Panic Attacks/Depression...

**JadedQueen** · 05-10-2010 04:34 AM

Hi...
I have been experiencing depression for a few months now and I assumed it was my usual winter depression. (SAD--seasonal affective disorder) and I figured I would just ride it out like I usually do. Well, I am going through some changes, just graduated from school and I am faced with trying to find employment in this horrible job market. I am scraping by financially but barely. I have been applying for jobs but so far no luck.

Anyway... recently I have been having panic attacks, or at least I think that's what they are. I am not sure what triggers them sometimes something as insignificant as the telephone ringing will cause my heart to race, my hands to shake, restless, and queasy to my stomach. (does that sound like a panic attack?) I have been having several of these per day and I can't stand the way they make me feel. I have no motivation to do anything which makes me feel worse because I feel so unproductive and I find myself not wanting to leave my house. I want to go to the doctor but I have no medical insurance and even if the doctor does prescribe medication I don't think I can afford to pay for it.

So...basically my questions are: is what I am having panic attacks? Is there something I can do naturally to calm myself down after having a panic attack? Has anyone experienced panic attacks and after going to see a doctor discovered that it was caused by an illness such as a thyroid problem, diabetes etc...???

Any advice would be greatly appriciated.... thank you everyone.

**jns** · 05-10-2010 08:57 AM

I'm not sure, but I think having a job will do a lot to lower your stress and should help out with the panic attacks.

Years ago I was having trouble finding a job, so finally i used an employment agency, also known as a headhunter firm and also known as a job recruiter. They rewrote my resume in a form that was more presentable for the jobs I was looking for. They set up several interviews, one of which led to a job that I had for 17 months before taking my present job. They were paid by the company employing me at that time. Many companies use such firms as they produce high quality candidates thereby lowering the costs and time for interviewing and increasing the retention rate.

Good luck.

**heryseshta** · 05-12-2010 12:05 AM

I have panic attacks. It does sound like that is what you are going through, and I don't regulate them with meds. What I do is if I started feeling like they are coming on then I close my eyes and inhale for 3 seconds, hold it for 3 seconds then exhale for 3 seconds and focus on nothing but my breathing. It helps lower your heart rate and can help calm you down from one. It also sometimes helps me to have someone to call when I get that feeling, I used to call my mom when I had them and she would talk me through them to distract me. That is key, do not focus on the lack of control with your body, focus on what you can control. Breathing, picture your muscles relaxing slowly. Just do not focus on the fear, I know it's easier said than done.

**NO_MORE_PMDD** · 05-15-2010 09:38 AM

It sounds like one - stress can do some crazy things to the body. I would log it on your calendar so you can see what triggers it, if it cycles with your menstral cycle (does it happen more during a week or two before you period?) I find that the best way to get to the bottom of "symptoms" is to chart it on a calendar so you can go back and make some sense of it. There is an all natural product called calmes forte by Hyland Something??- I use it from time to time and it works very well to calm my nerves. You can find it at GNC or vitamin world whatever you have around you.

**JadedQueen** · 05-16-2010 06:15 AM

I don't have periods since I had a proceedure done to stop them. I don't think it's around when my cycle would have been because I have them every single day several times a day. I have been stressing over money and paying the bills and a commercial for our cable company will trigger it. I don't know if it's caused from stress and worrying or if there is a problem with my thyroid. I can't afford it but I think if it doesn't stop soon I am going to have no choice but to go to the doctor to find out what's going on and how to fix it.

**Dancer22** · 06-04-2010 09:22 AM

i have panic attacks a lot. they make you feel like your dying or having a heart attack. i also have OCD which is probably the cause of mine. i get dizzy,cold,feel sick,have horrible palpitations,feel like i cant breath properly,have thoughts like i might go mad or lose control and chest pains. all of them are caused by panic attacks but i manage with them because i know that no matter how horrible and frightning they are,they cant,and wont,harm me (my doctor and psychiatrist told me this so i know its true) hope this helps.

**Fae30** · 06-04-2010 09:52 AM

I have an anxiety disorder, so I do get panic attacks sometimes. Usually in extreme situations and high stress. It sounds a little mild, your reaction, but it does sounds like an panic attack to me nonetheless.

I normally know when I'm heading into an panic attack, when my lungs start to close up and I'm short of breath, my heart races wildly, and it feels like I'm having an heart attack, my legs and arms go numb, and my chest hurts very badly. I feel dizzy and faint, I can't think straight and stumble (if I am standing). I have been rushed to the ER so many times in the past, before I knew what panic attacks were, thinking that I was having an heart attack. :-o
But, in therapy, I learned how to calm them down... a lot of deep breathing and waiting for the moment to pass. I keep in mind that an average panic attack last up to thirty minutes. And even though it feels like forever, to be in this state of fear, that it will fade away. I try to relax and let it fade by. :-)