Does this sound like panic attacks?

[Gremlingirl]

Recently - probably the last couple of months - I have started to get a truly horrible feeling when I'm sometimes queuing in the supermarket or somewhere else with a longish wait standing still.
At first I thought it might be low blood pressure or feeling faint with not having eaten, but I'm beginning to think it might be something coming from inside my head, rather than a physical thing.
I start to feel a bit sick walking round then, in the queue, my heart starts pounding so I can hear it in my ears and I feel like I might faint or, at best, that I really have to sit down or get out of the shop. My head feels hot and strange and my hands shake a bit.
I'm not sure if it is anxiety because I've shopped for years without any problems (!) but life is particularly stressy at the moment.
If it is anxiety or panic, does anyone have any experience of it or suggestions as to what to do. Am open to pretty much anything to knock it on the head!

It could be either. Panic tends to make you need to get out/run away and not to be too crude but you need the toilet fast and tend to sweat lots.

Its sounds like anxiety which is more heightened alertness but freezing. Unable to move or escape.

Both can be brought on by prolonged stress.

As to how you fix it well you need to chill out if you can. Take some stress out of your life and look after your needs. When it begins to happen don't be afraid of it, this can make it worse but remind yourself that your perfectly fine, there is nothing to be afraid of and its just a feeling that will pass. If it continues to get worse you may need to see a gp or counsellor.

Sounds like on. Sounds like the shop is a trigger for anxiety. Does standing still give you too much time to think on problems, do you use busyness as a way to not deal with things?

I am often rushing around like a loon, that's true. A couple more questions if I may - will the horrid, heart pounding, dizzy feeling actually make me faint in public, which would be my biggest fear? And what would a GP actually do for me? Would they just think I was a bit bonkers and needed to man up and stop threatening to faint in the supermarket?

If the pounding dizzy thing is a panic attack ( I would advise gp, to check general health) you will not die, even though it feels like it. I had a mother of one, I collapsed, but then managed to drive home.

Have also been to a and e, right in the middle of one, had ecg, other tests, all normal .

A gp would check for other things to rule out possible physical causes. If clear then it would be acknowledged a emotional/mental cause. To be fair they can give drugs depending on how bad they are.

In your case I would do a bit of reworking of your busyness, to have some time for reflection, build in some time to think, write things down. If they carry on get to gp.

I am not medical, just been having the buggers for 30 yrs.

Thank you for all the help riprap. The idea of having these for 30 years is terrifying. How do you manage?

RE: fainting. If the cause is anxiety it will be causing your heartrate and blood pressure to climb so the opposite of the causes of fainting which is usually triggered by a sudden dip in blood pressure. The sensation of pressure in your head is very similar, but you won't faint. Try and tell yourself that. It is normal anxiety. It is a healthy response to stress and it will always stop.

As for the GP, I think RipRap's advice is good. The first step should be trying to reduce stress in other areas of your life. If that works great.

Psychological therapies can help if you feel there is something deeper going on, or you simply cannot destress. Sometimes the fear of the fear becomes the problem so the anxiety builds and builds and gets worse, especially if specific unavoidable situations like supermarkets tend to trigger it. In these cases a GP may offer meds as a way of providing short-term relief (beta-blockers or very low dose benzodiazepines) to take very occasionally to provide symptomatic relief. These will make you feel calm as fuck and just knowing you have the option of taking one can make it easier to handle the stressful situation even if you never actually take one.

If the anxiety is more persistent some anti-depressants can be helpful over the medium to long-term but they take a while to work. And that doesn't sound like what you are dealing with.

A GP definitely won't think you need to man up. I'm not sure what the lifetime incidence of anxiety and panic symptoms are, but it is probably close to 100% and they are very very treatable. They will be happy to help.

(I'm not a GP btw, had a fair bit of anxiety after epileptic seizures in my case, but it is very managable because I know what it is, can tell myself to stay calm, and know I am fundamentally OK, it does feel pretty grim though so sympathies.)

www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/resources/consumers.cfm

The above is a psychotherapy website. It's very good and could help you to understand what's going on and gives suggestions to help cope.

I am currently on day 5 of non stop anxiety. My poor DH, Xmas has been awful. I have them from young, brought on by abuse and neglect. Lots and lots of fear. I just had two good years, no Meds, then kaboom.

Don't fight attacks, stop and let them take their course.

If I feel one coming and I am driving and it's difficult, I will say 'if your coming lets get it over with', it often then aborts. I sound like a nut!

'I sound like a nut!'

No you don't. You sound like someone who is kind and has a clear insight into a crappy illness. I hope you feel calmer again soon.

Each time I was pregnant I would wake up short of breath feeling like the baby was squashing me and I would have to go stand on the garden for a few minutes in e night to calm down, assumed it was just due to restricted lungs etc etc
But recently I have been getting them often in the night. For example last night the electric went out just as we were going to bed, it was still off about half hour later when I fell asleep, I woke up about an hour later unable to breath and had to run outside to get some air, the thought of the electric still being off really freaked me out. I have had the same thing with no apparent cause.

We live in another country and DH is away with work for eight months, which is a worry in itself as he's in a sandy place and there are some not very nice people there (if you get my drift!).
I suppose my big dread is that I keel over somewhere and can't look after the children, as our family are all back in the UK. Logically, I know friends or someone from DHs work would look after them but I can't seem to shake the stress of it. It's scary how many people seem to have something like this but encouraging that there are ways of dealing with it.

It might be worth reading about POTS - postural orthostatic tachicardia syndrome which can give similar symptoms of near or full on fainting when upright, especially when standing or sitting still. I have POTs and it is more troublesome in the mornings. I can reduce the symptoms by drinking lots of water, pumping my feet up and down when sitting, or otherwise wriggling about, or clenching my bum muscles when standing. I don't think it has any association with anxiety, but may be wrong. Mine was set off after illness.

It's a very shallow interpretation, but maybe the fact that you have to wait in a slow queue makes you feel powerless, or maybe wasting time, and then this takes over you? On a bad day I can get quite nervous stuck in a queue. Feel free to ignore this :)

Gremlingirl, it sounds like a panic attack.
Look at all the factors that are worrying you.
Young DC's
Long way from home
Husband in a sandy place, etc.etc.
(I've just come back from a long overseas stay so I know that can be unsettling).
You are on overload. The other posters have all given you sound advice.
You need to offload any unnecessary stress, google relaxation techniques and seek medical help if it all gets too much.
In the short term, it's unlikely you will keel over, but you will have to develop the practice of being very kind to yourself and taking deep breaths and maybe even finding a seat or a cuppa if you feel yourself getting dizzy or over stressed.
It's even a good thing to find out that we are all vulnerable at times!
It won't go on for thirty years because your circumstances will change and you won't feel so overwhelmed as the DC's get older and your DH won't be in foreign parts. Things will get better, but right now you need to recognise the stress and offload as much as possible.