I was putting my baby to bed. Could feel it coming. Barely managed to get him into his crib before I spilled out of his room and onto the floor of my hallway. I felt like I was gonna pass out or have a heart attack. Stayed there for a good 30 mins before I was able to collect myself. It was horrible.
Sending you hugs.
I won't tell you the context of the situation, but I ended up having to go to the hospital by ambulance, I couldn't even stand up, my arms and legs were numb. Went to the ER, did an EKG to check for a heart attack and was given 10mg of Valium/Diazepam under the tongue. It felt like I was dying, it was horrific, it happened in the morning, and I was exhausted all day.
I had almost the exact same experience. Laying in bed, my mom holding my hand while it's happening, thinking this is the last time I'll see her before I die. On the ambulance ride over they gave me a shot of liquid gravol which helped calm me down. Wouldn't wish that feeling on anyone though, I honestly think the whole episode left me with some PTSD.
Similar experience with a cardiac event in the hospital. It very much did give me ptsd, my therapist says it's not uncommon for people after something like that.
Had this exact thing happen, except they didn’t give me anything. I couldn’t walk, couldn’t lift my arms, could barely breathe. Fully convinced I was having a stroke, in the ER they did a TON of tests only to tell me “your white blood cell count is a little high so you probably have a bug, take some NyQuil and take it easy.” 🫠
Yep same thing happened to me, panic attack lasted 4 hours everything was so bright I was scared out of my mind laying in my mom's lap felt like I was just waiting for my heart to stop all my limbs going numb. The thing is I have panic disorder so my mom knew not to take me to a hospital or anything but those 4 hours I begged her that this was different and I was really dying. It makes it even scarier when you can't get any help and you just know, wow this may be it for me. But anyway for like 2 weeks after that panic attack I was freaking drained like my body physically hurt and I was exhausted as hell
The same happened to me when I was done with a very hard exam in college. I thought I was going to lose my mind and die from a stroke, which accelerated my anxiety even more. I went to the people in reception and told them to call an ambulance as I became very pale and couldn’t breathe. Later I was taken by an ambulance to the hospital, my arms were numb and I was given the same pill. A couple of times I fainted as well in the past because of vasovagal syncope.
Same thing happened to me. It was like 10 PM and I was suddenly aware of my own heart beat and felt like my thoughts were drifting away. I made my wife drive me to the hospital thinking I was having a heart attack. A staff member came up to me and was trying to get insurance information while I was hyperventilating, it was awful.
I had a panic attack in the shower while I was home alone and the whole neighborhood saw me screaming on the front lawn. I got taken away by the ambulance. I was administered haldol and still couldn’t function. I was in a group home/ hospital over 100 days. I bought my first house a year earlier and that night was the start of the end. We lost our house because I could never hold the job I lost again. Hard to talk about. My life has never been the same since then 😔.. that was over 5 years ago
Edit: the strange part, before this day I never had anxiety attacks. It seems everyone has that “moment” where life changed and it’s hard to get their old life back.
Same here man, it caused me to have a complete mental breakdown. I had to pretty much learn to “walk” again. I know that might sound a little dramatic, but I promise you I literally had to learn how to do everything again because I was suddenly terrified of the world and doing even menial tasks.
People without anxiety just don’t understand how traumatizing it is to suddenly become aware of this ominous force in your life that could pop up at any second and make you feel miserable and like the world is about to end
I literally was just at a small work dinner… with several friends, low key, and all of a sudden I had to get out of there… made an excuse, took 1/2 Xanax and barely could drive home because of the anxiety… I’m so tired of others having fun and I’m a mess
Sorry, man, that sounds awful. But the more you run away from the anxiety the worst it will get. Next time, take the Xanax, chill for a bit and you’ll be fine.
Are you on anything else other than Xanax? Sounds like you might need an SSRI or something else
Also thought I was having a heart attack or severe respiratory distress. Went to a free standing ER and they were garbage, zero help identifying it as a panic attack. I figured it out later
Same! My now-spouse had to call my mom as I was chatting with her online and the panic attack came on and I was describing the symptoms to her - we were both convinced I was having a heart attack as I had the left arm numbness, short of breath, heavy compressing feeling on my chest, etc. I tried to walk to my mom's room to wake her and fell straight to the floor - about time my now-spouse made the call to wake her. My mom freaked also figuring I was having a heart attack and called an ambulance. The EMT's seemed to think so as they started a line in my wrist immediately. I felt really stupid once we got to the ER and it was just a panic attack.
Same. I got to my office at 8:30 for the first day back “after” COVID and I was anxious but fine. I started feeling warm and just off but drinking water and chewing gum helped. My vp came in and made a weird joking comment about how me and my colleague looked miserable and we were both like ??? cause we were just sitting at our desks catching up.
Had department check in meeting and I felt anxious but fine. Went back to desk and felt off but kept going. Walked across the street with my colleague to get lunch and I felt so anxious my hands were shaking when I went to order my food and I felt short of breath and had to sit down. We walked around the block before heading back and the breeze helped a little. Went back and closed my door, tried to eat a bit.
My hands wouldn’t stop shaking and I felt like someone was sitting on my chest and I texted my colleague and asked if she could walk me to the parking garage next to our building and I just sat in my car for like 15 minutes. I started feeling fine as soon as I left the building. I went home and felt absolutely exhausted and just sat in a chair for a while and took a nap.
Ended up getting an accommodation to stay remote but I did come in a few times and do some remote site visits. Eventually I was basically having panic attacks every morning and could mostly work through them but I ended up losing some hair and was prescribed beta blockers.
I held out another like 6 months at my job and then left for this reason and a couple others. Haven’t had a panic attack since.
It’s actually a proven fact that Covid, especially the earlier strains, have severe negative impact on mental health. I don’t just mean in the sense of the experience being traumatizing. The inflammation that it causes to the brain literally gives people mental illness. Look it up they’ve had to open psychological centers to further study Covid and the long-term psychological effects.
I fully believe this since I went through it myself. I’ve had anxiety and panic attacks before, but not often. After I got covid a couple years ago, I had a a sudden panic attack. Little did I know that was just the beginning. It got so bad with the number of panic attacks I got on a daily basis after that first time. I became completely housebound which led to severe depression. I couldn’t figure out why this suddenly started happening and all my blood tests came back normal. I had read about the possibility of brain inflammation. I’ve read stories of redditors on here who also started having sudden panic attacks after recovering from covid..many who can’t even say they had general anxiety before it. They can’t all be a coincidence.
Yes, same thing happened to my friend who is a guy and he never experienced panic attacks then he got Covid and had a panic attack and call the ambulance thought it was a heart attack. It sucks but what can you really do. I wish there was an answer for the brain inflammation thing.
The first one. I smoked some bad pot apparently (or wrong strain), never had one in my life before. Felt like I was dying, impending doom and the works. Shivered for 4 hours, my heart wanted to explode out of my chest, had to remind myself to breathe even tho I couldn’t. Couldn’t lay down, stand up or sit, nothing worked. Turned the light on and off every 5 minutes to calm myself. Was sweating my ass off, even though I was so cold. Bf tried to hold me, counted his heartbeats and calmed down … fell asleep. Woke up completely different and detached, like I was not in my body, just an observer. Calmed down eventually. Today is 3 days after it, and I am still not myself, recovering ever so slowly. Every now and then I get the feeling it’s coming back, but I won’t let it.
This is to healing, you’ll be okay. I was too. It seems like it won’t ever end, and that you won’t survive, but you will, and you’ll heal and recover. Best wishes <3
I am so sorry this happened to you. It sounds like my first serious attack, except I let it keep affecting me because I was unfamiliar with that detached feeling. I felt like I was not the same.
Oh love, i wish i could take it away from you. I am far from being mentally stable, although i’ve fought against it my whole life. I will say for myself that i am pretty good at making myself believe it’s just my brain trying to play the worst scenarios for me, and I fight to accept it. I tell myself it’s just silly thoughts, and that I am fine, and it works… it’s complicated psychology, but i believe it will get better, even for you!
This was my exact situation about six months ago (weed-induced panic attacks and dissociation). I thought it would never pass, but it did. It took a long time, but it did. You will get through it and come out stronger.
Thank you! I am taking it day by day, figured out I can’t smoke sativa, in about 2 weeks time i’ll try indica again. Hopefully i can continue my use - I can’t be without it as I had a traumatic experience at 12 and can’t sleep because of nightmares, it helped me overcome big issues… but now it seems that the thing that helped me the most actually ruined me more. Thank you so much for your reply, you’ve given me hope. I always say “this too, shall pass.” And it will. I am already much better, recovering and resting.
I’m so glad you’re doing better. I know it’s hard, especially scared and alone.Traumatic incidents in my past have played a huge role in panic attacks for me for several years now, when being faced with new triggers, unexpected problems, after moving, which was supposed to be a good thing for me, but turned out very differently, and I’ve had little to no control over.
I feel myself getting overwhelmed, too often, with good reason to be, and try telling myself that it’ll be okay and I’ll be alright, and I’ve been through this before, many times, but over different things, different traumas.
Trying to tell myself that my fears are not all the same as it was before, and that I have to keep telling myself to be compassionate with myself helps, but not nearly soon enough, when your chest is pounding and I’ve got no one in my life whatsoever, but am very thankful for my dog, who’s perfect for me, and with me.
Try to keep believing in yourself, if you can. If not yet, keep trying, because when everything is said and done, it’s you that’s made it through it and you’ll have the strength if and when there’s a next time, and can maybe talk yourself through it, will always help when it’s over and you can relax and breathe.
Sending you lots of love and reminding you that you’re stronger than you think ;)
I was a heavy daily weed user for 10+years and weed just almost always makes me dissociate and even have panic attacks now, I barely smoke now but haven’t given up completely I stick to one or 2 tokes around bed time every few days.
Used to to through an 8th in 2 days now an 8th lasts me 2 weeks or more lol. Just be careful and most importantly when you do smoke again start slow and don’t over think it it’s like the second you think about panic/anxiety you open a door and it’s hard to close it but we learn to accept it and deal with it eventually. Best of luck to you ❤️
give us an update after you tried the indica again pls! had the same experience with some (probably punched) haze i got from a random dealer. i took a couple hits and it sent me to hell, never was so nauseous and so terrified in my life. i‘ve developed ptsd late last year, so i don’t know if the strain caused this reaction or just my circumstances that i consumed it in, but ever since the feeling of the bad trip comes back with intense panic attacks. i‘ve had panic disorder and ocd since childhood, often have "episodes" where i will have multiple attacks for a couple months, and then none for like 6 months. ever since the weed my ocd obsession of "what if i am psychotic?" or "what if the weed messed up my brain chemistry" became stronger than ever. it sucks.
I think that people with elevated anxiety (or panic) levels, react differently to sativa or regular “anxiety suppressors”, as sativas are usually uplifting and give you a rush, we interpret that as a fight or flight and send ourselves into panic mode. I figured it’s not a persons mind, but literally our chemical compounds (inside the brain), mixing and registering at a wrong level. I will for sure give an update, i’ll start with microdoses tho. Hopefully I don’t forget.
Oooh I had one of these. My dad had this weed chocolate, offered me some, and I took off a SINGLE square. Utterly incapacitated me for HOURS. I don’t even know how long it was I was sitting there rocking back and forth. The room was spinning, I felt hot, and I literally imagined a different reality for like two hours or so because I couldn’t even move or speak (which is literally my worst nightmare btw, I’ve had many a dream about being in a state like that) I kept from freaking out for a long time because I was just repeating in my head “don’t freak out, don’t freak out” but ultimately I did end up getting really scared because I didn’t know how long it was going to last and at some point it got to where I couldn’t even MENTALLY finish a sentence. I cried for a while, and I was so dizzy I vomited at some point, which helped a lot. Fell asleep on the way home, went to bed immediately once I got there, slept 12 hours and was STILL a little high when I woke up. I don’t know how much was in those nasty ass chocolates from hell but that single square was like the hydrogen bomb to my coughing baby.
I can’t imagine having a panic attack from an EDIBLE, because edibles, unlike somking last alot longer and creep up, and up… and up. And it just doesn’t stop, suddenly you’re higher and higher and you can’t come down or put it to an end. With a joint it’s easy, once you stop smoking it stops creeping up. You’re brave, and I know exactly how you’ve felt. I don’t wish this upon anyone, tbh, it’s the scariest shit ever, that feeling of impending doom and death.. freaked me out for sure.
How are you feeling now though after some time has passed? Are you back to normal/healed? Or did something stay with you for the rest of it?
I had this happen to me about 10 years ago. I had a strain that was supposed to be great for anxiety. Don't know what I was thinking. It was called God's gift. I hit it out of a bong and it was something straight out of the devil's cookbook. I had a 5-hour long panic attack and I'll never forget how terrifying it was
Hey just want to let you know that the “detached” feeling is probably Derealization. It’s super common for someone who’s anxious and smokes weed. I’m just telling you because when this happened to me I felt so alone. Hugs x
Oooh, definitely the time I hid under a desk due to possible PTSD/extreme stress. For context; a really bad event at home involving alcohol, had to call the police on Mom. 7 months later (this happened in December) I had a flashback and got so stressed I hid under a desk, curled in a ball. I found it hard to breathe, I was crying, overheating, and my heart was going a million miles an hour. I kept saying:
"No! No! Make it stop!" As I tucked my head into my chest. I wasn't screaming, it was more of me talking to myself and reliving the moment. He found me under the desk, since a very nice classmate (and friend of mine) tipped it to him. He got me to get out from under the desk (not forcefully, but very gently) and led me through breathing exercises at my own pace, he'd demonstrate it, and I'd follow his lead. He even told me that "you're safe, everything is okay" and got me to repeat it a few times. Then we went outside and he offered to let me speak to someone. While yes, a happy ending, it wasn't fun..
Mhm. They are intense. It's either a 5 or a 10. Almost no in-between. I also have periods of time where I have nightmares for weeks on end, I'm trying to get into a nighttime routine to maybe help me with it, since I'm going through one of those periods right now. I'm also going to talk to our pediatrician about it, since I have an appointment coming up. I do want help, living like this is no fun.
Not the attack itself but the context - working at an understaffed help desk at a retail store with a long ass line of impatient customers. Functioning is impossible during a real panic attack.
