Bizarre panic attacks

Post Reply New Topic

So, for the past week I've been getting more and more anxious, with scattered panic attacks hitting me from nowhere. I was fine over the weekend when my BF was with me, then it started up again on Monday. I spent all Monday shivering and tapping, went into town on Tuesday with my mum, only to be brought home because I freaked out (constant bugs under my skin, hand covering the back of my neck, disgust and fear at people invading my personal space). It took me 2 hours to calm down! And then I woke up this morning in the throes of another panic attack (bugs, tapping, shivering etc)!

I have never had this in my life! I had a period of panic attacks in 2003, but I figured out how to fix them. But nothing is working this time! I'm sat here drinking chamomile and it isn't doing anything! In fact, I'm so wound up that the mug shakes whenever I pick it up.

Now, what on earth is going on?! I haven't had any kind of... trauma... Oh. This is delayed reaction to something. Right. Got it. I forgot I had a tendancy to delay .

Anyway, sympathies to anyone else panicking right now!

See your doctor?

I am!

Good.
I know it's obvious advice, but I never do until someone actually points it out to me. >.<

Hi Arian! I just found this link:

http://www.nlppati.com/articles/end-panic-attacks.shtml

I'm not sure how helpful that'll be but it goes somewhat with what I've experienced.

I don't know about you, but when I've had panic attacks, I thought my heart was beating so fast, or that I was breathing so slowly, or some other problem, that I was going to die. The last time I started having a a panic attack I almost threw up and my vision blacked out and I almost fainted and could barely breathe, but I got through it pretty easily by a) remembering that the previous really bad panic attacks I'd had when I seriously thought I was drawing my last breath were confirmed at the hospital as nothing more than physically harmless panic attacks, then b) lying down on the floor and (kind of like the article I linked to says) telling myself it's fine. No matter how much you think you're dying, all these symptoms point to a panic attack and therefore you're not dying.

I pretty much consciously willed myself to do the exact same thing I do when I'm having a nightmare about being chased by a murderer or something: just lie down and be still and tell myself it isn't real. And the panic away went away in a couple minutes. And I haven't had any since.

But obviously this might not work for you and you might need a sedative or something like I needed when I went to the hospital for my bad attacks. And of course if you have real cause to think it's not a panic attack you're having but something else potentially dangerous that you need treatment for, obviously I'd suggest getting that checked out A.S.A.P.!

Anyway I'm sorry you're feeling bad and and good luck!

PS - Oh but I should point out I do take medicine for anxiety on a regular basis now because I have not-quite-panic attacks otherwise. So anyway, yeah, what emlion said about the doctor, which you said you're doing, sounds like the best advice and as always I don't know what I'm talking about!

Wow, that sucks. But I'm glad you can recognize it for what it is.

Do you have any kind of idea of what set you off? Were you obsessing? Do you know where it's all coming from?

Weirdpig - From chatting with the doc, it seems to be a mix of delayed reaction to mean things someone said to me a couple of weeks ago, low calorie intake (1000, when I ought to be on 1500) and frustration at being unable to find work. All seems so logical, really . I need to just sit down and chill out. If I wasn't trying to lose weight, I'd cook, since I love the zen of it, but if I did, I'd have to eat what I made . Not to mention clean the oven .

Purchase - I knew someone who had a similar problem with Anxiety. Mine has always been Agora/Socio-phobic based, whereas hers was all about dying and being unable to get enough breath . I can understand why I flip out if people invade my space, but hers was a lot more deep-rooted, I think.

Emlion - Yeah, I always feel like I'm bothering them . Luckily, I had a phone appt. with my doc earlier and he insisted I come in for the anxiety, rather than hiding at home, .

Arian - I see. I have problems with that kind of anxiety too (social - /agoraphobia), where I absolutely can't have people or even pets in "my" personal space (well that sounds egocentric, I don't own any space, but you know) cause they feel threatening to me for no rational reason. It makes sense that that would be caused by life events.

Obviously I'm no doctor and you have an actual one who'll tell you everything you need to know, but it occurred to me that if you're dieting and the low calorie intake is causing you anxiety, is it a possibility for you to eat what you ought to (1500 calories as you say) and do some kind of intense exercise to offset weight gain if that's your concern? Also the exercise could make you feel better! It does for me. That's the most obvious statement in the world but it's easy for me anyway to forget why I feel so horrible and with such bad anxious energy when I've just been sitting around not doing much.

Oh, and I dwell on things and allow them to manifest in the form of anxiety too. (Like everyone I guess, but some people really are more dwellers than others.)

I've been getting the same thing out of the blue, I'm having an attack as I write. My pulse is racing, and I'm nervous for no good reason.

*Sympathies!! !!*

*Foot tapping incessantly*

Hi again Arian! Yeah, "dweller" does sound like a bridge troll.

Yeah, I love non-human animals too and used to be nothing but comforted by them, but that changed sometime last year due to extreme stress and now I'm even agoraphobic around my dog (if it's possible to be agoraphobic around one entity) sometimes unfortunately!

You said earlier that the anxiety is also caused by a mean remark someone made to you and not being able to find work... I've had both as causes of anxiety too! You might not want to talk about either but maybe there's a small chance I could help think of something that would alleviate either source of stress? You could PM me (of course) if you think another person's perspective might possibly be of any help, or detail the issues in this thread of course too, if you wanted.

I hope you can find some triggers to your panic attacks. Are you taking some medication for this?
If it is possible to find any possible triggers for these, like you did in the past, than it can be resolved easier with psychotherapy and medication.
Hang in there.

I had panic attacks off and on for years in my 20s with no known cause. I took various medications over the years and I don't have that problem now.

Jackbus - No medication, just prozac for depression (totally unhelpful, but it's all I'm offered!). Triggers seem to be socially related - either negative misunderstandings, or crowd problems. I have real difficulties in supermarkets for a start . Mostly, I breathe deeply or hum soothing tunes to myself. It makes me seem mad, but it helps calm me down .
I guess one of the things you took either helped, or else you simply outgrew the problem. I had my first panic attacks in 2003, but I fixed them with help from my support group. The ones this week came completely out of the blue.

Purchase - Sometimes I just lie on the bed and listen to my cat purring sleepily. It keeps me happy . I'll detail the issues involved tomorrow - BF is getting antsy that I'm not in bed