Thread: Panic attacks... help!

Look up Panic Anxiety Syndrome and Agoraphobia. This is a disease where you cannot control when you get these panic attacks and the fear of those panic attacks itself is another mental problem. Agoraphobia can rule your life to the point where you won't be able to drive or leave the house. It is not something to be lightly brushed away saying you don't want professional help or medication. Run, don't walk to a counselor or psychiatrist. S/he can tell you if you have this problem or if you need medication, but anyone on internetland can see the danger in the attacks you're suffering.
My mother has this disease and it has made her life very difficult because it took so long to diagnose. It ruined her relationship with all of her family, including me and my sister. Take advantage of modern medicine; don't shun it.

thank you for the advice, i did go to a shrink today cause i couldn't take it. i was prescribed to take some medicines like Zoloft, i hope it gets better, i can't keep living my life like this. its horrible. thanks for your advice, i really want to use modern medicine but i can't help but thinking what will happen when the medication runs out, will i have withdrawals?

I think that this will be something you medicate for the rest of your life. But maybe not; I'm not a doctor, just a secondary victim. And as a secondary victim, I give you BIG kudos for having taken responsibility for your own health and seeing a professional. Hopefully through seeing the doctor for a while s/he will be able to pinpoint what ails you in order to best treat it. Don't lose hope! I hope you find your serenity soon.

I completely understand!!!!! I've been there. When I was pregnant with my third child, I had panic/anxiety attacks terribly. I was in a marriage that was extremely abusive. I would suddenly not be able to breathe and start hyperventilating. It felt as though I was having a heart attack and about to vomit. The only thing that would help was to lie down flat and try to sleep. I, too, was afraid it would never stop. I thought that if I had to go the rest of my life this way, I would have jump off a bridge or something. It was horrible.
It eventually stopped, and yours will too. For me, I realized that my body as reacting to my situation.....despair. I was not in control of my life. The abuse was striping me of any self-respect and independence that I had. I think that you need to examine your life and see if there are elements that you are not in control of that you should be. A continuous lack of control and desperation could be causing these attacks. I don't know your situation, but know that you have choices and you are not stuck. You may feel stuck somehow. You can be in control of your life again. Put yourself first. Believe that you are worth it!!! Try visualization, self hypnosis, and get a therapist.

I'm glad to hear that there are other people who have experienced this. First off, id like to say I'm sorry to hear that you were in a very abusive marriage, no one should ever go through that. Reading your reply gives me inspiration to get through this. I know i can but sometimes i wonder...i've become a very weak person since this started. honestly, i would say that I'm a worry wart and an anxious person. I guess i've always been, since i was a kid; i would always worry about a lot of things...thing is i cant control that about myself. i hate myself for being this way. i feel so stupid worrying all the time for such silly stuff, like sometimes i feel anxious before i go to sleep because im afraid i might not be able to go to sleep and do the things i have to do the next day. see? its so silly! anxiety still exists in me and plus all the stress i get from work and my family i guess it just builds up. but nothing can change the fact that i am an anxious person and i know thats a reason why i get these panic attacks, if i were calmer i dont think it would happen. these panic attacks run in my family and all of us have a different "fear" as you would say. i think the trigger of mine is agoraphobia and besides that it seems to start every time i feel sick or something or before i go to bed. i hate how this has to happen in the holiday season. i want to ask you, how did you do it? how did you control yours?? did you take any medication for it? thanks

i take medication for panic attacks. i used to have them frequently, last year i only had two. i also did relaxation to assist me. the world is opening up for me. i now do things two years ago i would have considered impossible. my next big aim is to take an overseas trip. i am not sure how to handle the flight - i guess i am a work in progress.

if you dont mind me asking, what medication do you take for it?? and how often do you have to take it?