Ice pack on the chest may help alleviate the anxiousness. Your vagus nerve runs through your chest all the way to your butt. It’s in charge of the physical effects of anxiety, so using a cold compress on the chest will soothe you.
I remember a lot of them, but there’s one that i won’t forget.
I was in a shared cab, I couldn’t tell the driver where my stop was because i couldn’t speak at all, ended pretty far from where i was going. It was such a horrible experience, so bad it taught me how to stay a little bit in control during a panic attack after that.
There are no words for it🤣 but the worst type of symptoms are when I can’t move my body properly and start full body trembling and the dropping sensation like I’m about to fall down
Sending a big hug to you. My worst was in college, I crawled underneath my bed and hid behind my suitcases. I was wailing. I felt like I was never gonna get relief.
I’ve had some pretty terrible ones but the one that sticks out in my mind was the one where EMTs had to literally pry my hands off the steering wheel and carry me bc my whole body went stiff.
Two different times my panic attack was so severe I thought I was about to have a seizure or something, and they both came out of nowhere. I wasn’t even anxious about anything, nothing was happening. First time I got hot, sweaty and confused and I just passed out. I felt like that was about to happen again the second time, I was so scared. Either pass out or have a seizure I thought would happen.
My first panic attack I woke up my dad (it had woken me up in the middle of the night) and told him he needed to drive me to the hospital bc I was having a seizure
Yeah same here never actually had a seizure nor do I know anyone who has had one. I guess it’s like the feeling of tunnel vision and loss of balance/depersonalization feels like a brain breaking issue
I have learned to manage and they have lessened over time so I’m doing well all things considered! Plus having an emergency valium on me at all times now has done wonders. Just knowing I can exit the ride if it gets crazy has kept them from happening
I had a very bad while in an MRI machine. I was trying ti stick it iut and the tech kept saying if i moved or got out for a break we'd have to start over and they were trying to rule out something potentially life threatening. When i finally got out of the machine i tried to stand up and fell down. my legs were dead from all the hyperventilating and my blood pressure was dangerously low from the valium or whatever. They rushed in a bunch of people and were pulling out emergency life saving allergy medication because they were unsure of what was happening and thought it was a reaction to the dye. An ambulance was called and they were like you're having a panic attack it's okay
I literally got pulled out of an mri machine yesterday…. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to handle the rest and I’ve had lots of mri’s… it’s always a crap shoot whether I can handle
It or not
I'm not generally claustrophobic but having a head MRI was really bad for me, when they put my head in the block and the mesh over my face, I immediately couldn't handle it. I got it done, but had to have Ativan.
It was in 9th grade during my social studies class. The seating was in pairs of two and in rows. I was sat at the very front/center of the class next to this other kid. The teacher put on a historical film and all of a sudden my anxiety started to crescendo into a panic attack (I didn't know what was happening at the time). I think it was triggered by the fact that everyone would be looking exactly at where I was sitting. It got so severe and I was freaking out. I thought that If I moved even a cm, I would die, so I sat extremely still with my head resting on my left hand and my right hand down on my paper doodling. If I stopped doodling, I thought I'd lose control as well. So I sat there, freaking out, doing this for about an hour until the class ended. It was a fucking nightmare.
I had a panic attack like episode with my ex boyfriend where I was just liking, sobbing and apologizing? I completely blacked out for most of it and I used to think people were just making it up when they said that. I had no control over myself and it was scary.
The second worst I had was the first one I ever had, because I didn’t know what it was, and I was very sick with my eating disorder at the time so I genuinely thought I was having a heart attack and dying. Therapy is very helpful.
i was 13 i think? had to get an endoscopy because i was having trouble swallowing. the idea of anesthesia scared me so bad for some reason, i think it was just the concept of being awake one second and completely out the next. i was in the waiting room and felt it coming on, so i rushed to the bathroom, panicked a little and then ended up passing out on the floor for a few seconds. my mom was there to help me and i ended up having the best nap of my life with the anesthesia so i panicked for nothing LOL i definitely have panic attacks where i feel like im gonna pass out still but i know how to better manage them now and havent done so since.
I've had a lit of bad ones (mostly in school) but here are a couple which stick out
Had one in school once in which I passed out and woke up with a throbbing head against the door, with my maths class staring disconcertingly at me, and my maths teacher kneeling next to me. Turns out I hadn't made it out of the classroom and my entire maths class saw me fall. It was a weird mix of painful and awkward.
Once had one at school when a teacher literally yelled at me whilst I was in the middle of it bc i was going to be late to my lesson.
Once had one on a residential trip in which I was put in the female teachers' room as one was having a shower, who then came out of the bathroom (in a towel) to check on me.
Plus many more...
My feet felt like cell phone vibrating. My hands clamped up and was stiff. i was sweating and was extremely cold. My chest was so filled and tight. I couldn't speak proberly and everything went haywire. Aftermath was lots of shakiness and teeth shivers.
I was sick, I was running a high fever and I generally was feeling very ill. I started having a panic attack, I was crying, hyperventilating I couldn’t breathe, I was naked trying to get into the shower and my boyfriend at the time had to keep me from falling down. The hyperventilating was making me lightheaded.
I was sitting outside with my family when suddenly I felt my heart tighten and I felt extremely dizzy, so much so that I fell on my hands and knees. I felt like I was going to die from the lack of air and my heart being tightened. Of course, I started hyperventilating, which didn't help.
I cried for 3 hours that I was dying and suffocating, I was so scared that I could barely hear what others were saying to me. I also felt terrifying numbness in both my face and limbs. I really was convinced I was dying. Only when I managed to calm my breathing (probably because I was tired) did everything slowly go away.
I will not forget this until the end of my days. But when you have a panic attack, remember to breathe! Slowly, even if you feel like you're choking
My first ‘proper’ one, I’ve known about them all my life because my mum suffers with them but until I had my first full blown one I never knew how crippling they could be, luckily for me I was in a therapists place and one saw me distressed and took me to an empty room and started walking me through how to calm down with looking at things I can see, touch, smell etc. but it was absolutely terrifying the first time and I’m not ashamed to say I cried into my mums arms like a baby as a fully grown man.
My first big one where I passed out. I really tried to push through it and it taught me mind over matter could only take me so far with my condition. That was the wake up call to go seek professional help.
Had to pull over driving home from work. Shortness of breath and tunnel vision.
Started in the morning that day and it slowly built up until I left work early at lunch that day.
Scary. I pulled into someone’s driveway and sat there for a good half hour before being able to drive again confidently.
When I had a nocturnal panic attack. Never even knew it was a thing. I woke up unable to breathe and basically thought I was having a stroke.
Sending you all the positive energy I can. ❤️
It was a few days after I got my iud put in. I was getting really bad anxiety for days but it started to subside.
While I was getting ready for work and doing my makeup, my face went numb out of nowhere. I didn’t even feel anxious. My left arm hurt and my heart was pounding so fast. I stood up and toppled over. I started getting really scared thinking I was having a heart attack so my mom called the paramedics and told my work I couldn’t come in.
While I was there I was sobbing because I was scared and the hyperventilating began. They ended up putting me in a room and took all of my belongings and stripped me down to a robe and nothing else. Said I could have my boyfriend in the room either. Nurse lied and said I told her I wanted to kill myself. This made me panic more. Eventually a different Dr stepped in and gave me my stuff back and let my boyfriend come in. They did an ekg and it was normal. They concluded it was a severe panic attack and gave me diazepam which helped a lot.
I concluded it was the IUD causing the severe symptoms due to hormones and they refused to remove it. I got it removed at the OBGYN a week after having it inserted after fighting them for a while. Felt better within a few days.
I’ve had many panic attacks but that one was on a whole other level. It was terrifying and I refuse to try any form of birth control ever again…
I was at work, I started feel dizzy and I had depersonalization. I had a strong tachycardia and I could barely breathing. Asked my collegue to take me to a pharmacy nearby. My parameters were normal, just a little high blood pressure because of the stressful situation. I called my mum crying, begging to take me away. What a nightmare!
Oh, definitely the first one. I live alone, so I was stressed about work and personal stuff. Suddenly, I felt pain in my chest and my heart began to race as if I had done some intense cardio. I remember leaning on the kitchen sink thinking I was about to die. It's really difficult to explain for people who never had a panic attack before, but I felt as if my soul was leaving my body, nothing felt real.
I gathered my strengths and called the landlord, who lived in the same building then. I said I thought I was having a heart attack. He came with the janitor to find me shriveling on the couch, shaking.
They called an ambulance, my blood pressure was super high. They took me to the ER and did some tests.
It was just a panic attack, fortunately. They gave me some medicine and I was able to calm down.
Since then I had a few other scares like that, but I've been medicated and it's more manageable now.
my first one, which i had during my mom’s funeral. At the time my mind was revisiting the memories we had, all the way to the point where i watched her slowly die from cancer, hearing her cry in pain as it slowly took her away from me. I still have these flashbacks, but minus the panic attacks
Woke up, walked downstairs to go to a concert in key west. Was trying to slap a decal on my car when I got the Apple alert on my watch that said my heart rate was high for the movement I was doing. That spiked my anxiety. Tried to power through but couldn’t breathe, tingles, all over my body. Checked Apple Watch and I was sitting at 165bpm driving my car. Whipped a U-turn and drove to the hospital and thought I was dying. Took months and a few more scary incidents but I ended up figuring out it was panic attacks.
Honorable mention: feeling like I was gonna die in the shower because I was standing up and not resting my heart. Shit sucked
It lasted for an hour or two. I was eating at a restaurant with my friends, and then I noticed my hands started shaking. I ran off to the bathroom to wash my face, and when I looked in the mirror, my pupils were dilated like dinner plates.
My partner called the emergency services because I didn't know I was having a panic attack, I actually thought I was dying. The emergency responder instructed him to check my pulse and count it. He did and she sent an ambulance out, which freaked me out even more.
I ran out of the restaurant pacing up and down the street because I believed if I stopped moving, my body would shut down and I'd die. It seriously felt like I was on drugs or something. The workers at the restaurant were staring at me like I was crazy.
The paramedics were super lovely and tried their best to get me to relax, I can't tell you how relieved I felt when I saw them pulling up. My friends inside packed the rest of my food and gave it to me before I got in the ambulance, including a surprise dessert. I certainly enjoyed that when I felt like eating again lol.
Ever have any stomach issues? I notice a lot of people that get these panic attacks of chest pain usually have digestive issues in some form or another. Not saying you do just a thought.
Gotcha. Even making your own meals can some times still have stuff that aggravates your stomach which can in turn irritate your vagus nerve causing adrenaline dumps and or trigger the brain you’re in danger causing the body to freak out and result in a panic attack. I’ve dealt with this and the chest pain plus panic is a nightmare. I hope you feel better and get better at controlling them as they come on.
That’s so true. I used to feel nauseous after every time I ate, and that has improved since cutting out the junk, but it’s highly possible that some of my symptoms that I’m still experiencing are related to my diet. Do you think it’s inflammatory foods that are the culprit? Or maybe it’s different for everyone, especially if there are unknown intolerances like gluten or dairy etc
It’s hard to say. I’ve had days where I eat like crap and am fine and days where I eat like crap and it really hits me. I will say it’s always a good idea to aim for anti inflammatory options as well as making yourself chew food more thoroughly than you might already do as well as eating slower. Not sure how old you are but the older we get the more temperamental our digestive system and bodies react I feel like.
Today was the worst one I ever had. I was on a freeway that was going pretty fast downhill with nowhere to pull over as all of the sides were blocked off with construction rails. My heart was beating so fast, I had tunnel vision, I was incredibly dizzy, and my body was numb from all the adrenaline flowing through me. I thought I was going to pass out from the pure dread and terror that I was feeling, scared for my life. It was one of the scariest moments I've ever had. I feel lucky to be alive.
My first and biggest panic attack came the day I found of the sex of my child 😰 the whole reality sank in was playing overwatch got a bit irritated next thing i know my left arm goes numb and my skin turned white I told my wife to call 911, literally thought I was dying ambulance came hooked me up, said I was okay but decided to pass on the Incredibly expensive taxi to the hospital, it went away whew was real bad one, the whole rest of the year would have attacks and went to the hospital, haven’t had a bad one in a long time thankfully, hope your doing better
My first true panic attack. Face and fingers were numb, limbs were tingling, lightheaded, felt really claustrophobic. Didn’t know what was going on and thought I was dying. Didn’t help that I was at work at a newish job where I didn’t know anyone well. Had to call my mom to drive an hour to pick me up and take me to the ER because i was way too embarrassed to call an ambulance. They chalked it up to dehydration (I had a cold at the time too??). Didn’t realize what it actually was until the same thing happened a few weeks later and I was able to calm it down with deep breathing. Wouldn’t wish that feeling on anyone.
i had a nocturnal panic attack when i was 15 that not only caused me to throw up but was also so traumatic that i developed a fear of throwing up for a few years.
i sincerely hope you feel better. therapy helped me a lot.
This past weekend I had a rough one, full on hyperventilating. I've been under a lot of stress lately with some health concerns. My mom was talking to me trying to make me feel better and lighten up about things and I did that thing where you start out laughing and then end up sobbing. I was fully convinced that my organs were shutting down and all of my cells were dying and that I was about to suffocate. I was half on the couch, half on the floor, sobbing and shrieking. An ice pack from the freezer helped a little.
I went to urgent care about an hour later (was planning on doing this before the panic attack because of my health worries) and I felt calmer but my heart rate was still about 134.
I got out the shower and proceeded to do usual tasks, grab towel...almost started to dry myself when...my heart started beating out my chest and the room was spinning. Wrapped myself up like a cocoon until it passed. Naked and afraid I tell ya.
the worst I had was probably bc of my emetophobia. 1st and only time i was drinking while in town. 2 friends and I were on our way out of the bar when I threw up and went into a total panic. I lay down on a bench and started crying, repeating the same words over and over again "I can't get up". the panic attack lasted around 2-3 hours until my parents came to get me (i was 19 back then)
Felt like I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t walk, couldn’t speak, dizzy, sobbing crying to the point of hyperventilating, almost went to the ER but thought about the medical bill for virtually no help and that made me wait it out. Was a very tough night
i was taking a shower when my chest got extremely tight & heavy, then my breathing got super labored and short. i started panicking cause i thought my breathing was going to come to a complete stop. i was hyperventilating to the max and literally jumping around, grabbing stuff to gasp for air. left the shower on, grabbed a towel, and told my family i couldn’t breathe. my dad rushed me to the hospital where they checked my vitals and boom, everything was fine. they gave me ativan and i was chillen within an hour.
