51–60 of 143 posts
I've had them for 50 years, and the single most effective thing I can do remains finding a paper bag to breathe into when I feel the hyperventilation begin.
I suspect most other sufferers know this, but just in case this is a new problem for anyone.
I suppose my own experience differs from the symptoms of a chronic sufferer, but I used to completely dismiss notions of "panic attacks". My thought was "why can't they just take a breather and calm down?" Then one day I smoked too much marijuana and then had to go to a kids birthday party whose family I didn't know. About 10 minutes in I had what I can only describe as a panic attack. My face turned gray . My heart…
Using a throwaway due to subject matter, but I also learned the hard way that cannabis just doesn't agree with me the way it did in my younger years. I had what I now know to be panic attacks a few times after smoking a bit of weed and it's not worth the risk for me anymore. It's a bummer because I used to occasionally smoke when I was in my 20s with no issue other than maybe feeling a bit groggy in the morning but n…
Exactly due to the subject matter, I choose to use my regular account. Mental health issues are not pretty, just like physical illness can be ugly. But we do not shy away from the people who have terminal cancer, we help them out the best they can.
For mental illness helping can mean admitting that you have issues too. Displaying that they are not alone, that these issues are not as uncommon as everyone makes out to be.
I've had panic attacks my entire life.Fortunately they're few and fair between these days and I can for the most part calm myself down when I feel one oncoming (they're almost always triggered by some event fortunately, very rarely just random ones). I wouldn't wish them on anyone. That feeling of "I'm trapped, this is forever, I'm going to die, this is overwhelming, I need to escape" is genuinely the worst thing I'v…
Honestly I don't mind it as much as I used to, and maybe that was due to the sheer frequency of it earlier in my life, but in a way it makes even the most mundane calm feeling truly special, and I like that, a lot.
I suppose my own experience differs from the symptoms of a chronic sufferer, but I used to completely dismiss notions of "panic attacks". My thought was "why can't they just take a breather and calm down?" Then one day I smoked too much marijuana and then had to go to a kids birthday party whose family I didn't know. About 10 minutes in I had what I can only describe as a panic attack. My face turned gray . My heart…
The first serious attack I had (it wasn't preceded by any trigger, I was just watching T.V. and eating) sent me to the emergency room, although I knew it was a panic attack and not life-threatening it got so bad that I thought it'd be worth it for my peace of mind (sidenote: it's not, and I got a nice bill). Drinking alcohol can help, but I would recommend to just endure the attack. I don't get panic attacks randomly anymore, but I may after a night of heavy drinking (which, ironically, might begin to stave off general anxiety).
They are terrible. Fight-or-flight gone haywire. I'd know exactly what I was experiencing and could rationalize what was happening, but that made no difference. Thankfully, they are rare for me these days.
> Right after it happened I went to see my regular doctor and got a prescription for medication that can calm me down in that situation. This seems so stereotypically American to me. > But the real solution has come from many years of trying to understand the root causes of the panic and anxiety and working to deal with them. What the doctor should have helped doing in the first place.
The cause of back pain is, in day-to-day circumstances, because of bad posture. It can be fixed by stopping the bad posture, with some good habits and perhaps yoga. You can make money from yoga, but not enough for national TV advertising budgets.
Luckily in the UK we don't have the completely insane position of having prescription drugs being advertised in mainstream media. I think that is peculiarly North American.
(Yes of course there are serious chronic conditions, for those you see a doctor not watch a TV advert)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Using a throwaway due to subject matter, but I also learned the hard way that cannabis just doesn't agree with me the way it did in my younger years. I had what I now know to be panic attacks a few times after smoking a bit of weed and it's not worth the risk for me anymore. It's a bummer because I used to occasionally smoke when I was in my 20s with no issue other than maybe feeling a bit groggy in the morning but n…
> Using a throwaway due to subject matter Exactly due to the subject matter, I choose to use my regular account. Mental health issues are not pretty, just like physical illness can be ugly. But we do not shy away from the people who have terminal cancer, we help them out the best they can. For mental illness helping can mean admitting that you have issues too. Displaying that they are not alone, that these issues are…
I was trying to write about it as insomnia one day , looking over my list of symptoms, when it clicked that it didn't sound like other descriptions of insomnia. Once I figured out they were panic attacks I was able to take a step back and look at the cycle, so I don't have week-long waves of this anymore. The next night I decide I don't want to sleep - maybe I want to do an extra load of laundry, inexplicably at midnight when I've hardly slept, absurd as it is. It works, at least.
My cat loves the panic attacks though. I stay up later, and I'm petting her the whole time trying to calm down. Great for her.
> Right after it happened I went to see my regular doctor and got a prescription for medication that can calm me down in that situation. This seems so stereotypically American to me. > But the real solution has come from many years of trying to understand the root causes of the panic and anxiety and working to deal with them. What the doctor should have helped doing in the first place.