Just Curious....how Would You Describe Your Panic Attacks

[Maggiemay]

I describe it to my therapist as being a meerkat. Recently struggled to distinguish dissociation, panic & flashbacks as so much cross over. But panic for me is like i'm suffocating. My body is on fast forwar andI have no control over it. It won't stay still. Hate it so much!

 

[Britt.f7]

This may help: http://panicdisorder.about.com/od/understandingpanic/a/anxvspanic.htm

Thanks Abstract. I clicked on the link and will go read it in a minute. Hopefully my head will absorb it this time! :oops:

Just read it and I am definitely experiencing anxiety as compared to panic attacks. I really thank you for the clarification!

 

[Red Feather]

The dissociating comes on the heels of the anxiety.

Exactly. Lately my dissociations have been much stronger, and I only need to think of something stressful. Anxiety is always there. It feels like this mass of fiery energy. And it can get out of hand, and I cannot calm down until I have lied down and focused the energy. Often I just freeze because I don't know what to do, and can't make a decision.

When I panic, it normally starts with me feeling despair, and then this voice curses me, and I cry and can't breathe. I keep on crying unable to breathe and then breathe in really fast. It feels like everything that is numb inside me is dissolving and all that is left is the connection to the pain. I sometimes feels like I am not really aware of what is happening inside me, but it is happening just the same.

I hyperventilated last week too on the street, and Fr. W. told me to lift my left toe and then my right toe over and over again. :bag:

 

[Janet K]

Panic for me is burning, hot and a feeling of illness. My breathing is tight and constricted and I have to really concentrate to get one deep breath. It is exhausting and I think is one of the causes for waking up throughout the night.

Swimming and walking up 9 flights of stairs is giving me the best relief. My lungs are forced to get more air and after 20 minutes I am calmer. Plus it mimics the act of running away. If I can put it into my schedule, I try to do one each day.

 

[stillscared123]

Panic attacks for me make me feel like I am drowning. It usually follows a trigger and I try to fight off the panic until it is too much and then I start hyperventilating and having heart palpitations, sometimes my arms go numb and I feel terrified that I'm going to pass out. I'm always scared it is going to happen in public and that I won't be able to stop it before passing out. Xanax helps but is not practical

 

[BlackbirdSinging]

I can't say if it's panic or anxiety. I'll let my therapist tell me. But, having looked at the link.. mine sounds kinda like a mix of both. The first thing that happens is I feel like I got punched in the stomach with adrenaline. I feel hot and then cold and then hot again. My heart starts pounding and I start shaking. My throat gets dry and feels tight and I completely lose my appetite. All of my muscles get tense. I have shallow breathing and I can't focus or concentrate on anything. My mind starts racing. It completely consumes me. I feel terrified and like I need to do something.. anything to protect or brace myself or try to make it stop somehow. Sometimes I cry and sometimes I can't. And it always follows a trigger. It follows flashbacks too. It's absolutely terrible. There aren't enough words in the English language to describe how much I hate it and how horrible it feels.

 

[Tanishq]

To be honest with you, I avoid talking about panic attacks. I hate that moment so much because I am filled with anger and helplessness. So let go the moment, as day passes I start gathering my strength and only then I go to describe it or talk about it. Sometimes I take 2-3 days, but normally at the end of day I can manage to think about it.

Panic attacks are very bad, so I think one must take their own time and then go for description. I believe when you strength is greater than the attack, you may find many things and solutions as well.

 

[Bliss55]

I can relate to many of you. For me, me heart races, I have shortness of breath nd my extremities become cold. I usually cry after, and have had some when I swore I would pass out. I have also had prolonged periods of hyper vigilance where I felt in a fog . Those episodes where followed my a vast array of physical symptoms including: headaches, fatigue, body aches, memory loss. Ugh! It's extremely difficult to explain this to some of the people around me.

 

[therapybankrupt]

Anxiety at it's worse for me feel's like I have to get out of my skin to survive. I feel a surge of energy. Sweat and fear. Sometimes I pace in circles for hours. It seems time stands still but the clock always surprises me after a bad episode. I lose hours.

Sometimes I am lucid enough to know I need to ground and other times I am just gone. I have many variations but it always is the feeling of needing to run or get away at the very least.

I am angry cause my doctor will not give me something as needed for this problem. They have a past record that states I was prohibited. As a result of misunderstanding I was taking the medication wrong. And by prohibited I was just brutally honest on a couple occasions which was totally not me.

I guess cause I ask for something they see you as a drug seeker. Out side of that one incident I never misused a drug. In fact I am very cautious on keeping the medications to a minimum.

Does anyone experience depression following the anxiety?

 

[cat]

My panic attacks have passed now but at the time I felt like an unknown person had taken over my body, a horrible feeling of knowing what was happening but being unable to control it.

Thank goodness for my fantastic T who showed me the way to beat them.

 

[Ginny]

Sheer, unmitigated terror. Face goes numb, feet literally get cold, sweaty palms, feels like everything that exists is staring at me and judging me. Because my PTSD is in part auto related, a lot of times I feel like I've forgotten how to drive, or that physics has stopped working. Have meds for it, but not always practical to take them when driving. Two things work for me in this situation; making a deal with myself that I can pull over whenever I want,and the Four-Fold breath. Inhale to the count of 4, hold to the count of 4, exhale to the count of four, hold to the count of 4 and repeat 3 more times. Puts you in control of the situation and slows your breathing and heartbeat. Really helps in a pinch.

 

[Aribear]

It feels like I'm drowning in something more solid than water... like I have cotton in my throat and lungs so I can't breathe. Sometimes I can manage force myself to do deep breathing and hold it off for a bit. Even if I manage to stop it, it seems to be a temporary stop and will come back later in the day. Then I feel cold and small and frozen in place and like everything is about to crash.

Afterwards, I am usually exhausted and just want to sleep, but am too keyed up, so I just "rest".