Anxiety/ Panic Attacks

Anxiety runs in my family. I had my first attack when I was about your age. The best advice I can give you is to talk to a therapist about how you can handle your anxiety with bio feedback. Meds are great, too, and I would never discourage anyone from taking them (I take Buspar). I find the bio feedback and breathing really helps when I feel anxious. I haven't had an "attack" in a while, but I know how horrid they can be. PM me if you want t o talk more about my experiences.

Same thing for me. Thought I had them under control, but recently they started sprouting up again randomly, some completely out of the blue.

I have a prescription for Ativan as well, and take those when I can (assuming I have some on me). If I can't get to those, I try to breathe through them and find a quiet place where I can try to meditate a bit. Sometimes that helps, but sometimes, I just have to keep myself in check until I can get to the meds.

That's probably not much help, but looks like you're not alone anyway.

Add me to the panic club. I've honestly found that since I've started working out, it's not happening as frequently. When it does happen, I'm better able to work through it. For the most part, I've learned to step back and evaluate the situation when I feel anxiety coming on, before it turns to full on panic. Panic attacks are physical, it's the "fight or flight" response of the body. Sometimes things in our brain can get screwy and ready the body for danger that isn't there.

When you start to feel that flutter (you know exactly what I mean, I'm sure), stop and ask yourself a few questions: Am I being threatened by someone/something? (No) What specifically am I worried about right now? Is not taking care of that something causing an immediate problem? (No). Keep asking yourself these questions to evaluate the trigger and you'll likely find that it's a false danger alarm. Once you realize there is no threat, take a few deep breaths and keep telling yourself you're OK. If the anxiety is kicking mostly when you are away from home, do your best to work through it and not run from the situation. If you leave the situation, go home and calm down, your mind will begin to reinforce the idea that home is the only safe place, which can in turn lead to agoraphobia (I believe the clinical diagnosis is agoraphobia with panic attacks). Sometimes getting out of the situation may be the only solution, but you want to avoid doing that when ever it's possible.

Uhhh...sorry for the ramble, hope some of that helps

i get them because of work, been self employed my entire life, now work for a major corp. i never know when i am going to get axed. and that drives me to panic when i make a mistake, i call my wife and she talks me down off the cliff.

Add me to the club. I've had anxiety for years and have panic attacks periodically. The weirdest times. Rode the train for years, had one panic attack on the train and now every time I get on I feel like passing out. Grocery store lineups? Yea don't do that anymore. They make me panic.

Exercise has helps control it a bit, knowing how to breath through it is helpful.

I'm also on meds, mirtazapine and clonazepam.

I get panic attacks a few times a week. I am on Xanax 2 mg. I take a whole tab to sleep, but half if Im having a panic attack. they suck

bump

I started getting them when I was pregnant. I assume that it was hormonal, because they went away each time after my last 2 babies; however, I occasionally feel like I'm getting one....I'm close to menopause, so that may again mean hormones. I'm not on any meds now; I find that running helps me get my mind back together.

I feel ya, hon! If someone has never had an attack, they can't understand the agony...I literally felt like I was going to die!.

Good luck...I hope you get some relief soon!

I've had panic attacks off and on since I was 12 (I'm in my mid-40s). At one point, I was having them weekly and each episode lasted an hour and a half. I have low-dose Xanax, but have learned to deal with the symptoms and rarely need the pills.

One thing that helps me is to move around, to work off the extra adrenaline that's rushing through my system. Since many of my attacks come in the middle of the night, I usually jog in place while watching TV.

Another thing has helped me tremendously is to go to this site and read about the symptoms. It sounds funny, but it calms me to see in print that what I'm experiencing is normal: http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/symptoms/

Prayer doesn't hurt, either -- not just the desperate "help me not die" kind, but praying for others -- anything to get my mind off me.

Good luck!

how i deal with my panic disorder that i've had since i was 14... for years i had one heck of a xanex script but that wasn't untill a few panic attacks landed me in the ER with a resting heart rate of 189, vomiting, and i kept passing out. years later i now have had to learn to deal without meds again. lately, running has been the thing that keeps me calm. freak out coming on? i do what my body is telling me to do, run. i can't say it's what others should do but it's the only thing i can do and for now it works for me.

I'm sorry OP. I hate it when I get those. Feels like a huge hole in my chest that just keeps getting deeper

My therapist taught me some relaxation therapy and meditation.

It really works well. If you want, P.M. me and I'll detail the process. I've learned to keep it to a singular trigger to help me with calming myself.

I get anxiety as well. I've been utilizing breathing techniques which do help quite a bit. Or, if possible, I try to take myself out of the situation that caused it.

Ugh, I HATE getting these. I've been getting them for four years, since I started University, and when it gets really bad I can't even bring myself to leave my house to walk my dogs.

As I'm not currently on any medication for this or my depression, I usually just try and breathe through it. If it's safe to, I find a quiet spot to sit down and work on my breathing, almost using meditative techniques to ride through it.

Funny, I was just talking to my son about panic/anxiety attacks tonight. I had them for 6 years. As soon as I left my ex, they stopped. The advise I gave him was to work on organizing himself, his life, his surroundings. I was absolutely out of control of anything when I was married, even what I ate for dinner and always stressed for 12 long years. I could never tolerate meds very well so I spent a lot of time hiding under the bed in those days. After I left I regained control of my life little by little, made my own decisions, and finally found a sense of security and safety. That was almost 20 years ago and I haven't had any since. Still stress out, lol, but I don't lose it anymore. Good luck to you ♥♥