Had what I think was a panic attack while on holiday

[LookItsMeAgain]

I'll start this off by saying that ever since I was a kid I have had a fear of heights. I don't like open back stairs, stairs that you can see through the step to what's happening below, glass sided lifts and escalators or this current architectural fashion to make everything out of glass so light travels through it better.

Over the years I've had a few health issues - perforated eardrum (it's happened twice to the same ear, several years apart), a slip in work in which I tore ligaments in my foot.

Apart from those issues, I have so far lead a healthy-ish (diet could do with improving) kind of life.

I'm saying the above so that you have as full a picture as possible.

I was out with family doing a walk on an elevated platform (so approximately the height of the upstairs bedroom windows/roof in a two storey house) and the platform was secure and loads of people were walking on it so it wasn't likely to fall or break. The platform has existed long before I got to it and will continue to be used. Lots of sections had established trees and plants on both sides so it wasn't as obvious where you were in relation to what was going on below.

I got to a section of this platform that essentially formed a bridge over the road below and this section was more open on both sides, very few plants/trees. I immediately became acutely aware of how high up I was. My family was walking behind me so I was alone in that respect. I panicked and I got very upset. I was very emotional. I froze for a second, then turned around and basically walked as fast as I could to a family member and I felt really shaken up. We made our way off the platform and when I was back to street level, I noticed that on both sides of my face along my jaw it felt very tingly.

Having never experienced anything like this - was this a panic attack? Would you recommend that I see my GP about it.

I don't know if it's related to my eardrum issue (could affect balance) or my weaker ankle or something entirely unrelated to these former issues. It shook me up and it took a good 40 mins to 1 hour to get back to my previous composed self.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading this (I didn't realise that it was as long as it is). 😊

Sounds like vertigo to me

I have a fear of heights and have also had panic attacks. When I'm up high (it sounds stupid but even when I'm standing on a chair, for example), I can't really move properly and when I look down the floor/ ground appears much further away than it actually is. I also shake until I'm back on the floor/ground and feel really dizzy/weird for a period of time afterwards.
When I have panic attacks, it's a very different sensation. I initially get what I can only describe as an 'impending sense of doom' - as in, I feel as though I'm going to die or something very very bad is about to happen. Then I get hit with a wave of devastation /upset / distress that causes basically inconsolable crying and a feeling of being not me. I don't feel like myself and I can't get the feeling of me back, which makes me panic more. Eventually I start calming down, my breathing and heart rate both slow down but the feeling of not being me persists for a while. It does come back eventually and I have an overwhelming sense of relief.
I have never been to the GP for either of these things as I feel fine in between times so don't really see the point.

Yes it could very well be vertigo. I have it and I had exactly the same feeling while walking across a pedestrian bridge over the motorway. I literally had to close my eyes and hold on to the sides until I got across. It was a dreadful, awful feeling, like the bridge would collapse into the traffic. I know completely what you mean.

My vertigo has improved a lot and I can now cross that bridge with little trouble, so I'd suggest it was not a panic attack, but a disorientated feeling that vertigo can often bring on. Hope you are ok now.

Thank you all for sharing your situations with me. It does help.
I'm fine now but I felt really foolish and silly when so many people were walking without issue on this platform and I was really distressed and upset.

I was in a shopping centre later on and there was a walkway that was about 20 feet wide from side to side and about 50 feet long, but on both sides had glass panels and I felt that I needed to hold my daughter's hand getting across it.

It freaked me out.

What you're describing doesn't sound like a panic attack, but a normal reaction to a situation which makes you feel afraid. It's probably a combination of vertigo and an adrenaline rush. You would know if it was an actual panic attack; they often happen suddenly and without warning. Contrary to popular belief they're not the result of feeling anxious or 'getting in a flap' about something. The best way I can describe it is a sense of overwhelming dread that slowly grips your whole body. It's like a mixture of being at the top of a large rollercoaster before it's about to drop, just being given news that a loved one has died, being trapped in a dark box and getting chased by a lion. The body reacts accordingly.

I had my only ever panic attack half way up the Wallace monument. Never suffered from vertigo, never had been afraid of heights. It hit me bam! Out of the blue. Exactly as @Vincitveritas describes, utter doom and dread.

