Panic Attack! At the Disco.

[ZenHedonist]

Anxiety attacks. Panic attacks. Two totally different things. I have had both because why not?

If you have depression you will have anxiety. They are BFFs. We all know that general overall feeling of anxiety. What I'm going to talk about are anxiety attacks and panic attacks.

DISCLOSURE! I'm not a shrink. Just someone who has had to deal with this shit. These are personal anecdotes.

Anxiety attacks happen when your brain has been dealing with anxiety for so long, and the situation you're dealing with isn't getting better that all your brain's "check engine" lights come on. Anxiety was a couch surfer who just decided to move in and won't leave.

How can you tell if you're having an anxiety attack? Easy. Want to cross the street? You can't because your mind is telling you someone will run you over. It doesn't matter that there aren't any cars for a mile. You literally can't step into the cross walk. Sidewalk has a bit of a slope and it has some sand or water on it? You're going to slip and fall. It doesn't matter if you can tell yourself out loud that you'll be okay. Anxiety is now in control.

The treatment is pretty straight forward. Find a good shrink. Deal with the underlying depression which is the foundation of this. Take a damn anti-anxiety med. Get on an anti-depressant. Now for all you who hate meds, let me remind you there are many choices and you won't need to be on them forever. And also, getting lots of sunshine, good food, and exercise really does help with anxiety attacks. I haven't had them for years. You can get help and treatment and make the situation better.

Panic attacks are a malfunction of one of several different areas of your brain. They aren't 100% sure which part or parts. Panic attacks happen when you ignore anxiety attacks. You ignored the "check engine lights", or just flat couldn't deal with them. It happens. I know.

A panic attack happens for no apparent reason usually with no warning at all. It was explained to me like this:

One part of the brain, for no reason will trigger your adrenal glands to dump a full "fight-or-flight-holy-shit-cave-bear-is-gonna-eat-me" adrenaline load into your system. THEN...the other parts of your brain that help keep track of all this suddenly realize "holy-shit-we-must-have-missed-the-cave-bear-gonna-eat-us" and dumps ANOTHER full load of adrenaline into your system. This all happens in a micro second.

Keep your arms and legs in the ride until it had come to a complete stop...godspeed...

What does a panic attack feel like? Your scalp tingles and gets cold, your hands and feet get cold and numb, your body temp kicks up, you have a metallic taste in your mouth (that's adrenaline), you get tunnel vision, your heart races, you get a horrible sensation of claustrophobia (which sucks if you're outside), you want to run as fast as you can, you get a complete glycogen dump, you feel nauseous. Fortunately they only last a few minutes and then you want to take a nap. However, they can come in clusters. Or in your sleep.

What helps when you're having one. Knowing what the hell is happening helps. "Okay, this sucks but I know what it is and I can ride it out". I usually find the farthest point away from me and really focus hard on it. Take deep breathes. You'll shake it off. You'll be okay.

Klonopin. I took it when I'd have them. Klonopin will stop them dead cold in their tracks. Find a shrink and work on the underlying issues. And...hardcore exercise. Insane hiking in the mountains was my favorite but moving iron in a gym really helps. The whole sunshine, fresh fruit, good food, great sex. It really does help.

Get a good shrink (along with a good lawyer, mechanic and tailor). You will survive this stuff. You will be okay. It won't last forever if you work on it. Take medicine that helps. Workout like a fiend. Be super active. It all helps. Find what works for you.

You will be okay.

Z~

 

[AmberCutie]

Panic attacks are a malfunction of one of several different areas of your brain. They aren't 100% sure which part or parts. Panic attacks happen when you ignore anxiety attacks. You ignored the "check engine lights", or just flat couldn't deal with them. It happens. I know.

A panic attack happens for no apparent reason usually with no warning at all.

I was storing up some major anxiety for a good week or so before my trip, culminating to a pretty highly anxious day last Tuesday when I had to 1. fly alone 2. rent a car alone and 3. drive 4+ hours alone. I was managing the anxiety OKAY for a few hours that day. I managed to get on my flight, handle the flight, get off the plane and to the rental car place (I even got all the way to the car itself) before the actual panic attack happened.

And it was scary as fuck. It was triggered by a series of frustrating events at the car rental lot, though, so I suppose there was a reason. But I had that full fledged body response where my heart raced so fast I thought I was going to vomit, my palms started sweating and my hands shook violently, and once I resolved the issues that were causing this, the tears came. I hated it. I tried to call Jawbs to help me through it, but I was in a fucking parking garage, so he couldn't hear anything I was saying, which of course made it worse. All I could do was breathe in through nose, out through mouth with a hard blow. I (this will sound silly but I imagine some of you will get it) squinted my eyes really hard and focused on that weird vision you get when you do it. A few minutes of this and I was stable enough to drive out of the parking garage to get a signal outside.