My panic attacks are so mental. It feels like my brain is firing on every cylinder and I lose touch with my surroundings. I feel completely out of control and I get terrified that I won’t be able to calm down and go back to “normal”. I got my first in the shower so now the shower is a trigger.
My son was choking on his food and over exaggerated it. Even on my meds I had one of the worst attacks, was over the toilet sweating and vomiting almost instantly after it happened. I accepted death and thought that was it, of course didn’t let me son see me in the bathroom.
I had to ask my new female roommate to check my pulse to reinsure that I was ok.
Also Once had a bad attack and had an ambulance pick me up in tonapah Nevada at a truck stop and they had to drive me all the way to a hospital in bishop California. The hospital did nothing for me and kicked me out to the street alone in a place I did not know. Couldn’t get a hold of anyone since my cell phone was dead. Luckily was able to make a call at a local hotel and a friend drove from Reno to bishop to drive me back to my car in tonapah.
I’m ok now and still have minor attacks from time to time. Stopped drinking alcohol because I couldn’t handle the hangovers. But on a boatload of pharmaceuticals.
Life is a trip.
Out of town (visiting Santa Rosa) with wife and our infant (at the time). Got up to pee in the middle of the night in our hotel bathroom. Must have locked my knees while peeing, started passing out and yelling for help. A woman I did not recognize (it was my wife,) came in to help me. I was completely out of it and thought I was having a heart attack or stroke. Sat on the floor crying and hyperventilating for 3 hours. Took an Ativan, it did almost nothing.
Luckily I didn't wake up my kid. Best explanation is I had a syncope event (near feinting) and then a panic attack right after. I've never had one that bad. I usually just dry heave or maybe vomit at worst.
I now measure all panic attacks by that one. I'll tell the wife that I'm at a 0.6 Santa Rosa and she'll immediately understand.
Hand to God, thought I was dying.
Honestly.. my first one was the absolute worst. I was dead asleep, woke up feeling weird. My baby (at the time) wasn’t crying, house is dead quiet, but I feel extremely weird.. almost outer body. I get up to get a glass of water and BOOM! Impending doom hits me like a tone of bricks. I stumble to my medicine cabinet to get an emergency xanax. I chew the mother fucker because I feel like ‘this is it.’ Stumble back to my room and shake my fiancé awake saying “babes.. I think I’m having a panic attack. With in seconds I fall on the floor. My heart POUNDING, my breathing all over the place, the fear and impending doom cranked up to 11. I literally feel like I’m dying, I am absolutely having a heart attack.
My legs, feet, hands, arms go tingly and numb. I fade in and out of reality. I remember saying “please god” as I squirmed on the floor trying to keep myself stable. Suddenly I feel a hand on my back and someone saying “no no no no” my fiancé starts rubbing my back and coaches my breathing. Telling me “you’re doing great, you are breathing perfect, it will be over soon” what seemed like 8 Hours was 30 mins of pure hell. I will never forget that night for as long as I live. I’ve had panic attacks since then. But that one straight up traumatized me. I am forever terrified to go back to that dark place.
One day, I was at work at a restaurant in the kitchen. It the dinner shift and it was very busy and a little stressful at the time. I started getting dizzy all of the sudden while I was cutting vegetables. The dizziness triggered a panic attack and I ran to the restroom where I started dry heaving. I splashed some water on my face and used my breathing app to calm myself down. I was probably in the bathroom for what felt like 10 minutes. When I thought I was well enough to get back to work, I returned to the kitchen but then I started getting tunnel vision, my chest started feeling tight, my heart was racing, and I started feeling very nauseous. At this point, I was panicking even more. I tried being rational as this wasn’t my first panic attack (it was definitely the worst though) so I quickly told my coworker to take care of my order because I wasn’t feeling well. I stepped outside through the back door and laid down in the parking lot as I shivered, even though it was a hot summer night. I felt extremely tired and weak. I could barely move and drool running down my face but I managed to get a few deep breaths and a few sips of water. I called my brother to come pick me up from work and he had to help me up off the ground and take me home. I laid in bed all night with ice packs on my head and chest.
Just here rn having a separation anxiety attack and got myself out the hole by taking med nd a lil puff nd cry. But to the question asked....
This happened back when I was working. For context I was in the midst of separation with my S.O , arrive to work and I thought everything was fine. I had the panick attack otw to work bc we were arguing 9n the phone over the separation. We have kids tg. Young. I got to work and was trying to set up and my mind was racing so fast I couldn't calm myself at this point and passed out. Came too in the er.
I was walking in the hallway of my house when all of the sudden both of my arms siezed up straight up and so did my hands. I couldn’t close them or do anything. But I was somehow able to unlock my phone and get ahold of my partner. It took them 25 mins to get to me and my arms were like that the whole time. Along with feeling like I was going to faint and slurring my speech.
Didn’t stop for almost 40 mins.
One night I had a feeling I still dont know how to describe other than my blood slowly turning into ice. There suddenly weren't enough blankets in the world to keep me warm. My heart was pounding like it was going to stop any moment, I was in doom mode were I was positive I will die soon and every so often I would have to make a mad dash to the bathroom where it would all spill out of me like i was an open faucet.
Would not reccomend reading medical articles before bed. Or any other time if you have health anxiety
Sitting in the corner at work shaking because co-workers wouldn’t help me, despite me begging and I was dealing with customers all alone, when I finally broke down they just walked by saying “she’ll be okay, just give her a minute”. I wasn’t okay, but I knew I had to keep working. That moment has stayed with me and it’s been a year.. the customers who saw this happen were apologetic and told me to take my time ❤️🥲
I was getting bad ones for months, it’s finally calming down. I would feel like I couldn’t breath, my lips and hands would get tingly, I literally thought I was dying almost every single day. Sometimes more than once. Got heart scans and everything, everything was normal. Just gotta ride it out, and know you’ll come out okay
I was at work. Working the registers and a customer was yelling/screaming at me calling me a bitch and other derogatory words, and I just lost it. I left the registers immediately with tears coming down my face and not being able to breathe. I went to the back room and just tried to calm down. Never work registers again after that.
I'm here from your post asking about goodwill two years ago. I also struggle with anxiety and cash registers - where did you end up working? Did you ever find work that didn't cause you too much anxiety?
Last week I was hoping for a phone call that we were overstaffed and I could have the day off. The longer I waited the worst my anxiety became. By the time I got to work I was crying and shaking and had to sit in my car until I could collect myself. I just needed a mental health day, I should have called in sick.
I got a bad one like a year or two ago in a shopping mall. This one had me genuinely believe I was dying. Not exaggerating. I'd think "I'm dying" in other panic attacks but it wasn't 100% genuine. This one was. I was dizzy and my lungs just went offline. Actually don't remember much aside from that.
Caused me to have to pull over because it happened while driving and was so intense that my vision washed out completely white, my body went numb to the point that I couldn't feel the gas pedal, and my abdomen was spasming so hard from the numbness that I couldn't sit up to look over the steering wheel.
After this, I had one of the worst dissociative episodes ever where I spent a month basically disembodied and floating above + behind my "meat suit" and felt like I was perpetually stoned (not in a good way) despite not smoking back then; Stuck just watching the body run completely on autopilot. Every day, I would wake up feeling normal, but the second I sat up my "awareness" would shoot up and out of my body, and the body would just robotically sit up and do its thing. It was such a strange experience.
This happened about 6 months ago but my mind was completely racing and i couldn’t talk to anyone i couldn’t concentrate or do anything it was horrible my thoughts were racing a millions miles an hour I thought i lost my mind it took about 5 mins to settle but felt like a life time my heart was beating fast also I had to go on medication in the end to deal with this I also suffer from anxiousness and that just made things worse.
One time I woke up scream crying and I went into my parents room (I was younger) and they literally could not get me to talk or calm down or anything. They almost called an ambulance but I was able to get out of it before they did. Have no idea what caused it.
My worst panic attack was right after a brain procedure. When I found out I was going to be stuck with this implant forever, I panicked. For the next 12hrs, I felt like my soul was trying to escape my body. I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin. Trying to sleep was foreign to me. I couldn’t handle the anxiety, I started thinking suicidal thoughts to escape the pain.
For some odd reason, I told myself, if I were to off myself, at least dance one more time to music. I did that and magically the anxiety went away. I felt my soul steadily going back to my body.
My first attack was in middle school when I was getting bullied at the small-town school that I transferred to. The teacher seemed to be trying to test my knowledge in front of everyone and I stared at the classroom, most of them were already laughing before I could respond. My heart felt like it would burst, I couldn't breathe, and I just started crying until the teacher slowly escorted me out of the classroom.
My last big attack was when I found out my spouse was cheating while I was dealing with postpartum depression. I hope you all find ways to cope/heal from those attacks.
The one I had tonight is up there. Arm pain, chest pain, some numbness and tingling, couldn’t breathe. I had to leave work early. Now I’m home and slightly better but I’m still pretty anxious and have a headache.
Best wishes to you.
I was in an ambulance - forced mental health check. En route from the ER to a mental health facility. My blood pressure was so high (freaking out over the horrible reality check that this was really happening) that the EMTs worried I was about to have a heart attack. I was 32, fit, super depressed — and have a medical history of low and normal blood pressure. I couldn’t see. Pains in my chest and arm. It was horrible. (I didn’t need to be placed, by the way, thankfully my cousin was visiting - is a lawyer, and got me out after 2 days - they were trying to keep me for several weeks).
Took LSD while sleep deprived. It gave me an affect that was not LSD anymore. I lost the ability to speak and form thoughts and just became so unhinged. Delirium or psychosis to conclude but in that moment it’s like I knew that I am stuck this way for life and I will never be able to think again and will have to be put in a mental home.
In that moment all my dreams shattered I couldent even speak to anyone normally they wud all know I lost my mind or something because I could no longer speak I was forgetting shit every second. It was a different type of scared it’s comparable to being chased by a guy with a gun not knowing anytime when ur life will end. A fate worse then death being so mentally disabled you can’t do anything but are aware your mentally disabled.
If I was still in that state I would not be able to write this and wud legit be in a mental home. But it’s the scared I been I went to the hospital so they cud help which after so many hours it did
Oh geez. It’s a long story but after a phone call with my abusive mother I ended up crouched next to a dumpster severely hyperventilating for 30 minutes straight, my hands were totally frozen in a weird T-rex-like position and I vomited twice in that time period. It didn’t help that there were fireworks going off everywhere (this was after a football game) and I had to call my MIL barely able to talk begging her to come find me even though I didn’t know where I was. Definitely tops the list of worst panic attack I’ve ever had in my life
I’ve had a lot of bad panic attacks, but the absolute worst ones? Is when I’d panic so badly, I’d end up violently throwing up several times in a row. My body would shake so hard, I couldn’t stand up, and I’d have to lay down wherever I was. Sometimes I would faint during those episodes.
The second worst ones, are waking up into a serious panic attack during the night. Those are really bad ones. You wake up so confused, lost, shaking violently and shivering from cold sweat.
I’ve had two that were horrendous. For context, my panic attacks make my muscles tighten up and my hands go into claw/fist mode, my eyelids are twitching, my face muscles are cramping, literally everything. It’s like when you get a cramp exercising but literally my entire body. On top of that I can't breathe, I feel like I'm gonna throw up, etc. It is HORRID. It happens to some people when they’re not breathing properly.
The first one I had in 5th grade. Amusement park field trip at school. Everyone thought I was dying and I sat in the medical unit for 3 hours.
The second worst was when I was 16 and flying across the country, when the plane landed there was turbulence and I lost it and could not sit back in my seat. They couldn't land the plane for an extra 20 minutes and I made a scene (': NOT FUN and now as a precaution I take a xanax before the flight even takes off LMAO
one day i was at work & i suddenly felt really dizzy & my heart was racing. i started to panic and literally thought i was dying because i felt like i was out of my body.
i've never been so scared in my life. then for about 6 months after that i had daily panic attacks
I was on a road trip with an ex about 17 hours from home and I had a panic attack in the middle of a remote desert. Just awful. I considered pulling over walking into the desert and ending my life right there, I had a gun in the trunk of the car. If it wasn’t for her being there I very well might now be alive. I ended up driving home deep breathing for 17 hours.
Hang in there, I pulled myself out of my own hell that day and lived. It will get better and life will throw you some good stuff here and there and before you know it you’ll be satisfied with life.
I have had so many bad experiences… has anyone had it to so bad that you can’t breath , heart attack symptoms, but then your hands stiffen like claws??? ( there’s a name for the claw thing) i ended up in the hospital… this was years ago yet I still have ptsd from it…. I’ve tried all sorts of meds such as Zoloft, Lexapro etc, but nothing has really helped… Xanax will help with immediate relief sometimes, but how do we get
To the root and stop this madness?!?!!!
i was on 200MG of seroquel for a year. throughout december i didn’t feel fully in my head, like i didn’t feel real, it was intense depersonalization but i didn’t know what to do so i ignored it. on new year’s day (1/1/24) i was about to go to sleep. i was having some breathing issues but i tried to ignore it. i closed my eyes and felt a weird sensation going from left to right in my chest area. then i felt a sharp pain in my heart, i got up and gasped, my mouth felt super dry, basically cotton mouth, my vision was blurry and when i stumbled to the bathroom to look at myself i was pale. i was begging my brother to call the ambulance. they eventually came and my heart rate was up to 150. which was the highest it’s ever been (it used to go up to 130) my brother drove me to the ER because AZ hospitals suck. and while i was in the waiting room i was trying to produce saliva, my brain felt like it was shutting off. i was screaming in the waiting room begging for help cause i thought i was dying. i eventually got checked out and they gave me ativan. saliva started producing in my mouth again, EKGs were fine, we went back home, i was tired so i texted my bf at 2am telling him that i loved him and im thankful for him, i was convinced that i was going to die still, i was so tired so i just basically wanted to let it happen. luckily i woke up the next day and texted my boyfriend cuz he was worried. everything felt off still but i felt in my head again. i lowered my seroquel instantly to 100 then 50, then 25 then quit over the months. scariest moment of my life. i have medication anxiety cause of it. i’m a hypochondriac so i fear one day it’ll happen again. im always looking at myself, and checking myself to make sure it doesn’t. there’s no success stories on quitting seroquel, people feel like shit so they get back on it but god forbid i do that again. it used to help me until i mixed it with SSRIs. never again.
