Panic Attacks • Hacker News Board

Re: Panic Attacks

#81

Post by empath75 » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 3:01 PM UTC

I've always had sort of low key intermittent anxiety, but when my dad almost died from acute pancreatitis, I became hyperaware of anything unusual going on with my body -- and turning 40, there's a lot that's new going on. I made repeated visits to the doctor over the course of a few years, convinced I was dying of one thing or another. Realizing one day that almost all of the various symptoms I had were symptoms of anxiety, it was like a weight lifted off of me.

I've got it more or less under control now. I've figured out when to notice when an anxiety attack is coming on, and just lay down and relax. And cutting down on caffeine helped a lot. Anything that's a stimulant triggers them for me. I now have like half a cup of coffee in the morning and nothing for the rest of the day.

Re: Panic Attacks

#82

Post by choult » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 3:08 PM UTC

My mental health has been suffering for the past couple of years for a variety of fairly definable reasons, but I actually had my first one last night. It was triggered so I kind of knew what was going on, but I really wasn't prepared for the smack of adrenaline and the half hour cooling down period of just trying to stop shaking and lose the desire to cry.

Luckily it was not debilitating, and happened in the car five minutes from home, so I could get to a sofa and work through it; it also helped that I had somewhere to be with friends that was in no way connected to my triggers and so I could use that as a useful distraction.

I think the scariest thing for me, now, is that now I have to add panic/anxiety attacks to my understanding of my own condition, which up until now has been either some very black (but ultimately rational) periods of suffering, or just general low mood to the point where I have dismissed the idea of medication.

But this is now probably a game-changer for me.

Re: Panic Attacks

#83

Post by nicklovescode » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 3:12 PM UTC

ridewinter wrote: post #78

wasx wrote: post #16

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…

The start of recovery for me was reading a book by Pema Chodron about not trying to get rid of the intense feelings and experiences like this. With enough experience and meditation and a practice called morning pages, I’ve learned to harness the extreme energies involved and make them a massive positive instead of something to be scared of, holding me back. It took a long time but fully worth the effort. :) Edit: A f…

Any good links to share?

Re: Panic Attacks

#84

Post by wolco » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 3:21 PM UTC

Does anyone get them after programming all day? Feels like my brain is in a different mode and the transition back can bring them on.

Re: Panic Attacks

#85

Post by wpietri » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 3:22 PM UTC

I really appreciate when industry leaders talk frankly about things like this. In current culture, this can be easily treated as an admission of weakness and penalized accordingly. The more high-status people that speak up, the more the stigma will dissolve.

Re: Panic Attacks

#86

Post by m3mpp » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 3:23 PM UTC

I've had them all my life, the first at 21, in my mid 40s now, spent a good 10 years of my life with crippling episodes, were I couldn't go out, drive, and have panic attacks lasting for hours. At the worst, it was so bad, I lost 30 pounds in 1 week, couldn't eat, couldn't sleep with a mind racing 24 hours/day. It's so exhausting for the mind that you start having visual hallucinations, you start thinking about ending your life etc, and then finally, you collapse, what you could call a complete breakdown.

And here's the interesting part, things that you don't necessarily experience till it goes full blown, it's when you reach that point, the end of fear basically, your mind becomes calm. You don't necessarily realize it in the instant but that's it, you've stared into the abyss and it's not as awful as you imagined. At that point, you still have anxiety but that's it, it doesn't control you anymore, you're out of the 2 states loop, panic or fear it may happens. It's still painful, but it's not hell anymore, you know how it's gonna end, there's no more question.

Now, it's an incredible experience, can even become an spiritual one, it did for me, experiencing first hand how reality is subjective and how the mind works.

All in all, I wouldn't trade all those experiences for anything, it gives you an understanding of the human condition that not a lot of things can give you.

Re: Panic Attacks

#87

Post by wolco » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 3:27 PM UTC

tossaway4567 wrote: post #47

tenaciousDaniel wrote: post #32

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…

Certain strains are better for younger people. When I was young things seem boring or slow and sativa would make things fun/exciting. Now that I'm older I'm never bored I usually need more time. Indica works better. Hybrid strains are even too much.

Re: Panic Attacks

#88

Post by wolco » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 3:30 PM UTC

I use to get one every morning into work crossing over one bridge. After years it never went away (never chanhed jobs either) but I started working from home

Re: Panic Attacks

#89

Post by chenning » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 3:36 PM UTC

jackhack wrote: post #75

tenaciousDaniel wrote: post #32

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…

If you came fishing for sympathy, keep looking. In the future, if you're doped up, stay the hell off the roads before you kill an innocent third party. I don't much care if you get completely smashed on your own time, but risking others is criminal. And what's with showing up at a kids' birthday party stoned? Incredibly irresponsible and antisocial on so many levels.

I might be putting words into the op's mouth but, what I think the they were trying to say that this is what their life looked like right before experiencing a severe panic attack. So if you find yourself making decisions like this, you might be on a path that doesn't end well. I don't think the shaming was entirely necessary.

Re: Panic Attacks

#90

Post by chrisfinne » Tue, Aug 21, 2018, 3:38 PM UTC

My son was getting them for a couple years and the frequency was increasing. He was missing school. We tried all sorts of techniques that you can google.

Finally took him to a clinical psychologist that focuses on them and I was embarrassed on how few sessions it took this guy to solve them.