A ranty call to my mom (whom I was driving to see) and I was underway for a daunting drive. I forgot to call Jawbs back so I texted him that I was ok and on the road successfully.

What an ordeal.

 

[Ann_Sulu]

I actually got some advice the other day from my therapist, and figured it couldn't hurt to add it. She gave me a sheet that looks like this. This may seems obvious/silly, but many of us don't think in logical ways when stressed.

Steps to Reverse:
1. Assess level of stress (see the description under each number to determine how stressed you are)
2. Take a few deep breaths (lower heart rate, gain focus etc)
3. Relaxation (do something relaxing to get away from the stress and hopefully minimize it)
4. Self-Talk (Work on talking or thinking out the positives)
5. Visualization (Is this really a big deal or am I over-thinking it?)
7. Humor (not negative humor or anything that might put you back in a negative mood...even if say you typically enjoy the terrible tiger meme)
8. Problem-solving (Work out how to fix the situation vs. worrying)
9. Time Management (set alarms to keep from getting distracted)
10 Restorative Sleep (especially after a huge panic attack, this can reset you to where you need to be)
11. Healthy Diet (Tired all the time and getting stressed over not getting enough done? It could simply be a need for a diet change)
12. Meditation (Take a break every so often and maybe listen to some relaxing music to simply let your mind wander in a relaxed state)

 

[Ambers Troll]

Found this post fascinating @ZenHedonist always wondered what panic attacks feel like to those who can sense them. PTSD based panic attacks are different.

One part of the brain, for no reason will trigger your adrenal glands to dump a full "fight-or-flight-holy-shit-cave-bear-is-gonna-eat-me" adrenaline load into your system. THEN...the other parts of your brain that help keep track of all this suddenly realize "holy-shit-we-must-have-missed-the-cave-bear-gonna-eat-us" and dumps ANOTHER full load of adrenaline into your system. This all happens in a micro second.

THEN...the other parts of your brain that help keep track of all this recognizes the familiar feeling of being under attack, you feel a little energy rush, but not much else. Eventually your body learns to send the adrenaline hit for any perceived threat, so often that you barely notice it.

On Ann_Sulu's scale (above); in my experiences, panic attacks look like a 30, but are physiologically a 75; this relates to a blood pressure of about 190-200 for systolic and 90-110 for diastolic, pulse only slightly elevated. I tend to only notice the effects of the blood pressure rise, a bit of a displaced feeling.

My point here is that you don't want to let your panic attacks go to that next level where that overload doesn't come. All good advice Z., especially about the exercise and good food, thanks for the post.

 

[xDollPartsx]

Although it's all great info, I do know both from personal experience and from reading different psychologist reports that panic and anxiety attacks can and do present differently in everyone. For some it's what you've described and for others it can be a number of other ways.
I, Myself can have a few different types. One being I suddenly get surges of heat all over my body and start pouring sweat while dry heaving basically... Other times it presents as very abrupt and seems like irritability to others but it's more my response to the feeling of urgency (and not about anything in particular) that causes me to speak or respond to people by using short and abrupt words, rarely full thoughts or even just not respond at all in an almost frozen in fear type of way that prevents me from taking any action whatsoever due to my brain feeling "wiped" or "blank".
I find so many are quick to judge or criticize whether or not what someone is experiencing is an anxiety or panic attack, even others who suffer from them themselves. It's definitely a terrible thing to go through, and even when not actively having one the looming fear that it could happen at any time hangs around in the back of your head... Almost a self fulfilling prophecy or sorts. Best of luck and support to anyone who has or will deal with this. You're not alone and it doesn't mean you're defective or less than. Something we all need to remember.
Edited to add: I have to dig it up but I did read a study recently detailing how people with Anxiety's brains actually function differently in the way that they don't process "threats" the same way as others. Like the on/off switch is broken and instead of separating the non threats from the threats they view most situations as a threat. I'll find it and post.

 

[xDollPartsx]

m.mentalfloss.com/article.php?id=76694

here is the thing I was talking about. Interesting stuff.

 

[MFCGod]

I used to suffer very badly from anxiety and panic attacks in my late teens/early 20s; never depression though thankfully

I will tell you something that really helped me

At home I would sit or lay down and practise doing the following

• clench my feet, release, clench, release
• squeeze my calf muscles, release, squeeze, release
• thighs, squeeze, release, squeeze release

etc going up your body, squeezing releasing a muscle at a time until you're scrunching your face and releasing

What I learned doing this was the ability to recognize when my body was becoming tense; your body becomes tense when you worry of course

So I would realise I was becoming too tense and anxious from how tight my muscles were which would then signal to me I need to stop thinking what I was thinking, relax my muscles and calm down

