Panic Attacks:

[Walkingdead28]

I just want to know if there is anyone like me i feel so alone and hopeless.

Unfortunatly i suffer from severe panic attacks for the last year when i get them they can last 5 hours , ive also got a child with autism which is a struggle when i have depression and anxiety , on good days im ok when there bad its bad.

I know there is no cure but i just want to be ok i feel such a burdan thank you .

Hi OP, so sorry to hear you’re going through this!

I have been having episodes of panic this year (having prior to that gone 10 years without a panic attack) and fully empathise as it is a HORRIBLE experience.

On holiday in the summer I had a moment of dizziness (possibly caused by anemia, subsequently diagnosed) which triggered a panic attack lasting hours and then recurring over the whole holiday. I’ve then been getting episodes of panic since (I feel like since it happened I’m hyper aware of my body and seem to tune more easily back into that sensation).

There are things you can do which I’ve found helpful. Exercise generally is good for anxiety and managing stress (including on a physical level - it lifts those sensations so you get some relief), and when it’s actually happening I find breathing into a paper bag really helpful (I think it does something to regulate the balance of co2 in your blood which gets thrown off when hyperventilating). Another good one is to look at your shoe (or some other object) and study it in detail, noticing the curve of your laces, the way the eyelets shine, etc., as if you were going to draw it. Something that engages your frontal cortex with tasks needing logic and reasoning - so playing online chess for example or a puzzle or crossword - can also help pull you out of panic mode and take your body out of a fight or flight state.

It sounds like you are managing a lot, do you have any support at the moment? You’ve done the right thing by reaching out!! There are definitely things that can be done to treat and ease panic and anxiety and they can go away entirely. You will not be stuck feeling like this forever.

Sending a big hug and moral support!!

Thank you so much for your kind message , sounds like you are going through a rough time too sorry to hear about it.

Yes I do need to excersize sorry about spellings im dyslexic as ill admit i dont often so will try to a bit more thank you.

I did not know about the paper bag so I will deffo try that , with support mostly my partner hes been my rock through this difficult time just hard if you have a panic attack and hes at work but i totally understand he needs to I had to give my part time job up .I find drawing really helps so might do more of that i just find panic attacks so draining and general anxiety but i do try to stay positive as much as i can. Sending hugs back

I lived with dreadful panic and had done for 5years until I read Paul David 'At Last a Life'.
It's not a 'fix' and it doesn't claim to be but just reading the author's own experience and realizing I wasn't alone made a huge difference to me.
I still have anxiety but it's nowhere near as debilitating as it was.