Constant Panic Attacks

[georgiemeredith]

Hi all. After some comfort I guess in that I’m not alone with this and that it’s happened to others.

Recently on sporadic occasions I’ve been having (what I think) are god awful panic attacks. I’ve always suffered with anxiety but this is something else.

They come out of absolutely nowhere. I felt the start of one yesterday at like 1pm, and it’s still going on today. Nowhere near as strong as they were yesterday but still bad. Every so often I get these “brain zaps” where I feel like I’m getting a mini electric shock. I literally feel like I’m dying, that’s the foremost thought in my head. I cannot stress that enough. When I felt one come on yesterday I hugged my children so tightly because I thought it was the end.

My whole body feels like it’s tingling, my chest goes super tight, I feel like I’m having an out of body experience, my head hurts and my breathing goes funny, it’s so frightening. I’ve been so close to calling an ambulance out of pure panic because all I feel is that I’m about to drop dead.

Has this ever happened to anyone else? I know this isn’t a page full of medical professionals and I have considered calling 111, but I worry that they’ll think I’m overreacting if it’s all just anxiety? Is this ever going to stop?

It all just feels so horrible, and I’ve cried writing this because I’m still not convinced that I’m not about to drop dead. I’ve never been scared like this before, I just want to try and live normally but I can’t, just sitting in fear of another wave just coming in out of nowhere, I hope I don’t sound stupid, I’m just absolutely terrified.

Yes....I have felt this. Try this book "self help for your nerves " Dr Claire weekes

They are terrifying but this book saved me. Don't be afraid to send your gp..if only to rule out anything physical

See not send

Thank you, I'll have a look for that.

Just every little thing that I feel, whether it's from a sneeze to a palpitation I'm convinced it's something to do with my heart and I'm about to kick the bucket :(

Sounds like health anxiety.

Firstly, recognise you are doing this to yourself. This isn't an outside source that is doing this. It's not a monster, it's simply you. Slow the breathing down and distract yourself.

Cbt might be helpful. Don't let it continue as it could get worse.

Hello! I get this too, and I’ve got agoraphobia. Feel free to send me a direct message if you want to chat more.

I find that a panic attack can suddenly ‘wash over me’ if that makes sense, and it feels like impending doom, and like something absolutely awful is about to happen. I now try to stay in the situation and allow the panic attack or anxiety to go through the motions and just let it be there. It gets worse if you try to fight it as that initiates your body’s ‘fight or flight’ response which releases a lot of cortisol and adrenaline. Try to let the panic or anxiety ‘be’ until it subsides. I hope that helps!

I still get panic/anxiety every day but I’m working on it, and I’ve had CBT sessions which help me
understand more about my body’s responses and why my body is misjudging the situation and thinking I’m in danger when I’m not!

I used to gey this every night. Propranolol is the only thing that stopped it x

Obviously you need to get to the bottom of why these are happening with some professional support (can you self refer or get your GP to refer you to your local IAPT service?), but in the meantime I found the following helped me tremendously when I had panic disorder (almost constant attacks):

• Binaural Beats, you just need your phone and some headphones, there are loads of playlists on YouTube/Spotify etc. I used to listen to them as soon as I started to feel a panic attack brewing. They reduced the intensity and eventually stopped the attacks in their tracks.
• Following guided meditation specifically for anxiety and panic attacks. This was great for reducing their frequency as it taught me to "ride the wave" of the symptoms and accept them - which resulted in them reducing in frequency significantly.

They are horrendous things - I truly sympathise

(oh yeah, and propranolol helped too!)

I've had panic attacks. They're horrible. In Scotland if you call 111 there's an option for mental health. There's probably the same elsewhere. Open 24/7.
Or there's a charity that has a text service called SHOUT.
Hope you get help.

Have a look at this video on panic attacks;