Panic attack - aibu to post here for traffic

[2004pickle]

I’m having a huge panic attack about something to do with work. I can’t sleep and I am so overwhelmed I can’t breath. If anyone is awake please can you keep me company. I’ve just taken propanalol but I am have to be up in 3 hours for work and get to dc to school. I’m panicking over a decision I made which might not be the right one. It might be easy to rectify tomorrow but right now I can’t cope and am so anxious it’s unbelievable :-(
(Background- I’m having trauma and anxiety treatment. It’s going well but it’s hard work and my work aren’t aware).

Sorry you're having such a rough night.

Remember that panic feels overwhelming and scary but it can't hurt you. It's adrenaline in the body. These feelings will pass. Don't fight them, just let it wash over you. It can't hurt you and it will pass. You won't be in a headspace to be able to think through anything in a balanced or helpful way right now, so try to give yourself something else to focus on, to direct your attention away from the panicky feelings while they're subsiding.

Try the 54321 grounding technique:
Name 5 things you can see right now
4 things you can touch
3 things you can hear
2 things you can smell
1 positive thing about you

Remind yourself these feelings will pass. It's adrenaline in the body. It can't hurt you.

Try to direct your attention towards something else a book, audio book, a magazine, tv, etc. Have a glass of water or a cup of tea and focus on the sensation of that.

Once you're feeling calmer just focus on allowing yourself to rest, rather than trying to force sleep. Hope you feel better soon.

Thank you so much. That was exactly what I needed to read.

Hello. Hope you’re doing ok.

Can you distract yourself with:

A nice cup of tea
A tasty little snack
A good book
The blackhead video in Sporner’s Corner
Soft music on your headphones?

The 54321 thingy mentioned above sounds good.

Have you any aromatherapy oils nearby that you can sniff?

Panic is so horrible, and when you’re in it, any suggestions can sound so trite. The lack of sleep makes it all seem so much worse.

I hope everything goes ok tomorrow (well, today).

I believe 3am is supposed to be one of the very worse times for these feelings. You have my sympathy, nothing is more horrible than waking up with the sudden stunning remembering of what 'went wrong' and because it's only 3am there is nothing you can do but worry yourself silly!

Distraction is the only answer. I once cleaned my oven on a similar night! OK so I wasn't very popular with the rest of the family who I woke up... Then I used to make bread, which was a sure fire way of guaranteeing I would fall asleep while waiting for it to rise.

If it's any consolation you will look back on this tomorrow evening and realise that it was all a storm in a teacup and not worth losing sleep over.

Do the 54321 thing, curl up in your favourite chair and I bet you will doze off. One of my favourite tricks is to go through the alphabet and see how many girls or boys names you can think of for each letter; I rarely get past 'J' (have you any idea how many names start with a J?)

Hope you feel better and less stressed soon.

Often the anticipation is worse than the reality turns out to be.

For now, just try and stay as calm as you can, deep breathing, close your eyes.

My aromatherapist gave me rosemary oil he said it is excellent for panic attacks, sniffing for a few seconds halts the production of the chemicals. Found it to be really effective xx

I fell asleep somewhere between 4 and 5 but I’d been awake since 2.
Being unwell with anxiety is so awful and I just want to feel normal again. The therapy is working but on a day to day basis I’m worse as I process the trauma (which isn’t just one event and is complicated).
Thank you for making last night less horrendous. It was my worst panic attack I think but also my first one in a couple of weeks. The beta blockers work like a dream!

I will definitely try rosemary oil.

I now have to go to work, try to address the problem I was panicking about and somehow function for a whole day exhausted.
I thought about telling work but for various reasons I haven’t, although I am well supported by a handful of people I trust and can be honest with.

Glad you were able to get to sleep eventually OP. Hope today goes well for you.

If there is someone you can tell at work then I would. Panic attacks are classed as a mental health issue and as such reasonable adjustments should be made at work to help you with that - for example a slight reducing in workload or additional support on tasks. If you feel it will he counted against you then I understand not saying anything.

I bet you’re shattered. Best of luck today.

I managed to work ok today and I think I sorted the problem I had been so anxious about. I told one of my friends (at work) about last night and she was lovely.
I’m having ongoing treatment for trauma and anxiety but have decided not to tell work on advice of a senior colleague / friend about stigma and judgment in the work place :-(