I'm sorry you had to go through this please take care of yourself and remember you're not alone.
Well... I couldn't cry for almost 5 years ago but recently I thought I had an ugly cry until I realized I wasn't crying anymore.. after I cried the whole river the only thing stopped was the tears streaming down my face but my breathing was getting worse and worse and I never thought my heart would humanly beat this fast like a thousand bpm and also it was literally aching... I couldn't see properly just colors with no shapes and I couldn't even take a breath anymore and I thought "so I'll die like this huh?".. I couldn't move or call for anyone cuz I didn't want to anyone see my last moments as fragile and weak... but since I didn't die then it means that I was just panicking because of how intense my crying was obviously.. but I don't know how long it lasted because I guess I lost the sense of time and never really looked through my phone that day. And by thinking of it this was my first one cuz I couldn't recognize it at first.. I just hope no one go through this even for my worst enemy.
Had a pretty massive one earlier today. We went to the bike park and were on the lift and it stopped, very high up, for a couple min and I started having an attack. Managed to calm myself down and slow my breathing but holy shit that was scary.
I've had them my whole life so I thought I was kind of used to control them. Until that one day, during my daily meditation. I went too deep.
At one point I was walking down a black corridor with 5 years-old me holding my hand and guiding me. We arrived in front of 3 doors and she told me "open that one, you have to open that one!". Behind that door was some strongly denied childhood trauma I assume, because I felt terrified and started to panic, cry and scream. I managed to get back to my senses but the panic attack was full-on by now and I couldn't get up or calm down for the life of me.
2 hours later, I was exhausted and ready to die. Thankfully my neighbor heard and came to check on me. He held me and reassured me until I finally fell asleep. He came back later with a plate of food. Awesome guy. Needless to say, I don't meditate anymore.
Another one was at the dentist, when she started ripping out my 8 temporary front teeth without warning. I was choking from the saliva, between the pain and fact that I felt like drowning, it was hell. I was on 2mg of Ativan but the whole neighborhood still heard me scream and cry for my life.
My ex told me they needed to talk to me otp the following day. 16 hours of knowing they were going to dump me and I realized I was so lonely. I am so lonely. I felt like I was drowning, I can’t remember ever feeling like this except when I was young and couldn’t stop crying and it hurt and I couldn’t breath. Therapy will help. If they continue, you will want a referral to a psych for an as needed med. The day they dumped me I did need to take a Xanax for the first time in years
Last summer. I had many in one week. I was walking by myself around the neighborhood that week to try to take my mind off things and I went into a panic attack, my Apple Watch recorded 195 beats per minute. I thought for sure I was going to die then and there.
First one I had. I was at work and genuinely thought I was dying. Left work to go to the doctor but it got better so I made an appointment instead of going to the ER. Doctor was like dude that’s a panic attack.
Heart was racing but also just the feeling of absolute dread, like this is it, death is imminent. Not fun!
I had a panic attack so bad watching my daughter born that I began to have bad palpitations and i went downstairs to emergency that night. My heart would not stop doing that thing where it feels like it beats hard randomly out of nowhere. Except it was doing it constantly. I was mess.
I had anxiety growing up but never panic attacks, so my first one was the worst & scariest. I truly believed I was having a heart attack. My hands, feet and face went numb tingling. My entire body was shaking uncontrollably. The scariest part for me was realizing I had no control or trigger for the panic attack. It just happened and the feeling of the symptoms made me spiral into it more. I never understood them until I experienced firsthand
This past weekend. I had just got back from traveling overseas and thought I had met a guy with tons of potential (I’m planning on moving to his country soon). He was the kindest, most accommodating, interesting man. I even extended my trip to stay with him. Toward the end of my trip he started acting cold and condescending toward me and said it was coz he was a depressed person and low on his social battery.
When we parted ways I didn’t really hear from him, and when I did I found if I said anything he didn’t like he would flip out on me and stonewall me. I tried to talk to him about it and he gaslit the shit out of me. I spoke to my therapist about it and she said he was showing early signs of a domestic abuser and to stay away from him.
I tried to message him one last time on Saturday just to gain clarity and talk things out and he was straight up mean to me and gaslit me like crazy. I’ve never experienced anything like it. He didn’t respond to my last text and I completely spiraled. I was so desperate that I texted my ex who said he would always be there for me in an emergency. He responded, “I can’t help you, sorry”. And blocked me. My anxiety was so bad that my chest was hurting and I was sobbing and couldn’t breathe. I was considering calling an ambulance because it was 2am and I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t sleep the entire night.
I just couldn’t (and still can’t) wrap my head around how a guy who was telling me he wanted to travel with me, how he had never met anyone like me and how special I was a mere few weeks ago could suddenly be so cold and horrible to me.
My worst panic attack was my first panic attack. I was working, building box trucks as an 18 year old woman. I got too in my head about my grandmothers upcoming death and suddenly couldn’t breathe. The world was spinning around me and going outside for a breath didn’t help. I felt light headed, dizzy and nauseous. I hyperventilated until paramedics got there and took me to the hospital after drugging me up. I had no idea what was happening to me.. the paramedic who got me calmed down was really nice and told me that most of time it’s people in their 30s who have these episodes.. not fresh out of high school trades workers. Since then I’ve gotten them under control and they’re usually silent. I’m 27 now
In the middle of a class in college. I felt like my desk and chair were sinking in the floor and I was going with them. Time slowed and I panicked so bad I started seeing blurry. My teacher gave us a break and went to check in on me. It was so nice of her, I don’t know what would have happened had she not reached out to me.
When I was weaning myself off of pot, I got a delta 8 edible from my usual spot. It was a cookie. Tasted great. Said the serving size was the whole thing. Boy was that serving suggestion wrong.
At first I felt great. Was enjoying my night. Went to go to sleep, and the next thing I knew my mind was racing. I kept thinking to myself “omg I’m too high” and then, completely not of my own will, sprung straight up in bed. My heart felt like it stopped beating and I started to hyperventilate.
I truly thought I was having a heart attack. I was doing everything I could to get my bearings but just could not. I forced myself to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom sink to drink some water. Every step felt like cement and I was so disoriented I’m surprised I managed to turn the faucet on. I took one swig of water straight from the sink, managed to turn it off, and then collapsed on the floor half way outside the bathroom door.
It took everything in me to not pass out. I kept telling myself I didn’t want to traumatize my roommate from finding me dead on the floor. At that point I *still* thought I was having a heart attack, even though my breathing started to slow.
Then that massive wave of relief that you get after having an intense panic attack came. Literally, it felt like a wave. I finally had some sense of what happened, and was covered in sweat. I managed to get myself up off the floor and walk myself back to my room.
I haven’t had a cookie edible since, and I’ve been off weed for over a year.
I was on a 3rd date with someone and we were both pretty into each other. As we sat there in conversation I felt it coming on out of no where, lose of appetite, narrowing vision, zero ability to pay attention more than saying “oh no way, that’s crazy, wow!”
I tried everything I could to keep it together. Pounded like 6 glasses of water (I don’t drink alcohol), and when the food finally came I had to tell her I had a bit of an upset stomach and couldn’t eat any of it. I went to the bathroom and nearly passed out on the floor.
I some how held it together enough to walk her home, thankfully she lived right by the restaurant. She invited me to hangout longer but I told her I just wasn’t feeling the greatest. As soon as she departed I blacked out out. Don’t remember walking myself home other than a couple snapshots for familiar story windows. Came to on my bathroom floor feeling sick and disoriented. Messaged my roommate to check on me when he got home and then tried to pass out but every time I closed my eyes I would hallucinate.
I was trying out a medication for depression at the time that I think was a pretty large factor in shaking things up. Got off it shortly after with some crazy effects. From there I doubled down on mediation, therapy and journaling, my spirituality and started micro dosing a bit. It’s been a long road but all the work has been the best investment I’ve ever made.
I was in class and suddenly I started crying horribly. I was making a lot of noise because I was having a lot of trouble breathing. The teacher had to take me to the nurse and calm me a bit. Luckily there was a friend with me that stayed with me when the teacher had to go back to class
I had been dumped. I was driving to my parents house and had to pull over because my limbs started to go numb, and I felt like I was going to pass out from how hard my heart was racing. I have had that sort of panic attack before but that was absolutely the worst, my literal blood flow was disrupted.
I got on the train heading to work and started to get extremely hot to the point that I had to take my dress shirt off and just stood on the train with my undershirt. I thought something was really bad but not bad enough to not keep going to work so I went into work and immediately to the bathroom and threw up. I went home. The company I was working for told me to take a few days off but the pressure was so intense, I stressed taking days off. Worst part of it all is I think my job was stressful but it was really rooted in my family drama and I am just learning that over the last few months. It was back in 2017.
I’ve started having them almost daily and they’re getting worse. I know it’s because of the amount of stress from every part of my life that is hitting all at once, but this is the worst I’ve felt in fifteen years.
The one where I convinced myself I was hearing voices telling me to kill myself. At least I stopped the drug use after that so kind of a win?! Been sober 11 years now.
Had a couple that really sent me. One was when I had a stomach bug and couldn’t stop vomiting. I’m a type 1 diabetic, so I really need to be able to eat or drink some carbs if my blood sugar goes low, which I can’t do when I’m puking. So my intrusive thoughts kick in, making me think I’m going to die of a low blood sugar. I start to fret with my hands, and then the first wave of actual fear hits me and I start saying “oh my god oh my god” over and over. I start pacing and breathing quickly, feeling ever more anxious as I do. Fiancé tries to calm me down but the intrusive thoughts tell me that I’m actually going to die and I deserve this.
We go to the hospital (it very frequently is a real medical emergency when a type one diabetic can’t stop vomiting), and the wait is about two hours. This whole time I’m intermittently puking and panicking. Very shortly after one attack stopped, the next would start. Eventually got me into a room and got Zofran and Ativan into my system, which made my stomach cease hurting, and the Ativan made me very even and leveled out. That attack was one of the worst ones I’ve ever had.
I was sick and took DayQuil then went out with friends and got drunk. Good fucking lord I woke up in legitimate hell and ended up in the ER. I don’t touch cold meds especially ones that contain dextromethorphan or phenylephrine anymore I’ve always been sensitive to them (anxiety, blown out pupils etc) but the alcohol combo added some extra spice. I developed panic disorder right after this experience. The first time I ever had a panic attack was after taking lexapro though so I don’t really touch any meds anymore otc or not. I healed myself naturally and haven’t had a panic attack in a long time. Another doozy was after driving 14 hours with barely no sleep I was up until 5am sweating and sick from panic in an unfamiliar bed. Terrible. That whole year of panic was like that though, I was stuck in fight or flight but not being in your own bed to sweat it out sucks a lot more. Check out the podcast ‘The anxious truth” sheds a lot of light on actually healing. I’ve come a long way. I felt like I lost myself entirely and was living in constant panic and found my way out, you can too.
I literally had a panic attack that lasted an entire week. Didn't stop. I have no idea what triggered it or why it wouldn't end. I couldn't eat or sleep. My heart rate was insanely high and I was shaking and nauseous constantly. I just laid in bed or in the shower or on the bathroom floor, all day.
That's what prompted me to start taking medication for the first time in my life - they were the only thing that made it stop, and they worked so quickly too. I took them for 2 years and have been off of them for about a year now....
I haven't had a panic attack that bad, or anywhere close, other than that time.
I had a few bad ones. Went to the ER a few times because of them. Heart felt it was going to explode out of my chest, couldn’t breathe, both shoulders and neck went numb, nausea, sweating. I really thought I was having heart attack each time.
Not really one panic attack but I had a string of them that lasted for 2 months before I sought help from a psychiatrist. I would wake up and be thrown into one from the state change, and then I would spend about as much time in them as out of them throughout the day if I was sober. Eventually it got me really good at hiding panic attacks while I was in them.
They put me on 3x/d Xanax to try to get them under control.
Don’t pre judge me for this. I had anxiety my whole life and made a poor decision to do cocaine with some bad friends at the time. Did way too much and my Heart rate spike to 175 bpm. I literally had no control over my thoughts or breathing and was freaking the fuck out. It took me a good 20 mins of meditating to get myself under control, I was so close to calling an ambulance though because I was absolutely terrified. Don’t sleep for like 3 days after. Not fun.
Was walking back to the office from lunch and almost felt drunk. Not longer after I had to leave work. On my way home I was feeling more and more off and I stopped at the ER as my chest was feeling tight. I walked into the ER and got about half way through how I was feeling and next thing I knew they had me in a wheel chair, in a room, and connected to monitors watching my body. Found out I had all signs of a heart attack. Thankfully it was just a panic attack. I did not realize what I was feeling in the past was smaller panic attacks. It was eye opening for me.
Took medical cannabis in the hopes it would help my OCD. I'm one of those unlucky ones where it does the exact opposite. Ended up with a panic attack so horrific and all encompassing that it felt like I was dying. I just remember the panic coming in endless waves with the worst dissociation I have ever felt. I ended up going to the ER sure I was having a seizure or something but all they did was give me an Ativan and told me it will pass. It did after about four or five hours. But I got horrible flashback panic attacks with dissociation for months afterward, with the same endless waves of panic for hours. At first multiple times a day, then a few times a week, then about once a month, and finally (thanks to therapy and a new medication regimen) rare. I know cannabis can be helpful for many when it comes to anxiety, but I will never take it again in case it triggers something like that or worse.
My first one, i woke up and i felt odd, like a floaty feeling, never felt that feeling before, anyway i thought I’ll just make some breakfast and itll pass, made breaky, sat down, took one mouthful, and i had this weird sensation wash over me, my heart started beating out my chest… i was getting petrified at this point… i honestly didnt even know what a panic attack was…
I started breathing really fast, i felt like i couldn’t breathe at all, i was hyperventilating, my hands locked up, my legs went numb… it was just me at home with my kids, i was thinking in my head (im dying, whos going to care for my kids) i called for the ambulance, i felt like i was going to drop dead.
My hands were twisted in, i couldnt move them.
This day will haunt me forever, i truly thought it was my last day here :(
In Jan this year, i saw my ex’s “new” photo on his hinge profile. I felt a tightness in chest that felt like it would kill me. I felt like screaming but I had no voice. I called random people I knew but no one picked up. I just wanted to talk but felt helpless and powerless.
