Talk me through a panic attack

[oversharingparents]

I'm in a situation I can't leave for another 80 mins , uni lecture . Having a silent panic attack and feeling of impending doom. Don't know how to control it. Room is too hot. Im normally able to get over it but this is strong this time.

It cannot last forever! There will be an end to this panick attack and you can manage

*panic attack

The heating is on full blast which isn't helping at all , too sticky. It'll last whole two hours knowing me.

Can you tell us 5 things you can see, 5 things you can hear and 5 things you can feel?

Can see slideshow , my classmate, my bag, my hoodie, my phone , Netflix on ,y laptop, the lecturer

Can hear my classmate whispering, lecturer, a car, fan, class,ate laughing

Can feel my fingers, fan, heat, floor spongy, my foot tense

Stomach breathe slowly. It helps to avoid hyperventilating.

Distract yourself. Sing all the lyrics of in your head.

Strangely, talk to your autonomic nervous system. Panic attacks come from an over stimulated fight or flight response - your body thinks you're in danger and is trying to help. Thank your ANS and tell it you've got it from here.

Good luck

Think of 5 things you can see
4things you can touch
3 things you can hear
2 things you can smell
1 thing you can taste

I agree with talking to it, works for me too.

“Thanks for letting me know you think I’m in danger, but really I’m not. Everything is ok. I’m ok. No danger here”

Breathe in through the nose, two, three and gently out through the mouth, two three.

If nothing changes in 15-20 minutes get out of the situation, go to the loo or step outside for a breath of fresh air, but do make sure you return once you've calmed down.

Great advice on here OP. Hope you feel better soon x

That's 25 minutes gone already.

The relentless march of time means that this has to end and it will.

There is no threat here.

Keep saying that to yourself, over and over.

Go through the alphabet and say something for every letter that's to do with a certain subject. Eg food, Christmas, things in the room.

I found the biggest thing that helped me get over my panic attacks was to stop trying to hide them.

I started to tell everyone about them, and gradually as I stopped feeling that I had to control them, they faded away. The fear of trying to "look normal" made them worse.

You probably can't start with that in a lecture today, but next time - tell the lecturer in advance that you are having panic attacks and you might need to leave. You'll probably find then that you actually won't.

I gave myself a way get out from every situation that was triggering (sit by the door, end of a row etc etc) and told all my friends. The less I tried to control it, the better I got and the easier things were.

Your Uni will help if you seek the support out too.

I gave myself a way get out from every situation that was triggering (sit by the door, end of a row etc etc)

^

This. Absolutely this.

One of the biggest triggers of my panic attacks is the feeling of not being able to leave a room / place / situation easily. I know will always make sure I have an easy exit route, and if I need to then I tell people I'd prefer to sit near the door / on the end of the row. I don't broadcast it, but I don't hide it either.

Hope you're feeling better now, OP.

*I now will always

Breathing nice and steady there OP.

Is anyone there that you can tell in case you fit or black out? A friend close by?

Do you wear a medical bracelet with a contact number on if you can’t speak?

Is anyone there that you can tell in case you fit or black out?

^ The chances of this happening during a panic attack are extremely slim.

Focus on breathing, one breath at a time. Stop thinking about the bigger picture if you can.

Something that works for me is staring and focussing on a particular feature in a room (eg, a notice on the wall, a brick, a light) and just thinking about that.

firedupp - Isn’t that what a panic attack is?

More importantly - how are you OP?

Blacking out and / or fitting? No, that's not a panic attack.

firedupp - well they are all different I suppose. That’s what happens to me. The most important thing is that OP can get herself into a safe space when it happens.

Are you ok OP? Hoping the panic is passing.