^ I feel like for me it's impossible to go from totally fine to "ohhh jesus I'm having a panic attack", it was a journey to get there,picking up speed the closer I got till bam it his me; so realizing I was on the way there and nipping it in the bud before it built momentum was much easier than calming down from a full panic attack

The above technique helped me avoid panic attack, but not the root cause of anxiety, to deal with that I feel like you need to map out your thoughts

• What makes you worry
• Where those worrying thoughts lead to
• Why you think that
• What would be a better thought instead

It's really important to have a new way of thinking worked out because how can you change if you don't have anything to change to

This is all just my arm chair psychiatry, but it really helped me,

 

[Deleted member 35180]

I actually got some advice the other day from my therapist, and figured it couldn't hurt to add it. She gave me a sheet that looks like this. This may seems obvious/silly, but many of us don't think in logical ways when stressed.

Steps to Reverse:
1. Assess level of stress (see the description under each number to determine how stressed you are)
2. Take a few deep breaths (lower heart rate, gain focus etc)
3. Relaxation (do something relaxing to get away from the stress and hopefully minimize it)
4. Self-Talk (Work on talking or thinking out the positives)
5. Visualization (Is this really a big deal or am I over-thinking it?)
7. Humor (not negative humor or anything that might put you back in a negative mood...even if say you typically enjoy the terrible tiger meme)
8. Problem-solving (Work out how to fix the situation vs. worrying)
9. Time Management (set alarms to keep from getting distracted)
10 Restorative Sleep (especially after a huge panic attack, this can reset you to where you need to be)
11. Healthy Diet (Tired all the time and getting stressed over not getting enough done? It could simply be a need for a diet change)
12. Meditation (Take a break every so often and maybe listen to some relaxing music to simply let your mind wander in a relaxed state)

^Love this

Below was intended to be a printout for depression, but it also helps me with my anxiety management (as mentioned, they can go hand in hand)

I try to make a point to do most of these things every day, to keep anxiety/depression at bay and avoid the big waves.

Wishing strength to all, no matter the battles you fight.



A final note: To those of you who mentioned medications
While they may be helpful to some, I have found anti-depressants hype me up and make my anxiety/insomnia worse, anti-anxiety/mood stabilizers dull me down and make me depressed, and anxiety/panic attack medications also make me depressed and can be extremely physically/psychologically addictive if taken more often than their intended purpose, which is only when absolutely necessary. I'm now doing my best to live a healthy life, take care of myself, keep to do lists so I and my life stay organized, and avoid medication/other mood altering substances. This is a conclusion on how I want to go about things that I keep coming back to after 9 years of trying different meds, not to mention self medicating with drugs/alcohol. I don't intend to give medical advice, but share my story in the hopes that medication isn't seen as a go to quick fix, as it has backfired on me so many times.

 

[Ann_Sulu]

A final note: To those of you who mentioned medications
While they may be helpful to some, I have found anti-depressants hype me up and make my anxiety/insomnia worse, anti-anxiety/mood stabilizers dull me down and make me depressed, and anxiety/panic attack medications also make me depressed and can be extremely physically/psychologically addictive if taken more often than their intended purpose, which is only when absolutely necessary. I'm now doing my best to live a healthy life, take care of myself, keep to do lists so I and my life stay organized, and avoid medication/other mood altering substances. This is a conclusion on how I want to go about things that I keep coming back to after 9 years of trying different meds, not to mention self medicating with drugs/alcohol. I don't intend to give medical advice, but share my story in the hopes that medication isn't seen as a go to quick fix, as it has backfired on me so many times.

Yup while they are absolutely necessary to some, to others not so much...Long story short I had a parent who needed meds for depression, but wound up with every bad side-effect of the meds every time, and it was heart-breaking to watch. Not saying the meds weren't needed, but I felt no one was really pushing for any real therapy/self-care in that situation.

I look at it as I get everything I promise done on time. I maintain a healthy sleep schedule and diet. I make sure to give myself time for both mental and physical self-care. Does this mean I'm perfect? Hell no! If I don't get a checklist done, I get consumed with a ridiculous haunting NEED of it to be done even if it's something that will in no way shape or form affects my life or others in a negative way. This is typically accompanied by a constant NEED to add things throughout the day that I can't possibly get done by the end of the day. I don't get as depressed as much as a constant high anxiety of being behind on my game so to speak. Despite feeling the extreme pull of the need to do things that don't technically have to get done; I am able to do something different and relaxing like a movie, music or hobby to distract myself until the OCD thought goes away for at least the most part (this wasn't always the case). Nowadays I make myself not do chores/work related stuff after a certain time of day.

I feel meds aren't necessarily a good thing for me, as I'd be worried of feeling less motivated/in control due to potential side-effects (which would make me depressed, and frankly would likely make my issues worse again once I stopped). I may eventually have to take something for my high heart rate, but it too isn't as bad as it was at least.