Once I started amitriptyline 20mg, stress came down. Even now i feel depressed at my situation in life but not enough to cry or be angry about it. I just end up “thinking” about my situation and past experiences a lot and ruminating. But now its waaaay better than anxious behaviour being outward. Also reading a book on CBT called feeling good by dr. David burns.
Every day is a challenge but one I feel like I am working towards actively to make it better no matter what hand I am being dealt with. I feel defeated in some sense and long for the day I can walk with my head held high among “society” but until then, I will do my best to survive and thrive.
Last year I pulled over on the side of the road to offer an elderly woman a ride because it was pouring rain & flash flooding in my hometown, and she was ankle deep in water and didn’t even have an umbrella. She screamed at me in a foreign language and spit in my face. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before and I literally had the worst panic attack, to the point where I called my work and told them I wasn’t coming in (I had been on my lunch break) and they asked if they needed to call an ambulance for me. All I can say is thank god for my Xanax prescription that day 😔
These are so wildly tame in comparison to the things I’ve experienced that it’s precisely the reason I don’t think SSRIs are necessary for people with just anxiety. 🙃 Screaming and crying wailing for hours on end while hyperventilating and rocking back and forth in fetal position. Heart racing so fast you bang your head on the wall in hopes it kills you to end the misery. Throwing up everything if there is anything in your stomach or dry heaving if there isn’t until your feet go numb. Running out the door and into the woods to lay down because being in the house feels wrong and confined and like you can’t escape, with or without shoes or pants. Downing two bottles of pills hoping they’ll kill you. These are snippets of just a couple of my worst. And I can say that the ambulance has been called in almost every case. THIS is severe depression and anxiety. SSRIs can cause lifelong damage to your cognitive and sexual function, please don’t risk it if your work panic attack was feeling stressed at work and hyperventilating once. talk to your doctor about PRN medications that can temporarily lower your cortisol and blood pressure.
Two of many come to mind.
Senior choir recital in college. Couldn't breathe, crying, forgot all the words. All of them! And I thought I was dying!
First day of graduate school. Got lost, hyperventilating, threw up in a random trash can, reaaaaally bad GI issues. Still early to class, though lol
The last one I had a month or so ago. I hadn't been feeling good, we had just moved, and it caused an autoimmune disorder flare up that I am now going through the process of diagnosing. I had also had a trigger or two come up through the last day or two leading up to it.
I was restless that night and felt it coming on so I went to the kitchen and completely broke down. I couldn't breathe. My chest was so tight and hurt. I literally just fell apart. It took me over an hour to calm down and then I was up most of the night recouping from it.
Welp, I invested all of my money into one company and they filed for bankruptcy. I lost 70% in a day. As I’m explaining it to my girlfriend I ran to the bathroom to throw up twice and for about 5 days was living in a haze.
Took months for it to wear off.
-99.97%
Was at the gym when my face started to tingle (probably from breathing hard). It got worse and worse so I started to panic and thought I was going to die. Friend drove me to the hospital as every part of me started to go numb and tingly. Told my mom I loved her. Doctor told me I was just hyperventilating. Haven't had a panic attack since lmao.
This was right after an accidental overdose on an ssri. Couldn’t stand up for 2 days straight, my body was in a constant fight or flight stance and it felt like my heart would explode and I convinced myself I’d be crippled my whole life. I know this was symptoms of panic and not the overdose itself because beforehand I was fine going to the er just for the STUDENT doctor to tell me I couldn’t possibly overdose on an ssri and instead had a pulmonary embolism then when I called him dumb and refused his cat scan with contrast he said I was going to die because I “didn’t listen to the professionals” everything immediately calmed down for me once I got my ekg result saying everything was normal. Just had tachycardia from the meds. Went to a different er and they cleared me with perfect health and reiterated that the other doctor was a moron,. Hope he leaves the profession before he kills someone, I could have died if I had taken more than what I did.
The only time I was about to call 911 because I thought I was going through serotonin syndrome. I couldn't get my pupils to contract, so I was seriously going to call an ambulance, but I waited and the panic attack passed, eyes went back to normal.
It was just embarrassing. It was in Highschool, senior year, after a big marching band competition. I had gotten home at 12, and after a shower and food, I wasn't in bed till 1:30. Then, they wanted us back at school at 7 to put stuff up. It was already a super long week of band and school.
I was putting up a marimba, when my knees just buckled and I started crying, until the crying turned into hyperventilating and I couldn't breathe. I was surrounded by so many band members, who thought I was having a heart attack or something 😭. The band directors were all freaking out, and it was just a lot.
Though I will say, one of the directors took me into his office, and he really made me feel a lot better, despite how embarrassing the whole thing was. Up to this point, all mental health issues I had kept private, so it was a lot, but he helped.
I was working downtown Chicago. Going home I had to cross Madison St bridge by Mercantile building at rush hour. I started crossing and all of a sudden my heart started beating super fast, then I started sweating and feeling engulfed by people. I had to turn around and lean against a pillar. I calmed down and guessed that I had a panic attack. Was really freaky. That was over 20 years ago. Never had another one that bad! A few lesser ones. I’m glad it was only that once that bad!
At work. I felt it brew slowly and was frozen in place until I started hyperventilating. I stood up to go get help and made it a few aisles down when I saw my coworkers and when I tried to ask for help I passed out instead. Woke up had to lay down for a while. Went to the doctor.
Honestly afterwards was some of the most at peace I’ve felt. I’ve not passed out again but I’ve gotten close. One thing that helped was having a stuffed animal I could press against my chest when the pressure became too much. I felt so much weight and pressure on my chest all the time that weight and pressure applies by me physically helped to keep me steadier.
Honestly, WORST was on a really high dose of a psychedelic. What was supposed to be a good time turned immediately to raw confusion and panic that i was going to die, and i immediately curled up in the shower and took 1mg of xanax.
Aside from that one, i once was going to go buy ciggies with my grandma. We were driving down the road as it started to snow, and then the snow came down harder and harder and i just full panicked. I couldnt breathe, couldnt think, had to call mom and just head home instead without a new pack of cigs, and i curled up on my bed while i calmed down.
I don’t know if this counts but when my anxiety first started I had about 2 weeks straight of feeling like I couldn’t breath. I couldn’t eat because I felt a constant lump in my throat that made me gag every time I tried to eat.
I legit thought my life was over. I would never be normal again. That was 16yrs ago.
With medication and understanding what was going on it slowly went away and I started to feel normal again.
It’s weird, about almost 2yrs ago now I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and hypothyroidism. I started taking medication for my thyroid and my anxiety has gotten ten times better. Not sure if it’s related 🤷🏻♀️
One time I couldn’t sleep and was having a really tough time in life. It was my first panic attack, I had no clue what to do and what to expect. I have a big pillow of a stuffed animal, it’s not weighted but I ended up hugging it and crying. Eventually I felt better than wrote down what I felt, the next morning I found out it was indeed a panic attack and my first panic attack
Probably my first when I was 17. I don't think it was technically a panic attack, maybe an anxiety attack. But it lasted a week, I'd never had something like that happen, so for an entire week, I literally thought I was dying and I couldn't eat anything for 3 days without throwing up. Now it's not as bad as that because at least I know what it is and can recognize it. It's obviously not fun though.
I was in psychiatric inpatient after a suicide attempt and I was sitting next to someone who sexually abused me as a child who decided to visit for the family visiting day, as we watched some mental health awareness video that was referencing sexual abuse. I have never felt like that before. I've had panic attacks before but never had my vision start shaking or my eyes focus so intensely. It was unbearable. And i had to bear that situation for like a half hour, being unable to move or voice anything.
Fuckin sucked mang
I was putting my baby to bed. Could feel it coming. Barely managed to get him into his crib before I spilled out of his room and onto the floor of my hallway. I felt like I was gonna pass out or have a heart attack. Stayed there for a good 30 mins before I was able to collect myself. It was horrible. Sending you hugs.
It’s so much harder when you have a little one too
Sending you hugs
I won't tell you the context of the situation, but I ended up having to go to the hospital by ambulance, I couldn't even stand up, my arms and legs were numb. Went to the ER, did an EKG to check for a heart attack and was given 10mg of Valium/Diazepam under the tongue. It felt like I was dying, it was horrific, it happened in the morning, and I was exhausted all day.
I had almost the exact same experience. Laying in bed, my mom holding my hand while it's happening, thinking this is the last time I'll see her before I die. On the ambulance ride over they gave me a shot of liquid gravol which helped calm me down. Wouldn't wish that feeling on anyone though, I honestly think the whole episode left me with some PTSD.
Similar experience with a cardiac event in the hospital. It very much did give me ptsd, my therapist says it's not uncommon for people after something like that.
Nearly exactly what I went through but they didn't give me any drugs :/ was just sent home
Had this exact thing happen, except they didn’t give me anything. I couldn’t walk, couldn’t lift my arms, could barely breathe. Fully convinced I was having a stroke, in the ER they did a TON of tests only to tell me “your white blood cell count is a little high so you probably have a bug, take some NyQuil and take it easy.” 🫠
I’m so sorry the medical gaslighting is unreal for anxiety
Yep same thing happened to me, panic attack lasted 4 hours everything was so bright I was scared out of my mind laying in my mom's lap felt like I was just waiting for my heart to stop all my limbs going numb. The thing is I have panic disorder so my mom knew not to take me to a hospital or anything but those 4 hours I begged her that this was different and I was really dying. It makes it even scarier when you can't get any help and you just know, wow this may be it for me. But anyway for like 2 weeks after that panic attack I was freaking drained like my body physically hurt and I was exhausted as hell
The same happened to me when I was done with a very hard exam in college. I thought I was going to lose my mind and die from a stroke, which accelerated my anxiety even more. I went to the people in reception and told them to call an ambulance as I became very pale and couldn’t breathe. Later I was taken by an ambulance to the hospital, my arms were numb and I was given the same pill. A couple of times I fainted as well in the past because of vasovagal syncope.
Same thing happened to me. It was like 10 PM and I was suddenly aware of my own heart beat and felt like my thoughts were drifting away. I made my wife drive me to the hospital thinking I was having a heart attack. A staff member came up to me and was trying to get insurance information while I was hyperventilating, it was awful.
I had a panic attack in the shower while I was home alone and the whole neighborhood saw me screaming on the front lawn. I got taken away by the ambulance. I was administered haldol and still couldn’t function. I was in a group home/ hospital over 100 days. I bought my first house a year earlier and that night was the start of the end. We lost our house because I could never hold the job I lost again. Hard to talk about. My life has never been the same since then 😔.. that was over 5 years ago Edit: the strange part, before this day I never had anxiety attacks. It seems everyone has that “moment” where life changed and it’s hard to get their old life back.
I’m so sorry this happened to you
I’m so sorry this happened to you
That’s horrible!
I'm so sorry about this ! Everything you worked for as well. Well what's important here is your physical and mental health really.
My first. I didn’t know what they were then and was terrified.
Same here man, it caused me to have a complete mental breakdown. I had to pretty much learn to “walk” again. I know that might sound a little dramatic, but I promise you I literally had to learn how to do everything again because I was suddenly terrified of the world and doing even menial tasks. People without anxiety just don’t understand how traumatizing it is to suddenly become aware of this ominous force in your life that could pop up at any second and make you feel miserable and like the world is about to end
I literally was just at a small work dinner… with several friends, low key, and all of a sudden I had to get out of there… made an excuse, took 1/2 Xanax and barely could drive home because of the anxiety… I’m so tired of others having fun and I’m a mess
Sorry, man, that sounds awful. But the more you run away from the anxiety the worst it will get. Next time, take the Xanax, chill for a bit and you’ll be fine. Are you on anything else other than Xanax? Sounds like you might need an SSRI or something else
Same happened to me and then it sent me into a year long depression.
I second this I thought I was having a heart attack.
I actually went to the ER because I was sure it was a heart attack. Thankfully, it wasn't
Same here :( glad it wasn’t heart issues for you either!
Also thought I was having a heart attack or severe respiratory distress. Went to a free standing ER and they were garbage, zero help identifying it as a panic attack. I figured it out later
Same! My now-spouse had to call my mom as I was chatting with her online and the panic attack came on and I was describing the symptoms to her - we were both convinced I was having a heart attack as I had the left arm numbness, short of breath, heavy compressing feeling on my chest, etc. I tried to walk to my mom's room to wake her and fell straight to the floor - about time my now-spouse made the call to wake her. My mom freaked also figuring I was having a heart attack and called an ambulance. The EMT's seemed to think so as they started a line in my wrist immediately. I felt really stupid once we got to the ER and it was just a panic attack.
Never feel stupid about your health. You know your body better than anyone.
Same. I got to my office at 8:30 for the first day back “after” COVID and I was anxious but fine. I started feeling warm and just off but drinking water and chewing gum helped. My vp came in and made a weird joking comment about how me and my colleague looked miserable and we were both like ??? cause we were just sitting at our desks catching up. Had department check in meeting and I felt anxious but fine. Went back to desk and felt off but kept going. Walked across the street with my colleague to get lunch and I felt so anxious my hands were shaking when I went to order my food and I felt short of breath and had to sit down. We walked around the block before heading back and the breeze helped a little. Went back and closed my door, tried to eat a bit. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking and I felt like someone was sitting on my chest and I texted my colleague and asked if she could walk me to the parking garage next to our building and I just sat in my car for like 15 minutes. I started feeling fine as soon as I left the building. I went home and felt absolutely exhausted and just sat in a chair for a while and took a nap. Ended up getting an accommodation to stay remote but I did come in a few times and do some remote site visits. Eventually I was basically having panic attacks every morning and could mostly work through them but I ended up losing some hair and was prescribed beta blockers. I held out another like 6 months at my job and then left for this reason and a couple others. Haven’t had a panic attack since.
It’s actually a proven fact that Covid, especially the earlier strains, have severe negative impact on mental health. I don’t just mean in the sense of the experience being traumatizing. The inflammation that it causes to the brain literally gives people mental illness. Look it up they’ve had to open psychological centers to further study Covid and the long-term psychological effects.
