Weird panic attack

[Fedupandstressed]

Just pondering about an incident a few weeks ago. In London for my birthday for a few days and we got the train to Euston and then the underground

However I could not get on the escalator with my suitcase. I just froze and had to move back to let others through. DH had just whizzed on and not noticed. A really nice lady then helped taking my bag for me. DH was waiting at the bottom, having finally noticed I wasn’t behind him.

I’ve always been a bit iffy about down escalators but this was sheer panic that I would fall or get stuck or something. DH took my bag the rest of the time and I was fine on my own.

I’ve never felt anything like it though, even when a car I was in flipped and rolled.

Just hoping it doesn’t get worse!

Prior to your trip OP, you likely had plenty of time to think about how you would have to use the down escalator, whilst not having your hands-free, at some point getting to your destination.

I find that the more head space you give a fear, pondering all the possibilities that play into your fears, the worse the fear becomes.

Then, when you actually come face to face with it, in a crowd where people are pushing impatiently behind you, and there's no time or room ,the more panic sets in.

I thoroughly understand your fear of losing your balance and pitching forward on the escalator whilst carrying your luggage.

If you don't routinely use escalators then you end up not just fearing the experience next time, but also having the panic attack again, which is just as frightening.

When your car flipped that would have been terrifying, but likely happened quickly and unexpectedly with no time to think about it.

Now that your DH knows your fears I'm sure he'd make sure you had your hands free next time OP.

I hate escalators and will go out of my way to find a lift (not too keen on them either) or stairs. I've also had a panic attack that came from absolutely nowhere - it wasn't escalator related - in fact there seemed to be no trigger whatsoever and I'd never had one before. I was 50 at the time and I thought I was having a heart attack. My only advice is not to dwell on it. Mitigate the possibility of falling next time you use an escalator and just take your time, don't feel pressured.