 

[SexiNerdiLexi]

A good shrink is hella important, especially for depression or anxiety, but the fact of it is a lot of people can't exactly afford seeing a therapist if it's not covered or whatnot. These are some amazing graphics , really helpful and I'm gonna save them haha. For people who maybe can't afford a psychiatrist, some lifestyle changes can help like lots of excersize and sunshine, as well as eating healthy. I was recently diagnosed with Depression with psychotic features as well as anxiety, and panic attacks are the worst. And I can be triggered into a panic attack quite easily, unfortunatel. But I've been regularly going to a good shrink, and we've been practicing some really helpful tools that are mainly meant to help the psychotic features of my disorder, but they also help quite a bit for anxiety as well. It's sort of mindful breathing, in through your nose, out through your mouth as deep as you can and you're supposed to picture your ears as if they are microphones - as in, microphones just listen but they don't have to think about anything or really process that information, they just record it. So while mindfully breathing, practice this everyday, every two hours or an hour or so *not just when you're anxious* (because, you might forget to do it) "turn your ears into microphones" and just listen to all of the sounds around you, you don't think about them or interact with them. If you have any thoughts just let them pass, don't obsess or interact, just let them happen and move on. Do this everyday once every two hours and it really helps. I suppose it's just really meditation, but meditation is a really good tool and amazingly helpful for anxiety and even depression. There's also 'stims' you can do, like have a smooth stone or a piece of fabric that you like, and rub your hands over it and breathe mindfully and focus on feeling that item in your hand, the texture of it, the size. It just gives your anxious ruminating brain something to focus on and that's another helpful tool.

Part of the reason why I love camming so much more than vanilla work is that I find my anxiety is much more manageable when I'm camming.

I agree that some people don't need medication, but other people absolutely do because their issues are because of a chemical or hormonal imbalance in their brain. For me personally, I would not be able to function in society without my antipsychotics. And that's okay. It's part of my path to recovery, so that I can be okay. And that's okay too. Everyone has a different recovery path, you just need to orchestrate one that's right for you, because only you know you best (is that redudant? lol). I also think that for anxiety it's super important to stay away from mind altering substances, like I used to be reallly into smoking weed and now I'm basically the poster child for why you shouldn't smoke chronically, especially if you already have a mental illness that cannot be treated by it.

 

[AerynShade]

I've discovered that I absolutely must keep my mind busy or I get stuck in rumination which can trigger either a depressive episode or anxiety attack. (Those comorbid friends.)

Learning a new physical skill like knitting, learning a new mental skill like a language, or working on cryptic puzzles all help.
Just physical exercise doesn't do it, and can make things worse because I have all that down time alone with my brain.

My brain WILL find a problem to obsess over, even if there aren't real ones. So I must feed it things to work on. I literally feel like my brain is full sometimes after learning something and it fills me with a great sense of tranquility.

My anxiety attacks manifest a bit oddly too compared to others I know with anxiety. They usually come with a massive dose of rage. Like she-hulk murder rage.
I'm more aware of what's happening now than I used to be, but it's still very surreal. After it's over I feel very hollow and shakey. Like my emotions have all been completely washed away.

 

[MFCGod]

Learning a new physical skill like knitting, learning a new mental skill like a language

I love the language analogy, I've used it before when I have to explain to people when they say "just don't worry about it"

It's like expecting someone to be able to speak German just because they asked you to; that's not how it works

 

[AerynShade]

I love the language analogy, I've used it before when I have to explain to people when they say "just don't worry about it"

It's like expecting someone to be able to speak German just because they asked you to; that's not how it works

Sorry for the confusion. I'm not using it as an analogy. I'm literally learning Dutch to keep my brain occupied so it doesn't try to kill me.

 

[Ann_Sulu]

Sorry for the confusion. I'm not using it as an analogy. I'm literally learning Dutch to keep my brain occupied so it doesn't try to kill me.

Omg I feel this so hard...

Person: wow how do you learn languages so quickly?!
Thinks to self: Why that's do to my brain not allowing me to stop studying the language until it feels I've mastered it.
Me out loud: Oh I guess I'm just good at philology! ^.^;

 

[Ann_Sulu]

Person: wow how do you learn languages so quickly?!
Thinks to self: Why that's do to my brain not allowing me to stop studying the language until it feels I've mastered it.
Me out loud: Oh I guess I'm just good at philology! ^.^;

And one day I may also learn to not type on my phone, so I don't say do instead of due while discussing about philology.

 

[Cutie_Kisses]

I have been trying to find a way to describe the difference forever. You did a great job, thank you!!

I love this:

Panic attacks are a malfunction of one of several different areas of your brain. They aren't 100% sure which part or parts. Panic attacks happen when you ignore anxiety attacks. You ignored the "check engine lights", or just flat couldn't deal with them.

Remember my friends, this too shall pass!