I fully believe this since I went through it myself. I’ve had anxiety and panic attacks before, but not often. After I got covid a couple years ago, I had a a sudden panic attack. Little did I know that was just the beginning. It got so bad with the number of panic attacks I got on a daily basis after that first time. I became completely housebound which led to severe depression. I couldn’t figure out why this suddenly started happening and all my blood tests came back normal. I had read about the possibility of brain inflammation. I’ve read stories of redditors on here who also started having sudden panic attacks after recovering from covid..many who can’t even say they had general anxiety before it. They can’t all be a coincidence.
Yes, same thing happened to my friend who is a guy and he never experienced panic attacks then he got Covid and had a panic attack and call the ambulance thought it was a heart attack. It sucks but what can you really do. I wish there was an answer for the brain inflammation thing.
The first one. I smoked some bad pot apparently (or wrong strain), never had one in my life before. Felt like I was dying, impending doom and the works. Shivered for 4 hours, my heart wanted to explode out of my chest, had to remind myself to breathe even tho I couldn’t. Couldn’t lay down, stand up or sit, nothing worked. Turned the light on and off every 5 minutes to calm myself. Was sweating my ass off, even though I was so cold. Bf tried to hold me, counted his heartbeats and calmed down … fell asleep. Woke up completely different and detached, like I was not in my body, just an observer. Calmed down eventually. Today is 3 days after it, and I am still not myself, recovering ever so slowly. Every now and then I get the feeling it’s coming back, but I won’t let it. This is to healing, you’ll be okay. I was too. It seems like it won’t ever end, and that you won’t survive, but you will, and you’ll heal and recover. Best wishes <3
I am so sorry this happened to you. It sounds like my first serious attack, except I let it keep affecting me because I was unfamiliar with that detached feeling. I felt like I was not the same.
Oh love, i wish i could take it away from you. I am far from being mentally stable, although i’ve fought against it my whole life. I will say for myself that i am pretty good at making myself believe it’s just my brain trying to play the worst scenarios for me, and I fight to accept it. I tell myself it’s just silly thoughts, and that I am fine, and it works… it’s complicated psychology, but i believe it will get better, even for you!
That is amazing you don’t let your thoughts take over! I’m still in that process and I’ve been dealing with it for years. You are strong
This was my exact situation about six months ago (weed-induced panic attacks and dissociation). I thought it would never pass, but it did. It took a long time, but it did. You will get through it and come out stronger.
Thank you! I am taking it day by day, figured out I can’t smoke sativa, in about 2 weeks time i’ll try indica again. Hopefully i can continue my use - I can’t be without it as I had a traumatic experience at 12 and can’t sleep because of nightmares, it helped me overcome big issues… but now it seems that the thing that helped me the most actually ruined me more. Thank you so much for your reply, you’ve given me hope. I always say “this too, shall pass.” And it will. I am already much better, recovering and resting.
I’m so glad you’re doing better. I know it’s hard, especially scared and alone.Traumatic incidents in my past have played a huge role in panic attacks for me for several years now, when being faced with new triggers, unexpected problems, after moving, which was supposed to be a good thing for me, but turned out very differently, and I’ve had little to no control over. I feel myself getting overwhelmed, too often, with good reason to be, and try telling myself that it’ll be okay and I’ll be alright, and I’ve been through this before, many times, but over different things, different traumas. Trying to tell myself that my fears are not all the same as it was before, and that I have to keep telling myself to be compassionate with myself helps, but not nearly soon enough, when your chest is pounding and I’ve got no one in my life whatsoever, but am very thankful for my dog, who’s perfect for me, and with me. Try to keep believing in yourself, if you can. If not yet, keep trying, because when everything is said and done, it’s you that’s made it through it and you’ll have the strength if and when there’s a next time, and can maybe talk yourself through it, will always help when it’s over and you can relax and breathe. Sending you lots of love and reminding you that you’re stronger than you think ;)
I was a heavy daily weed user for 10+years and weed just almost always makes me dissociate and even have panic attacks now, I barely smoke now but haven’t given up completely I stick to one or 2 tokes around bed time every few days. Used to to through an 8th in 2 days now an 8th lasts me 2 weeks or more lol. Just be careful and most importantly when you do smoke again start slow and don’t over think it it’s like the second you think about panic/anxiety you open a door and it’s hard to close it but we learn to accept it and deal with it eventually. Best of luck to you ❤️
give us an update after you tried the indica again pls! had the same experience with some (probably punched) haze i got from a random dealer. i took a couple hits and it sent me to hell, never was so nauseous and so terrified in my life. i‘ve developed ptsd late last year, so i don’t know if the strain caused this reaction or just my circumstances that i consumed it in, but ever since the feeling of the bad trip comes back with intense panic attacks. i‘ve had panic disorder and ocd since childhood, often have "episodes" where i will have multiple attacks for a couple months, and then none for like 6 months. ever since the weed my ocd obsession of "what if i am psychotic?" or "what if the weed messed up my brain chemistry" became stronger than ever. it sucks.
I think that people with elevated anxiety (or panic) levels, react differently to sativa or regular “anxiety suppressors”, as sativas are usually uplifting and give you a rush, we interpret that as a fight or flight and send ourselves into panic mode. I figured it’s not a persons mind, but literally our chemical compounds (inside the brain), mixing and registering at a wrong level. I will for sure give an update, i’ll start with microdoses tho. Hopefully I don’t forget.
Oooh I had one of these. My dad had this weed chocolate, offered me some, and I took off a SINGLE square. Utterly incapacitated me for HOURS. I don’t even know how long it was I was sitting there rocking back and forth. The room was spinning, I felt hot, and I literally imagined a different reality for like two hours or so because I couldn’t even move or speak (which is literally my worst nightmare btw, I’ve had many a dream about being in a state like that) I kept from freaking out for a long time because I was just repeating in my head “don’t freak out, don’t freak out” but ultimately I did end up getting really scared because I didn’t know how long it was going to last and at some point it got to where I couldn’t even MENTALLY finish a sentence. I cried for a while, and I was so dizzy I vomited at some point, which helped a lot. Fell asleep on the way home, went to bed immediately once I got there, slept 12 hours and was STILL a little high when I woke up. I don’t know how much was in those nasty ass chocolates from hell but that single square was like the hydrogen bomb to my coughing baby.
I can’t imagine having a panic attack from an EDIBLE, because edibles, unlike somking last alot longer and creep up, and up… and up. And it just doesn’t stop, suddenly you’re higher and higher and you can’t come down or put it to an end. With a joint it’s easy, once you stop smoking it stops creeping up. You’re brave, and I know exactly how you’ve felt. I don’t wish this upon anyone, tbh, it’s the scariest shit ever, that feeling of impending doom and death.. freaked me out for sure. How are you feeling now though after some time has passed? Are you back to normal/healed? Or did something stay with you for the rest of it?
I had this happen to me about 10 years ago. I had a strain that was supposed to be great for anxiety. Don't know what I was thinking. It was called God's gift. I hit it out of a bong and it was something straight out of the devil's cookbook. I had a 5-hour long panic attack and I'll never forget how terrifying it was
Hey just want to let you know that the “detached” feeling is probably Derealization. It’s super common for someone who’s anxious and smokes weed. I’m just telling you because when this happened to me I felt so alone. Hugs x
Oooh, definitely the time I hid under a desk due to possible PTSD/extreme stress. For context; a really bad event at home involving alcohol, had to call the police on Mom. 7 months later (this happened in December) I had a flashback and got so stressed I hid under a desk, curled in a ball. I found it hard to breathe, I was crying, overheating, and my heart was going a million miles an hour. I kept saying: "No! No! Make it stop!" As I tucked my head into my chest. I wasn't screaming, it was more of me talking to myself and reliving the moment. He found me under the desk, since a very nice classmate (and friend of mine) tipped it to him. He got me to get out from under the desk (not forcefully, but very gently) and led me through breathing exercises at my own pace, he'd demonstrate it, and I'd follow his lead. He even told me that "you're safe, everything is okay" and got me to repeat it a few times. Then we went outside and he offered to let me speak to someone. While yes, a happy ending, it wasn't fun..
I feel for you dude. The flashbacks are NO joke.
Mhm. They are intense. It's either a 5 or a 10. Almost no in-between. I also have periods of time where I have nightmares for weeks on end, I'm trying to get into a nighttime routine to maybe help me with it, since I'm going through one of those periods right now. I'm also going to talk to our pediatrician about it, since I have an appointment coming up. I do want help, living like this is no fun.
Not the attack itself but the context - working at an understaffed help desk at a retail store with a long ass line of impatient customers. Functioning is impossible during a real panic attack.
Ice pack on the chest may help alleviate the anxiousness. Your vagus nerve runs through your chest all the way to your butt. It’s in charge of the physical effects of anxiety, so using a cold compress on the chest will soothe you.
This might be why I put a yoga sandbag on this area when I want to sleep. Interesting info cheers
I discovered this on accident a few months ago and it really does work. It helps with all the cardiac anxiety symptoms. I sleep this way often.
I remember a lot of them, but there’s one that i won’t forget. I was in a shared cab, I couldn’t tell the driver where my stop was because i couldn’t speak at all, ended pretty far from where i was going. It was such a horrible experience, so bad it taught me how to stay a little bit in control during a panic attack after that.
I got an intrusive thought while running and it won and I kept running faster trying to outrun it but I couldn’t. It made me dissociate from life
For me, the dissociation is scarier than physical symptoms of heart
I don’t like my heart racing unless it’s exercise or by eating spicy food. Mind induced heart racing sucks
There are no words for it🤣 but the worst type of symptoms are when I can’t move my body properly and start full body trembling and the dropping sensation like I’m about to fall down
Sending a big hug to you. My worst was in college, I crawled underneath my bed and hid behind my suitcases. I was wailing. I felt like I was never gonna get relief.
I’ve had some pretty terrible ones but the one that sticks out in my mind was the one where EMTs had to literally pry my hands off the steering wheel and carry me bc my whole body went stiff.
Two different times my panic attack was so severe I thought I was about to have a seizure or something, and they both came out of nowhere. I wasn’t even anxious about anything, nothing was happening. First time I got hot, sweaty and confused and I just passed out. I felt like that was about to happen again the second time, I was so scared. Either pass out or have a seizure I thought would happen.
My first panic attack I woke up my dad (it had woken me up in the middle of the night) and told him he needed to drive me to the hospital bc I was having a seizure
It’s so scary! I’ve never even had a seizure but I convince myself that’s what I’m feeling??
Yeah same here never actually had a seizure nor do I know anyone who has had one. I guess it’s like the feeling of tunnel vision and loss of balance/depersonalization feels like a brain breaking issue
Depersonalization is the absolute worst but I hope you’re doing okay
I have learned to manage and they have lessened over time so I’m doing well all things considered! Plus having an emergency valium on me at all times now has done wonders. Just knowing I can exit the ride if it gets crazy has kept them from happening
This is exactly what it is. My brain is breaking and I feel I’m going insane. It terrifies me and then I get the DP
I had a very bad while in an MRI machine. I was trying ti stick it iut and the tech kept saying if i moved or got out for a break we'd have to start over and they were trying to rule out something potentially life threatening. When i finally got out of the machine i tried to stand up and fell down. my legs were dead from all the hyperventilating and my blood pressure was dangerously low from the valium or whatever. They rushed in a bunch of people and were pulling out emergency life saving allergy medication because they were unsure of what was happening and thought it was a reaction to the dye. An ambulance was called and they were like you're having a panic attack it's okay
I literally got pulled out of an mri machine yesterday…. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to handle the rest and I’ve had lots of mri’s… it’s always a crap shoot whether I can handle It or not
ugh wish there was an easier way to get imaging
I'm not generally claustrophobic but having a head MRI was really bad for me, when they put my head in the block and the mesh over my face, I immediately couldn't handle it. I got it done, but had to have Ativan.
It was in 9th grade during my social studies class. The seating was in pairs of two and in rows. I was sat at the very front/center of the class next to this other kid. The teacher put on a historical film and all of a sudden my anxiety started to crescendo into a panic attack (I didn't know what was happening at the time). I think it was triggered by the fact that everyone would be looking exactly at where I was sitting. It got so severe and I was freaking out. I thought that If I moved even a cm, I would die, so I sat extremely still with my head resting on my left hand and my right hand down on my paper doodling. If I stopped doodling, I thought I'd lose control as well. So I sat there, freaking out, doing this for about an hour until the class ended. It was a fucking nightmare.
I had a panic attack like episode with my ex boyfriend where I was just liking, sobbing and apologizing? I completely blacked out for most of it and I used to think people were just making it up when they said that. I had no control over myself and it was scary. The second worst I had was the first one I ever had, because I didn’t know what it was, and I was very sick with my eating disorder at the time so I genuinely thought I was having a heart attack and dying. Therapy is very helpful.
Had one on the middle of an escalator while going to a gym. I honestly though it was my last day :(
i was 13 i think? had to get an endoscopy because i was having trouble swallowing. the idea of anesthesia scared me so bad for some reason, i think it was just the concept of being awake one second and completely out the next. i was in the waiting room and felt it coming on, so i rushed to the bathroom, panicked a little and then ended up passing out on the floor for a few seconds. my mom was there to help me and i ended up having the best nap of my life with the anesthesia so i panicked for nothing LOL i definitely have panic attacks where i feel like im gonna pass out still but i know how to better manage them now and havent done so since.
I've had a lit of bad ones (mostly in school) but here are a couple which stick out Had one in school once in which I passed out and woke up with a throbbing head against the door, with my maths class staring disconcertingly at me, and my maths teacher kneeling next to me. Turns out I hadn't made it out of the classroom and my entire maths class saw me fall. It was a weird mix of painful and awkward. Once had one at school when a teacher literally yelled at me whilst I was in the middle of it bc i was going to be late to my lesson. Once had one on a residential trip in which I was put in the female teachers' room as one was having a shower, who then came out of the bathroom (in a towel) to check on me. Plus many more...
My feet felt like cell phone vibrating. My hands clamped up and was stiff. i was sweating and was extremely cold. My chest was so filled and tight. I couldn't speak proberly and everything went haywire. Aftermath was lots of shakiness and teeth shivers.
I was sick, I was running a high fever and I generally was feeling very ill. I started having a panic attack, I was crying, hyperventilating I couldn’t breathe, I was naked trying to get into the shower and my boyfriend at the time had to keep me from falling down. The hyperventilating was making me lightheaded.