I genuinely thought I was going to die, and as it began to fade it started up again when I thought that the only way out of the building was back down the narrow stone spiral staircase. I had to hold on to the floor to crawl to a little mezzanine gallery so I wasn’t blocking everyone else.

@ShadowoftheFall That sounds awful. They really can be incredibly debilitating when experienced frequently. I've had panic attacks while relaxing in front of the TV, eating dinner, driving, shopping, out with friends, reading in bed. Even thinking or talking about them was enough at one point. I've contemplated suicide so I don't have to feel those things any longer. Most people don't realise what it's like.

@Vincitveritas Oh my goodness! That must be awful. I sincerely hope I never experience another. I still have no idea what caused it. I hope you can find a solution.

Thank you Shadow, it's a lot better now, antidepressants and diazepam took the edge off it and I was slowly able to get my life back x

It does sound like vertigo. I had something similar when DP and I walked/crawled up a steep slope to the top of a mountain (Lake District). When I turned round to come down I was completely frozen and couldn't do it. Just couldn't look down, crying, etc but obviously I was still feet on the ground. Lovely DP just helped me down backwards! (Must have looked hilarious to others).

Coming back to this thread...

Yesterday I was out in a shopping centre and the escalator to go up was static (just not turned on, no one was working on it or doing repairs) and the escalator has glass panels under the rubber handrail thing. I'd like to say that I've been in this shopping centre lots of times and I've been on this escalator lots of times too.

So, I started off feeling fine walking up the steps of the escalator and as I was about half way up I started to feel really panicky thinking that I was going to end up stopping on the escalator but I kept going and I felt actually nauseous and really shaky by the time I reached the upper floor.

This, whatever it is, is starting to impact on areas of my life that it has never impacted before.

It's really upsetting to me as these are things I was able to do without a second thought in the past. What has happened to me???

I got the lift back down to the ground floor when I was finished in the upper floor area.

The thing about vertigo is that it includes feeling dizzy. I don't feel dizzy. I feel like standing completely still and not budging an inch because I'm absolutely frozen to the spot. I can go neither up nor down at that point unless I'm being helped in one direction.
My breathing starts becoming more rapid and it makes me feel nervous/anxious.

It’s not vertigo, it’s adrenaline and once you feel like that in one situation you’ll start to build a connection, try to keep doing these things but focus on something like box breathing, calm body posture. It’s nothing wild it’s just an off kilter alarm system. You’ll be okay op, just don’t start avoiding things too much otherwise you’ll generate a know ever growing feedback loop.

Also disagree with the one posters very specific panic attack, they affect people differently.

@Windinthepillows
My experience is probably quite extreme but it does annoy me when the term is widely misused. People say things like, "I literally just had a panic attack!" when startled or frightened by something. It's the same as saying you've got OCD when you mean you just like things neat and tidy. Real OCD is a horrible mental health condition characterised by disturbing thoughts or mental images and repetitive behaviour you can't control - not the same thing at all. Panic attacks share common symptoms and can often be mistaken for a heart attack. Speaking from experience, they can include all of these:

-Very rapid, irregular heartbeat
-Intense fear with a sense of dread or impending doom/death
-Feeling disorientated
-Feeling detached from reality or your body
-Trembling or shaking
-Sweating
-Ears ringing
-Chills
-Pins and needles or numb sensation (particularly in hands and feet)
-Dizziness or faintness
-Stomach upset, including needing the toilet urgently
-Tightness in the throat
-Shortness of breath or choking sensation
-Chest pain

Sorry to hear you're having trouble OP, I would look into how to manage these feelings before they get any worse.

It doesn't sound like a panic attack nor vertigo. I would say it was anxiety triggered by fear.

This description sounds similar to what you experienced. It's just a combination of symptoms (which can vary for each individual) triggered by fear of heights.

www.psycom.net/acrophobia-fear-of-heights

Not necessarily OP. My vertigo doesn't make me dizzy but often makes me feel like I'm stationary and the room or floor is slowly tilting to the side.

I also find tall walled but narrow changing cubicles set it off, driving down a road with trees either side which frame the road if that makes sense? Also Tesco aisles as again they are so wide.

The other one is - when I'm walking past a slatted fence or gate when the sunlight comes through and flicks on and off as each post blocks the light for a second?

May be worth seeing your GP. Hope you get it sorted as your right it can be very debilitating.