pass, it always does.


Laura

Dear friends, here i come after disappearing for 2 years without a panic attack. Yet.... it comes again and i really and begging for your help.

I was flying back home yesterday and the flight was only for 2 hours, i was cool and calm till the air turbulence hit us and here suddenly i started sweating and going from my seat to the toilet, crying badly in the toilet and simply going back to my seat and again to the toilet and so on. I handled it and i was lucky not to have a panic attack scene.

The thing is, when i left the plane, i felt my stomach upset, and my whole body that is weak, even my legs cant carry me no more. I went home, i tried to eat but i couldn't. I woke up this morning breathless, i feel like i cannot breath no more and i felt my world is ending. Even when i stood up to have fresh air from the balcony i felt as if dizzy and would faint.

Please tell me it is only the symptoms and it will go away

Ahmed

[Ahmed]

Heyn Laura,

I thank you for replying me with such a calm answer. But if I may ask one question please, how long would it take to have the panic attack symptoms fade away? Again, sorry I am asking this, but it is kind of hard to remember the symptoms when my last episode was two years ago.

Kind and best regards,

Ahmed...

[LongingForSunrise]

It depends on the intensity of attack and the thoughts that follow. It might take a little bit longer if you haven't had an attack for two years, it'll come like a surprise and it may of course stay a little bit longer because you haven't experienced one for a long time.

I got a panic attack on a plane once, but I didn't have panic attack disorder back then. The turbulence was so heavy when we were to land I thought everything would fall apart. And the plane was going UP and down and turned and the nose was tilted very low. It was like going on a rollercoaster, my stomach had butterflies and I sat like glued to the chair. It took about 3-4 days before I was mentally out of it, but still had this feeling inside of me.

And now I'm a little bit scared of flying. But I've read a lot about the mechanics and it made me a little bit more at ease.

And hey, you're back down!

[Kaato]

When I was younger (teens) I used to LOVE flying, I had no anxiety issues, I genuinely thought I was immortal.

Now I can't even imagine getting on a plane, even though I'll have to again one day. This is what anxiety preys on, your mortality, fear feeds on your doubts, most people develop anxiety/panic due to a traumatic event, it's this trauma that makes you AWARE of how fragile you are.

You had a traumatic experience thousands of feet in the air, you would have to goto space to be farther away from civilisation, planes are an ultimate test for anxiety - you did very well considering you didn't have a huge panic attack in front of everyone.

The problem you're having now though is the aftermath, anxiety will always accompany an issue - it's never there for no reason, something about what happened on the plane is bothering you, are you worried about flying in the future? are you ashamed of yourself? do you think you handled it badly? are you upset because after 2 years of being panic-free you had another episode?

These things can really lower a persons spirits, but these trials are a part of life, you're stronger than you think you are, and as soon as you stop giving yourself such a hard time, and the sooner you realise how strong you ACTUALLY are - the sooner you will start to feel better.

Don't let the fear control you, you can rise above it, you've already proven it to yourself.

Take care.

[LongingForSunrise]

I flew two times this weekend. 4 hours flying.

The first flight really made my heart beat superfast. I looked at the plane and started to imagine all the things, but I'm more afraid of freaking out on the plain and the sensations that arises when the pressure changes.

But I made it! I was soaked in my sweat when I arrived, both times, but I smiled like I had won a million when I got of the plane.

I actually spent 4 days in Belgium all by myself, and on a big festival. I had a panic attack the last morning, but only really fast heart beat - no feelings of fear, just that it was uncomfortable.