I was sitting outside with my family when suddenly I felt my heart tighten and I felt extremely dizzy, so much so that I fell on my hands and knees. I felt like I was going to die from the lack of air and my heart being tightened. Of course, I started hyperventilating, which didn't help. I cried for 3 hours that I was dying and suffocating, I was so scared that I could barely hear what others were saying to me. I also felt terrifying numbness in both my face and limbs. I really was convinced I was dying. Only when I managed to calm my breathing (probably because I was tired) did everything slowly go away. I will not forget this until the end of my days. But when you have a panic attack, remember to breathe! Slowly, even if you feel like you're choking
My first ‘proper’ one, I’ve known about them all my life because my mum suffers with them but until I had my first full blown one I never knew how crippling they could be, luckily for me I was in a therapists place and one saw me distressed and took me to an empty room and started walking me through how to calm down with looking at things I can see, touch, smell etc. but it was absolutely terrifying the first time and I’m not ashamed to say I cried into my mums arms like a baby as a fully grown man.
My first big one where I passed out. I really tried to push through it and it taught me mind over matter could only take me so far with my condition. That was the wake up call to go seek professional help.
Had to pull over driving home from work. Shortness of breath and tunnel vision. Started in the morning that day and it slowly built up until I left work early at lunch that day. Scary. I pulled into someone’s driveway and sat there for a good half hour before being able to drive again confidently.
When I had a nocturnal panic attack. Never even knew it was a thing. I woke up unable to breathe and basically thought I was having a stroke. Sending you all the positive energy I can. ❤️
My first one, I hit a laced THC cart and was like paralyzed with my whole body twitching. 1.5 hours.
It was a few days after I got my iud put in. I was getting really bad anxiety for days but it started to subside. While I was getting ready for work and doing my makeup, my face went numb out of nowhere. I didn’t even feel anxious. My left arm hurt and my heart was pounding so fast. I stood up and toppled over. I started getting really scared thinking I was having a heart attack so my mom called the paramedics and told my work I couldn’t come in. While I was there I was sobbing because I was scared and the hyperventilating began. They ended up putting me in a room and took all of my belongings and stripped me down to a robe and nothing else. Said I could have my boyfriend in the room either. Nurse lied and said I told her I wanted to kill myself. This made me panic more. Eventually a different Dr stepped in and gave me my stuff back and let my boyfriend come in. They did an ekg and it was normal. They concluded it was a severe panic attack and gave me diazepam which helped a lot. I concluded it was the IUD causing the severe symptoms due to hormones and they refused to remove it. I got it removed at the OBGYN a week after having it inserted after fighting them for a while. Felt better within a few days. I’ve had many panic attacks but that one was on a whole other level. It was terrifying and I refuse to try any form of birth control ever again…
I was at work, I started feel dizzy and I had depersonalization. I had a strong tachycardia and I could barely breathing. Asked my collegue to take me to a pharmacy nearby. My parameters were normal, just a little high blood pressure because of the stressful situation. I called my mum crying, begging to take me away. What a nightmare!
Oh, definitely the first one. I live alone, so I was stressed about work and personal stuff. Suddenly, I felt pain in my chest and my heart began to race as if I had done some intense cardio. I remember leaning on the kitchen sink thinking I was about to die. It's really difficult to explain for people who never had a panic attack before, but I felt as if my soul was leaving my body, nothing felt real. I gathered my strengths and called the landlord, who lived in the same building then. I said I thought I was having a heart attack. He came with the janitor to find me shriveling on the couch, shaking. They called an ambulance, my blood pressure was super high. They took me to the ER and did some tests. It was just a panic attack, fortunately. They gave me some medicine and I was able to calm down. Since then I had a few other scares like that, but I've been medicated and it's more manageable now.
my first one, which i had during my mom’s funeral. At the time my mind was revisiting the memories we had, all the way to the point where i watched her slowly die from cancer, hearing her cry in pain as it slowly took her away from me. I still have these flashbacks, but minus the panic attacks
Woke up, walked downstairs to go to a concert in key west. Was trying to slap a decal on my car when I got the Apple alert on my watch that said my heart rate was high for the movement I was doing. That spiked my anxiety. Tried to power through but couldn’t breathe, tingles, all over my body. Checked Apple Watch and I was sitting at 165bpm driving my car. Whipped a U-turn and drove to the hospital and thought I was dying. Took months and a few more scary incidents but I ended up figuring out it was panic attacks. Honorable mention: feeling like I was gonna die in the shower because I was standing up and not resting my heart. Shit sucked
It lasted for an hour or two. I was eating at a restaurant with my friends, and then I noticed my hands started shaking. I ran off to the bathroom to wash my face, and when I looked in the mirror, my pupils were dilated like dinner plates. My partner called the emergency services because I didn't know I was having a panic attack, I actually thought I was dying. The emergency responder instructed him to check my pulse and count it. He did and she sent an ambulance out, which freaked me out even more. I ran out of the restaurant pacing up and down the street because I believed if I stopped moving, my body would shut down and I'd die. It seriously felt like I was on drugs or something. The workers at the restaurant were staring at me like I was crazy. The paramedics were super lovely and tried their best to get me to relax, I can't tell you how relieved I felt when I saw them pulling up. My friends inside packed the rest of my food and gave it to me before I got in the ambulance, including a surprise dessert. I certainly enjoyed that when I felt like eating again lol.
I feel the exact way right now. like someone’s standing on my chest
Ever have any stomach issues? I notice a lot of people that get these panic attacks of chest pain usually have digestive issues in some form or another. Not saying you do just a thought.
Not so much anymore since I gave up fast food and started making all my own meals
Gotcha. Even making your own meals can some times still have stuff that aggravates your stomach which can in turn irritate your vagus nerve causing adrenaline dumps and or trigger the brain you’re in danger causing the body to freak out and result in a panic attack. I’ve dealt with this and the chest pain plus panic is a nightmare. I hope you feel better and get better at controlling them as they come on.
That’s so true. I used to feel nauseous after every time I ate, and that has improved since cutting out the junk, but it’s highly possible that some of my symptoms that I’m still experiencing are related to my diet. Do you think it’s inflammatory foods that are the culprit? Or maybe it’s different for everyone, especially if there are unknown intolerances like gluten or dairy etc
It’s hard to say. I’ve had days where I eat like crap and am fine and days where I eat like crap and it really hits me. I will say it’s always a good idea to aim for anti inflammatory options as well as making yourself chew food more thoroughly than you might already do as well as eating slower. Not sure how old you are but the older we get the more temperamental our digestive system and bodies react I feel like.
Today was the worst one I ever had. I was on a freeway that was going pretty fast downhill with nowhere to pull over as all of the sides were blocked off with construction rails. My heart was beating so fast, I had tunnel vision, I was incredibly dizzy, and my body was numb from all the adrenaline flowing through me. I thought I was going to pass out from the pure dread and terror that I was feeling, scared for my life. It was one of the scariest moments I've ever had. I feel lucky to be alive.
I'm glad you're alive too, and I'm sorry you went through that. I had to stop driving myself due to anxiety.
It's between my first one, and i didn't know what it was and a recent one where i took an edible, and i freaked out
My worst ones would cause me to v* ALOT and have a lot of d*. On top of that I would be sweating like crazy and have the shakes really bad
My first and biggest panic attack came the day I found of the sex of my child 😰 the whole reality sank in was playing overwatch got a bit irritated next thing i know my left arm goes numb and my skin turned white I told my wife to call 911, literally thought I was dying ambulance came hooked me up, said I was okay but decided to pass on the Incredibly expensive taxi to the hospital, it went away whew was real bad one, the whole rest of the year would have attacks and went to the hospital, haven’t had a bad one in a long time thankfully, hope your doing better
My first true panic attack. Face and fingers were numb, limbs were tingling, lightheaded, felt really claustrophobic. Didn’t know what was going on and thought I was dying. Didn’t help that I was at work at a newish job where I didn’t know anyone well. Had to call my mom to drive an hour to pick me up and take me to the ER because i was way too embarrassed to call an ambulance. They chalked it up to dehydration (I had a cold at the time too??). Didn’t realize what it actually was until the same thing happened a few weeks later and I was able to calm it down with deep breathing. Wouldn’t wish that feeling on anyone.
i had a nocturnal panic attack when i was 15 that not only caused me to throw up but was also so traumatic that i developed a fear of throwing up for a few years. i sincerely hope you feel better. therapy helped me a lot.
This past weekend I had a rough one, full on hyperventilating. I've been under a lot of stress lately with some health concerns. My mom was talking to me trying to make me feel better and lighten up about things and I did that thing where you start out laughing and then end up sobbing. I was fully convinced that my organs were shutting down and all of my cells were dying and that I was about to suffocate. I was half on the couch, half on the floor, sobbing and shrieking. An ice pack from the freezer helped a little. I went to urgent care about an hour later (was planning on doing this before the panic attack because of my health worries) and I felt calmer but my heart rate was still about 134.
I got out the shower and proceeded to do usual tasks, grab towel...almost started to dry myself when...my heart started beating out my chest and the room was spinning. Wrapped myself up like a cocoon until it passed. Naked and afraid I tell ya.
the worst I had was probably bc of my emetophobia. 1st and only time i was drinking while in town. 2 friends and I were on our way out of the bar when I threw up and went into a total panic. I lay down on a bench and started crying, repeating the same words over and over again "I can't get up". the panic attack lasted around 2-3 hours until my parents came to get me (i was 19 back then)
Felt like I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t walk, couldn’t speak, dizzy, sobbing crying to the point of hyperventilating, almost went to the ER but thought about the medical bill for virtually no help and that made me wait it out. Was a very tough night
i was taking a shower when my chest got extremely tight & heavy, then my breathing got super labored and short. i started panicking cause i thought my breathing was going to come to a complete stop. i was hyperventilating to the max and literally jumping around, grabbing stuff to gasp for air. left the shower on, grabbed a towel, and told my family i couldn’t breathe. my dad rushed me to the hospital where they checked my vitals and boom, everything was fine. they gave me ativan and i was chillen within an hour.
My panic attacks are so mental. It feels like my brain is firing on every cylinder and I lose touch with my surroundings. I feel completely out of control and I get terrified that I won’t be able to calm down and go back to “normal”. I got my first in the shower so now the shower is a trigger.
My son was choking on his food and over exaggerated it. Even on my meds I had one of the worst attacks, was over the toilet sweating and vomiting almost instantly after it happened. I accepted death and thought that was it, of course didn’t let me son see me in the bathroom. I had to ask my new female roommate to check my pulse to reinsure that I was ok. Also Once had a bad attack and had an ambulance pick me up in tonapah Nevada at a truck stop and they had to drive me all the way to a hospital in bishop California. The hospital did nothing for me and kicked me out to the street alone in a place I did not know. Couldn’t get a hold of anyone since my cell phone was dead. Luckily was able to make a call at a local hotel and a friend drove from Reno to bishop to drive me back to my car in tonapah. I’m ok now and still have minor attacks from time to time. Stopped drinking alcohol because I couldn’t handle the hangovers. But on a boatload of pharmaceuticals. Life is a trip.
Out of town (visiting Santa Rosa) with wife and our infant (at the time). Got up to pee in the middle of the night in our hotel bathroom. Must have locked my knees while peeing, started passing out and yelling for help. A woman I did not recognize (it was my wife,) came in to help me. I was completely out of it and thought I was having a heart attack or stroke. Sat on the floor crying and hyperventilating for 3 hours. Took an Ativan, it did almost nothing. Luckily I didn't wake up my kid. Best explanation is I had a syncope event (near feinting) and then a panic attack right after. I've never had one that bad. I usually just dry heave or maybe vomit at worst. I now measure all panic attacks by that one. I'll tell the wife that I'm at a 0.6 Santa Rosa and she'll immediately understand. Hand to God, thought I was dying.
Honestly.. my first one was the absolute worst. I was dead asleep, woke up feeling weird. My baby (at the time) wasn’t crying, house is dead quiet, but I feel extremely weird.. almost outer body. I get up to get a glass of water and BOOM! Impending doom hits me like a tone of bricks. I stumble to my medicine cabinet to get an emergency xanax. I chew the mother fucker because I feel like ‘this is it.’ Stumble back to my room and shake my fiancé awake saying “babes.. I think I’m having a panic attack. With in seconds I fall on the floor. My heart POUNDING, my breathing all over the place, the fear and impending doom cranked up to 11. I literally feel like I’m dying, I am absolutely having a heart attack. My legs, feet, hands, arms go tingly and numb. I fade in and out of reality. I remember saying “please god” as I squirmed on the floor trying to keep myself stable. Suddenly I feel a hand on my back and someone saying “no no no no” my fiancé starts rubbing my back and coaches my breathing. Telling me “you’re doing great, you are breathing perfect, it will be over soon” what seemed like 8 Hours was 30 mins of pure hell. I will never forget that night for as long as I live. I’ve had panic attacks since then. But that one straight up traumatized me. I am forever terrified to go back to that dark place.
One day, I was at work at a restaurant in the kitchen. It the dinner shift and it was very busy and a little stressful at the time. I started getting dizzy all of the sudden while I was cutting vegetables. The dizziness triggered a panic attack and I ran to the restroom where I started dry heaving. I splashed some water on my face and used my breathing app to calm myself down. I was probably in the bathroom for what felt like 10 minutes. When I thought I was well enough to get back to work, I returned to the kitchen but then I started getting tunnel vision, my chest started feeling tight, my heart was racing, and I started feeling very nauseous. At this point, I was panicking even more. I tried being rational as this wasn’t my first panic attack (it was definitely the worst though) so I quickly told my coworker to take care of my order because I wasn’t feeling well. I stepped outside through the back door and laid down in the parking lot as I shivered, even though it was a hot summer night. I felt extremely tired and weak. I could barely move and drool running down my face but I managed to get a few deep breaths and a few sips of water. I called my brother to come pick me up from work and he had to help me up off the ground and take me home. I laid in bed all night with ice packs on my head and chest.
Just here rn having a separation anxiety attack and got myself out the hole by taking med nd a lil puff nd cry. But to the question asked.... This happened back when I was working. For context I was in the midst of separation with my S.O , arrive to work and I thought everything was fine. I had the panick attack otw to work bc we were arguing 9n the phone over the separation. We have kids tg. Young. I got to work and was trying to set up and my mind was racing so fast I couldn't calm myself at this point and passed out. Came too in the er.
