Recent stuff with heart arrhythmia I don't really know...sometimes holding a pet close and really focusing on exhaling my breath all the way out.
Sleep with knife (feel like I shouldn't suggest but it works for me...blade is closed!)
Tingly face, dizzy, throat tight: set pillows on my lap so I can bend over, rest my head, breathe into my hands...sometimes I have to set my jaw a certain way to feel like I'm getting air (maybe related to intubation?). Or bite my fingers.
Other times, too much adrenaline....even if the middle of the night I will go into the living room, sit in a chair and kick as if I'm sitting at the end of a dock, kicking the water.
Angry-self-destructive panic (I have lots of forms of panic): want to cut myself up. I don't. But I cut up a book I haven't read in years or one that just annoys me. When it's reeeeeally bad I cut up my own journals and drawings...so directed at my "self" without actually hurting my body. I can repair pages later...or remember that this feeling and expression belongs in my journal and art, too....the part of me that wants to destroy me is still trying to say things...I just won't let her destroy me, but destroying parts of my self expression will have to do.
Performing on stage: dizzy, pulse racing, everything blurry, overheated. I snuck my shoes off and planted bare feet on the stage, lowered my head, fake played but just focused on breathing slower...somehow pulled through and finished the concert.
Driving: stay in lane close to ramp, blast cold air at my face, lower window to pretend I'm smoking even though I'm not, turn up the music or turn it down...if caught in stand-still traffic call someone I can visit with as a distraction. Travel is hard sometimes...I can end up feeling really sick. I stop frequently to rest, and as needed.
Other panic does well in response to curling up and hiding somewhere until things settle and I can continue on with my normal stuff.
What is panic like for you? What helps you?
Sleep with knife (feel like I shouldn't suggest but it works for me...blade is closed!)
Tingly face, dizzy, throat tight: set pillows on my lap so I can bend over, rest my head, breathe into my hands...sometimes I have to set my jaw a certain way to feel like I'm getting air (maybe related to intubation?). Or bite my fingers.
Other times, too much adrenaline....even if the middle of the night I will go into the living room, sit in a chair and kick as if I'm sitting at the end of a dock, kicking the water.
Angry-self-destructive panic (I have lots of forms of panic): want to cut myself up. I don't. But I cut up a book I haven't read in years or one that just annoys me. When it's reeeeeally bad I cut up my own journals and drawings...so directed at my "self" without actually hurting my body. I can repair pages later...or remember that this feeling and expression belongs in my journal and art, too....the part of me that wants to destroy me is still trying to say things...I just won't let her destroy me, but destroying parts of my self expression will have to do.
Performing on stage: dizzy, pulse racing, everything blurry, overheated. I snuck my shoes off and planted bare feet on the stage, lowered my head, fake played but just focused on breathing slower...somehow pulled through and finished the concert.
Driving: stay in lane close to ramp, blast cold air at my face, lower window to pretend I'm smoking even though I'm not, turn up the music or turn it down...if caught in stand-still traffic call someone I can visit with as a distraction. Travel is hard sometimes...I can end up feeling really sick. I stop frequently to rest, and as needed.
Other panic does well in response to curling up and hiding somewhere until things settle and I can continue on with my normal stuff.
What is panic like for you? What helps you?
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