Panic attacks

Has anyone suffered or is suffering from them?

I knew a guy who had them a while back. I never really asked him about it too much. Occasionally he come over a bit fazed out and have to leave whatever pub we were in and go home.

Today I felt a little 'tight, what I've read on the wiki page as feelings of "Derealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from oneself)" and a few of the other symptoms there.

I'm fairly sure it's only mild, brought on by stress. Do you get them? Share and sharealike. Thanksie.

I get a sort of equivalent at times when I'm having a complicated migraine, almost always in conjunction with vertigo. Because I get some forewarning I very quickly learnt to head them off through clearing my head and concentrating on my breathing, so I've not had a full blown one since my teens.

I had one once when I just started smoking and had a lil too much. It was pretty surreal.

EDIT: havent had one since or before.

i get them quite often, but they soon pass. i don't have to leave where i am, i've learnt to grin and bear it and shake it off.

it's down to stress. i mostly get them in supermarkets. i fucking hate those places!!!!

you just have to tell yoyurself that it will pass, and take some deep breaths and try to think of something else other than what's happening.

they can be very scarey. like a complete wave of fear and.... feeling almost as if you're in a dream and nothing is real. it's hard to exaplin.

Yeah, I think this the first time I've really had one. It's a bit like living in Selected Ambient Works II actually. It's more feeling blank and lifeless, mixed with anxiety more than anything else.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1s2341qtE4&feature=related

It feels a bit like this.

I used to get them pretty bad. You just have to develop the ability to deescalate your thought process. Learning meditation helped in this regard.

Get really good at convincing yourself theres nothing wrong with you.

  On 8/7/2010 at 8:11 PM, inteeliguntdesign said:

Yeah, I think this the first time I've really had one. It's a bit like living in Selected Ambient Works II actually. It's more feeling blank and lifeless, mixed with anxiety more than anything else.

yeah it's like a massive wave of anxiety all of a sudden out of nowhere. then it's hard to believe what you're seeing is real. nothing makes sense, even though you've seen the objects around you millions of times before, they don't seem real. but you do just carry on like you're on autopilot, your primal being carries on while your consciousness tries to align itself with the present moment again. that's basically it for me. and it's fucking horrible. but thankfully i don't get them as much as i used to. funnily enough i think they began when i stopped smoking weed!

i hate them so much.

I've always been someone who worries too much, but I've only experienced (mild) panic attacks recently. I've only been learning to drive this year, and all was going well (was learning with my dad) until I got a professional instructor. Whenever I went with the instructor, my muscles went tight, I'd get a really dry throat like I was REALLY dehydrated, my legs would get shakey making it really hard to keep to the speed limit, and I would just get so distracted by the nervousness that I'd drive really badly, which would make me more nervous cos I'd beat myself up about any tiny mistake I might make, and so the cycle went. It made me hate driving, and my jaw would be firmly clenched almost all week after each lesson, often resulting in headaches.

After the third lesson I broke down in tears, so I decided to get therapy. It's really helped although it was expensive. Obviously the advice given was specific to me, but the main thing that has helped me is this piece of advice:

Don't try to FIGHT anxiety, you are going to feel it, just acknowledge it, say hi to it, and try to keep moving normally.

Do that, and the anxious feeling will pass much much quicker, or just feel way less strong even if it doesn't.

i've had them very occasionally in the past, but in recent months they've been a very common occurrence for me.

  On 8/7/2010 at 8:16 PM, inteeliguntdesign said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1s2341qtE4&feature=related

 

It feels a bit like this.

so americans don't get them?

  On 8/7/2010 at 8:40 PM, chassis said:

Get really good at convincing yourself theres nothing wrong with you.

yeah, that's what i meant to say.

i used to get them. i went to the dr and was prescribed xanax. just knowing i had the pills was enough to keep them away most of the time. do you have unusual amounts of anxiety lately or is your life more stressful at the moment for any reason?

  On 8/7/2010 at 6:48 PM, inteeliguntdesign said:

feelings of "Derealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from oneself)" and a few of the other symptoms there.

Shit, I've often had that sensation come on throughout my entire life, along with a few other symptoms from the DSM-IV, and yet I've never associated with them panic attack which I never thought I'd had before. They don't necessarily come on as a result of stress for me though, more often as a result of sudden unexpected events or even just movements (of other external things) occurring which are not necessarily traumatic, upsetting or even of any significance.

I also find that trying to concentrate on other things doesn't help me to shift them, as that makes me even more aware that some weird shit is occurring.

  On 8/7/2010 at 10:54 PM, nene multiple assgasms said:

  On 8/7/2010 at 8:16 PM, inteeliguntdesign said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1s2341qtE4&feature=related

 

It feels a bit like this.

 

so americans don't get them?

LOL, well played.

  On 8/8/2010 at 12:15 AM, jules said:

i used to get them. i went to the dr and was prescribed xanax. just knowing i had the pills was enough to keep them away most of the time. do you have unusual amounts of anxiety lately or is your life more stressful at the moment for any reason?

More stress. Skint. But new job soon. No place of my own atm. But new place to live soon. New city. And some other silly shit.

I reckon I might have what Mesh Gear Fox was talking about, but circumstances have made it a bit more intense recently. Still, in a month or so everything should be a lot calmer.

Cheers for sharing guys. Was good to hear other people's experiences.

Used to get them when the first few months of college. After medication and therapy, which did help, I found that meditation very effective. I don't have them anymore, and even when I do have some anxiety, it is so much easier to handle. Mindfulness practice or watching your breath or simply observing your thoughts are all very valuable.

They suck immensely but they get better over time, and eventually disappear. I really cannot recommend meditation enough. Look into vipassana or zazen meditation. Cheers and good luck!

  On 8/7/2010 at 6:48 PM, inteeliguntdesign said:

Today I felt a little 'tight, what I've read on the wiki page as feelings of "Derealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from oneself)" and a few of the other symptoms there.

i get what you mean, but this concept seems difficult to REALLY put into words

  On 8/8/2010 at 3:02 AM, kaini said:

  On 8/7/2010 at 10:54 PM, nene multiple assgasms said:

  On 8/7/2010 at 8:16 PM, inteeliguntdesign said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1s2341qtE4&feature=related

 

It feels a bit like this.

 

so americans don't get them?

 

LOL, well played.

you go girls! fuk yeh

your panic attacks feel like a huuge atmospheric calming alien hypnotic dimension?

This guy once kicked me in the shins in a dark alley

i got them all the time when i was a teenager, and fairly frequently in my early 20s. haven't had one in a few months now, largely due to therapy.

for me there was a fair bit of depersonalization but i also feel like im not breathing right, or if i am, im not getting enough oxygen, and all i can really do is sob uncontrollably. it's pretty much impossible for me to do anything while im having one. usually weed helped with the latter part but sometimes it would make it worse.

  On 8/9/2010 at 12:39 PM, disparaissant said:

for me there was a fair bit of depersonalization but i also feel like im not breathing right, or if i am, im not getting enough oxygen, and all i can really do is sob uncontrollably. it's pretty much impossible for me to do anything while im having one.

This thread is good for realizing I'm not some odd man out (i.e. total head-case). I've only just started having them, they're pretty bad, am on Xanax now and not having any but i feel like I just went down a notch from an evolutionary point of view. With is retarded and ignorant, i know. I know now at least.