Got trapped on a tube in London and had a huge panic attack

[Drupie]

I'm feeling so embarrassed and upset by what's happened. I've come to London for work and I'm not used to the tube. It stopped in a tunnel and I hate that as have a fear of being tapped in and don't know why. I tried to stay calm but was trapped for about 40 minutes and if was so hot. I stared to feel as though I was going to pass out and had a big panic attack and other commuters had to give me water and try and calm me down. I am now so ashamed and embarrassed and need to know how to stop this fear ruining my life.

40 minutes is a long time to be stuck on the tube even when the weather is normal, in heat like this it must have been awful. I have been close to having panic attacks on the tube to the point where have had to get off and I have lived in London a long time. Now I just don't travel on it in the rush hour and get the bus instead. It's nothing to be embarrassed about OP .

My fitbit has a relax breathing exercise setting for 2 or 5 minutes, when I had to go on the tube unexpectedly after planning to avoid it, doing that got my pulse down from way way too high back to reasonable.

It's not rare, so most commuters will have seen it happen before. Don't worry, honestly.

People helped you. Remember that. There are always people who help.

Nothing to be embarrassed about, be glad people helped you.

I remember getting faint/nauseous on a packed tube once. It got so bad I had to crouch on the floor. I was in the middle of the seated bit, lots of seated people saw that I was faint, pale, sweating but no one helped or offered their seat

Don't be embarrassed. I had a big panic attack on a flight a couple of weeks ago. The staff noticed came to see what was wrong and everyone was turning round to look at me. They had to take me to the back of the plane to help me calm down and I was mortified but they were really lovely. People want to help when someone is struggling.
I hope you're feeling better now.

Nothing to be ashamed of at all. I would have freaked out!

Glad the people were nice to you.

Thank you all so much. I now have to try and keep it in perspective but the whole incident has hugely upset me. I really appreciate your reassurance.

Please don't feel embarrassed, I absolutely promise you that you are not the first nor the last....I'm a seasoned tube user (loved in N London all my life) and have seen many many people have panic attacks especially when the tube is caught in a tunnel...I hate it and I'm used to it!

Hope you're feeling better and again, please don't be embarrassed xx

Oh you poor thing
Don't be embarrassed, I've lived in London all my life
We all know the fear and quite likely have had the experience
I have to commute but basically never tube in on a day that it's not essential
I hope you feel better

You poor thing. It's true, though - I'm a lifelong Londoner and I assure you that people having panic attacks on the tube isn't unusual. (And many more of us are only just holding it together!)

Give yourself a hug.

Chloe that's awful
I would have cleared the place for you, believe me. Everyone I know woukd have, I'm so sorry you only had arses in your carriage.

As others have said, this isn't that uncommon in the situation you were in. Don't feel bad about it. If this is the only situation where this has ever happened or come close to happening and you don't need to ride on the tube to make your life easier, then you don't necessarily have to deal with it. If you only come into London occasionally you can use the buses and taxis to get around. But if you get anxious about the thought of tunnels in general or the tube is the only practical solution much of the time and you will need to do it again then you might want to explore some CBT to help you cope and a structured approach to building up your tolerance and practicing techniques for being in that situation. Possibly your work will pay for a therapist if it will help you be more effective.

I travel on the tube every day, in this hot weather I feel close to a panic attack, it's horrible. Nothing to be embarrassed about by the way, I gave water to distressed people twice in the past couple of days, it happens more often than you think.

I have a fear of being trapped, anything like the tube or being on a plane sets it off. 2 weeks ago I had hypnotherapy and it's life changing, I flew last week and instead of being strung out I had only the tiniest amount of anxiety.
I can't recommend it enough £105 for a 2 hour session & it worked in one go.

Drupie you poor thing, hope you're ok now. It's nothing to be embarrassed about, it happens.

Chloe I saw a woman on the train hyperventilating and crying she was doubled over, I asked if she was ok and if she needed to sit then pretty much demanded the nearest person seated let her sit down. The person moved, I don't normally ask, if it had been for me I'd have suffered in silence and have sat on the floor due to feeling faint in the past but for someone else I could easily ask.

I hate the Tube. I passed out on it once in the heat when I was commuting and pregnant. Luckily I was already sitting down so I just sort of slumped over in my seat. Fortunately somebody noticed and people were very nice, got me off at the next stop, gave me water etc.

I love visiting London as a tourist but we tend to stay centrally and walk everywhere.

Don't be embarrassed, I promise you you're not the only one Ned in this heat I can completely understand as will the other commuters.
Take care and don't be so hard on yourself chicken.

You poor sausage.

Look, other tube users took it in their stride and helped you. They didn't back away like you were some kind of weirdo because you're not.
What happened was a normal physical reaction to extreme stress. They knew it. We know it. It can happen to anyone at all.

Please be kind to yourself. :)

Thank you Slimthistime and fuzzywuzzy, think I was just unlucky. But at least it's made me sensitive to other people suffering.

It's funny how we can ask for others, but suffer in silence for ourselves.

Please don't feel bad. It nearly happened to me Saturday evening & I am a lifelong tube traveler. The train had only stopped for 5 mins but it was so bloody hot, I felt like I couldn't breathe & as soon as the doors opened I bolted off the tube & out of the station 10 stops from where I was meant to get off. If I had stayed a minute longer, In sureI would of had a panic attack too. Sending you big hugs

Ah Drupie, so sorry this happened to you . If you can, and I know it'll be hard, get back on another tube again ASAP. Believe me, I know how rubbish panic attacks are, been there got the tshirt, but the key is to not let it defeat you. Face your fear front on, exposure etc.

I had a massive, totally out of the blue, PA on a plane years ago. Haven't flown since. It triggered a fear of feeling enclosed ( particularly if me escaping embarrassed myself or annoyed others ) but with perseverance it's got better and now I can deal with certain situations with minimal anxiety

Might try hypnotherapy for the flying though after reading someone's experience up the thread!

Wishing you lots of luck Drupie, you can do this

Hi OP, I'm so sorry you had this experience today. As PP have said, most Londoners have a) seen someone have a panic attack, b) come close to having a panic attack when trapped, c) are more than happy to help when someone is struggling. (Chloe had an exceptionally nasty experience )

If you feel able to, can you post where / when your next tube journey is due to be? I'd be more than happy to come and travel with you and give you some support if I can. I have chronic anxiety and had panic attacks for years so do understand the feeling of stigma

I really don't think you should feel embarrassed or ashamed, you poor thing. It's not exactly unusual or weird to have a panic attack when you're trapped in the boiling heat underground for 40 minutes. I once got trapped in a lift and the same thing happened to me. Also as a seasoned Londoner i can tell you I've seen people have panic attacks many times on the tube - it's much much more common than you think! And I have so much sympathy.

Poor you. I used to live in London and if the tube was stuck for 40 minutes, I would have panicked too, especially on a hot day. I'm glad people helped you.

I remember once on the tube, I saw a woman pass out. Everyone rushed to help her - someone gave her a tissue, someone gave her water, someone else picked her up, someone offered her some chocolate, and many people asked if she was ok. When she got to her stop, a young couple helped her off and said they would walk her to her door. Everyone around was saying 'oh, I hope she is ok'. I didn't hear a single word of her being stupid or weak or anything, just everyone hoping she was fine.

It was really nice to see everyone help out, and I'm sure people thought the same about you today.