Nervous Breakdown Or Panic Attack?

[Samantha renee]

I'm not sure if i had a breakdown or an attack.
Last night, my parents had a large fight. I was angry and sad, i started shaking and hyperventilating. So to try and calm myself I went outside because my room is small and I'm claustrophobic. Which led to me having a large fight with my mom. I couldn't stop shaking through the whole fight and my heart and mind were racing terribly. I was also hyperventilating to the point I could barely breath. In addition, I screamed in the middle of the fight, twice for no reason. And after the fight, i continued to burst into tears. My shaking didn't stop and i still slightly shake every once in a while. I also felt the need to clean. I am extremely confused and in a deep state of depression. I don't show my emotions often, and I'm sure I had a lot of pint up anger. I'm only 17, should I be concerned? I still feel like I could have another episode with even the smallest trigger.

 

[Friday]

Welcome to the forums.

It could be a lot of different things. If you have PTSD, then it sounds like a panic attack for sure. But ADHD & HFA are prone to meltdowns (different cause) that sound exactly the same, Bipolar Disorder to manias & mixed episodes ditto, and several other disorders all have similar explosive loss of control & similar symptoms... But the cause & best way for handling panic attacks / meltdowns / manias / etc... Are all very different, depending on the disorder. And then? Perfectly normal kids and adults simply reach the end of their rope from time to time as well.

Have you been diagnosed with PTSD?

 

[CRPS]

I'm sorry to hear that you're going through this. I can relate to conditions you just described and suffer from and was diagnosed with panic attacks years ago. I was diagnosed with PTSD last year and suffer from a very painful and incurable disease which causes PTSD, severe anxiety and severe depression. I'm learning coping skills including being out in nature, deep breathing exercises all which help when having attacks. I've been advised to start journaling which I know helps since I've done it before. I hope you find something that helps you when experiencing panic attacks.