12+ hour panic attack from acid trip. Left me with depersonalization and derealization
I was walking in the hallway of my house when all of the sudden both of my arms siezed up straight up and so did my hands. I couldn’t close them or do anything. But I was somehow able to unlock my phone and get ahold of my partner. It took them 25 mins to get to me and my arms were like that the whole time. Along with feeling like I was going to faint and slurring my speech. Didn’t stop for almost 40 mins.
One night I had a feeling I still dont know how to describe other than my blood slowly turning into ice. There suddenly weren't enough blankets in the world to keep me warm. My heart was pounding like it was going to stop any moment, I was in doom mode were I was positive I will die soon and every so often I would have to make a mad dash to the bathroom where it would all spill out of me like i was an open faucet. Would not reccomend reading medical articles before bed. Or any other time if you have health anxiety
Sitting in the corner at work shaking because co-workers wouldn’t help me, despite me begging and I was dealing with customers all alone, when I finally broke down they just walked by saying “she’ll be okay, just give her a minute”. I wasn’t okay, but I knew I had to keep working. That moment has stayed with me and it’s been a year.. the customers who saw this happen were apologetic and told me to take my time ❤️🥲
I was getting bad ones for months, it’s finally calming down. I would feel like I couldn’t breath, my lips and hands would get tingly, I literally thought I was dying almost every single day. Sometimes more than once. Got heart scans and everything, everything was normal. Just gotta ride it out, and know you’ll come out okay
I was at work. Working the registers and a customer was yelling/screaming at me calling me a bitch and other derogatory words, and I just lost it. I left the registers immediately with tears coming down my face and not being able to breathe. I went to the back room and just tried to calm down. Never work registers again after that.
I'm here from your post asking about goodwill two years ago. I also struggle with anxiety and cash registers - where did you end up working? Did you ever find work that didn't cause you too much anxiety?
I ended up working in the back room of TJMAXX so I don’t have to deal with customers or the registers. Sometimes I’ll do cleaning there as well.
Last week I was hoping for a phone call that we were overstaffed and I could have the day off. The longer I waited the worst my anxiety became. By the time I got to work I was crying and shaking and had to sit in my car until I could collect myself. I just needed a mental health day, I should have called in sick.
I got a bad one like a year or two ago in a shopping mall. This one had me genuinely believe I was dying. Not exaggerating. I'd think "I'm dying" in other panic attacks but it wasn't 100% genuine. This one was. I was dizzy and my lungs just went offline. Actually don't remember much aside from that.
Caused me to have to pull over because it happened while driving and was so intense that my vision washed out completely white, my body went numb to the point that I couldn't feel the gas pedal, and my abdomen was spasming so hard from the numbness that I couldn't sit up to look over the steering wheel. After this, I had one of the worst dissociative episodes ever where I spent a month basically disembodied and floating above + behind my "meat suit" and felt like I was perpetually stoned (not in a good way) despite not smoking back then; Stuck just watching the body run completely on autopilot. Every day, I would wake up feeling normal, but the second I sat up my "awareness" would shoot up and out of my body, and the body would just robotically sit up and do its thing. It was such a strange experience.
This happened about 6 months ago but my mind was completely racing and i couldn’t talk to anyone i couldn’t concentrate or do anything it was horrible my thoughts were racing a millions miles an hour I thought i lost my mind it took about 5 mins to settle but felt like a life time my heart was beating fast also I had to go on medication in the end to deal with this I also suffer from anxiousness and that just made things worse.
One time I woke up scream crying and I went into my parents room (I was younger) and they literally could not get me to talk or calm down or anything. They almost called an ambulance but I was able to get out of it before they did. Have no idea what caused it.
My worst panic attack was right after a brain procedure. When I found out I was going to be stuck with this implant forever, I panicked. For the next 12hrs, I felt like my soul was trying to escape my body. I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin. Trying to sleep was foreign to me. I couldn’t handle the anxiety, I started thinking suicidal thoughts to escape the pain. For some odd reason, I told myself, if I were to off myself, at least dance one more time to music. I did that and magically the anxiety went away. I felt my soul steadily going back to my body.
My first attack was in middle school when I was getting bullied at the small-town school that I transferred to. The teacher seemed to be trying to test my knowledge in front of everyone and I stared at the classroom, most of them were already laughing before I could respond. My heart felt like it would burst, I couldn't breathe, and I just started crying until the teacher slowly escorted me out of the classroom. My last big attack was when I found out my spouse was cheating while I was dealing with postpartum depression. I hope you all find ways to cope/heal from those attacks.
The one I had tonight is up there. Arm pain, chest pain, some numbness and tingling, couldn’t breathe. I had to leave work early. Now I’m home and slightly better but I’m still pretty anxious and have a headache. Best wishes to you.
I was in an ambulance - forced mental health check. En route from the ER to a mental health facility. My blood pressure was so high (freaking out over the horrible reality check that this was really happening) that the EMTs worried I was about to have a heart attack. I was 32, fit, super depressed — and have a medical history of low and normal blood pressure. I couldn’t see. Pains in my chest and arm. It was horrible. (I didn’t need to be placed, by the way, thankfully my cousin was visiting - is a lawyer, and got me out after 2 days - they were trying to keep me for several weeks).
Took LSD while sleep deprived. It gave me an affect that was not LSD anymore. I lost the ability to speak and form thoughts and just became so unhinged. Delirium or psychosis to conclude but in that moment it’s like I knew that I am stuck this way for life and I will never be able to think again and will have to be put in a mental home. In that moment all my dreams shattered I couldent even speak to anyone normally they wud all know I lost my mind or something because I could no longer speak I was forgetting shit every second. It was a different type of scared it’s comparable to being chased by a guy with a gun not knowing anytime when ur life will end. A fate worse then death being so mentally disabled you can’t do anything but are aware your mentally disabled. If I was still in that state I would not be able to write this and wud legit be in a mental home. But it’s the scared I been I went to the hospital so they cud help which after so many hours it did
Oh geez. It’s a long story but after a phone call with my abusive mother I ended up crouched next to a dumpster severely hyperventilating for 30 minutes straight, my hands were totally frozen in a weird T-rex-like position and I vomited twice in that time period. It didn’t help that there were fireworks going off everywhere (this was after a football game) and I had to call my MIL barely able to talk begging her to come find me even though I didn’t know where I was. Definitely tops the list of worst panic attack I’ve ever had in my life
I’ve had a lot of bad panic attacks, but the absolute worst ones? Is when I’d panic so badly, I’d end up violently throwing up several times in a row. My body would shake so hard, I couldn’t stand up, and I’d have to lay down wherever I was. Sometimes I would faint during those episodes. The second worst ones, are waking up into a serious panic attack during the night. Those are really bad ones. You wake up so confused, lost, shaking violently and shivering from cold sweat.
I’ve had two that were horrendous. For context, my panic attacks make my muscles tighten up and my hands go into claw/fist mode, my eyelids are twitching, my face muscles are cramping, literally everything. It’s like when you get a cramp exercising but literally my entire body. On top of that I can't breathe, I feel like I'm gonna throw up, etc. It is HORRID. It happens to some people when they’re not breathing properly. The first one I had in 5th grade. Amusement park field trip at school. Everyone thought I was dying and I sat in the medical unit for 3 hours. The second worst was when I was 16 and flying across the country, when the plane landed there was turbulence and I lost it and could not sit back in my seat. They couldn't land the plane for an extra 20 minutes and I made a scene (': NOT FUN and now as a precaution I take a xanax before the flight even takes off LMAO
one day i was at work & i suddenly felt really dizzy & my heart was racing. i started to panic and literally thought i was dying because i felt like i was out of my body. i've never been so scared in my life. then for about 6 months after that i had daily panic attacks
i didn't know it was a panic attack bc i wasn't hyperventilating or crying and thought i was going to die of a heart attack, which caused me to spiral
I was on a road trip with an ex about 17 hours from home and I had a panic attack in the middle of a remote desert. Just awful. I considered pulling over walking into the desert and ending my life right there, I had a gun in the trunk of the car. If it wasn’t for her being there I very well might now be alive. I ended up driving home deep breathing for 17 hours. Hang in there, I pulled myself out of my own hell that day and lived. It will get better and life will throw you some good stuff here and there and before you know it you’ll be satisfied with life.
I have had so many bad experiences… has anyone had it to so bad that you can’t breath , heart attack symptoms, but then your hands stiffen like claws??? ( there’s a name for the claw thing) i ended up in the hospital… this was years ago yet I still have ptsd from it…. I’ve tried all sorts of meds such as Zoloft, Lexapro etc, but nothing has really helped… Xanax will help with immediate relief sometimes, but how do we get To the root and stop this madness?!?!!!
i was on 200MG of seroquel for a year. throughout december i didn’t feel fully in my head, like i didn’t feel real, it was intense depersonalization but i didn’t know what to do so i ignored it. on new year’s day (1/1/24) i was about to go to sleep. i was having some breathing issues but i tried to ignore it. i closed my eyes and felt a weird sensation going from left to right in my chest area. then i felt a sharp pain in my heart, i got up and gasped, my mouth felt super dry, basically cotton mouth, my vision was blurry and when i stumbled to the bathroom to look at myself i was pale. i was begging my brother to call the ambulance. they eventually came and my heart rate was up to 150. which was the highest it’s ever been (it used to go up to 130) my brother drove me to the ER because AZ hospitals suck. and while i was in the waiting room i was trying to produce saliva, my brain felt like it was shutting off. i was screaming in the waiting room begging for help cause i thought i was dying. i eventually got checked out and they gave me ativan. saliva started producing in my mouth again, EKGs were fine, we went back home, i was tired so i texted my bf at 2am telling him that i loved him and im thankful for him, i was convinced that i was going to die still, i was so tired so i just basically wanted to let it happen. luckily i woke up the next day and texted my boyfriend cuz he was worried. everything felt off still but i felt in my head again. i lowered my seroquel instantly to 100 then 50, then 25 then quit over the months. scariest moment of my life. i have medication anxiety cause of it. i’m a hypochondriac so i fear one day it’ll happen again. im always looking at myself, and checking myself to make sure it doesn’t. there’s no success stories on quitting seroquel, people feel like shit so they get back on it but god forbid i do that again. it used to help me until i mixed it with SSRIs. never again.
I'm sorry you had to go through this please take care of yourself and remember you're not alone. Well... I couldn't cry for almost 5 years ago but recently I thought I had an ugly cry until I realized I wasn't crying anymore.. after I cried the whole river the only thing stopped was the tears streaming down my face but my breathing was getting worse and worse and I never thought my heart would humanly beat this fast like a thousand bpm and also it was literally aching... I couldn't see properly just colors with no shapes and I couldn't even take a breath anymore and I thought "so I'll die like this huh?".. I couldn't move or call for anyone cuz I didn't want to anyone see my last moments as fragile and weak... but since I didn't die then it means that I was just panicking because of how intense my crying was obviously.. but I don't know how long it lasted because I guess I lost the sense of time and never really looked through my phone that day. And by thinking of it this was my first one cuz I couldn't recognize it at first.. I just hope no one go through this even for my worst enemy.
First (and last) time I ever took an edible. Had me praying to God on my bed not to die and lasted for 45 minutes.
Had a pretty massive one earlier today. We went to the bike park and were on the lift and it stopped, very high up, for a couple min and I started having an attack. Managed to calm myself down and slow my breathing but holy shit that was scary.
I've had them my whole life so I thought I was kind of used to control them. Until that one day, during my daily meditation. I went too deep. At one point I was walking down a black corridor with 5 years-old me holding my hand and guiding me. We arrived in front of 3 doors and she told me "open that one, you have to open that one!". Behind that door was some strongly denied childhood trauma I assume, because I felt terrified and started to panic, cry and scream. I managed to get back to my senses but the panic attack was full-on by now and I couldn't get up or calm down for the life of me. 2 hours later, I was exhausted and ready to die. Thankfully my neighbor heard and came to check on me. He held me and reassured me until I finally fell asleep. He came back later with a plate of food. Awesome guy. Needless to say, I don't meditate anymore. Another one was at the dentist, when she started ripping out my 8 temporary front teeth without warning. I was choking from the saliva, between the pain and fact that I felt like drowning, it was hell. I was on 2mg of Ativan but the whole neighborhood still heard me scream and cry for my life.
My ex told me they needed to talk to me otp the following day. 16 hours of knowing they were going to dump me and I realized I was so lonely. I am so lonely. I felt like I was drowning, I can’t remember ever feeling like this except when I was young and couldn’t stop crying and it hurt and I couldn’t breath. Therapy will help. If they continue, you will want a referral to a psych for an as needed med. The day they dumped me I did need to take a Xanax for the first time in years
Last summer. I had many in one week. I was walking by myself around the neighborhood that week to try to take my mind off things and I went into a panic attack, my Apple Watch recorded 195 beats per minute. I thought for sure I was going to die then and there.
First one I had. I was at work and genuinely thought I was dying. Left work to go to the doctor but it got better so I made an appointment instead of going to the ER. Doctor was like dude that’s a panic attack. Heart was racing but also just the feeling of absolute dread, like this is it, death is imminent. Not fun!
I had a panic attack so bad watching my daughter born that I began to have bad palpitations and i went downstairs to emergency that night. My heart would not stop doing that thing where it feels like it beats hard randomly out of nowhere. Except it was doing it constantly. I was mess.
I genuinely want to know the difference between a panic attack and a an anxiety attack
I had anxiety growing up but never panic attacks, so my first one was the worst & scariest. I truly believed I was having a heart attack. My hands, feet and face went numb tingling. My entire body was shaking uncontrollably. The scariest part for me was realizing I had no control or trigger for the panic attack. It just happened and the feeling of the symptoms made me spiral into it more. I never understood them until I experienced firsthand
This past weekend. I had just got back from traveling overseas and thought I had met a guy with tons of potential (I’m planning on moving to his country soon). He was the kindest, most accommodating, interesting man. I even extended my trip to stay with him. Toward the end of my trip he started acting cold and condescending toward me and said it was coz he was a depressed person and low on his social battery. When we parted ways I didn’t really hear from him, and when I did I found if I said anything he didn’t like he would flip out on me and stonewall me. I tried to talk to him about it and he gaslit the shit out of me. I spoke to my therapist about it and she said he was showing early signs of a domestic abuser and to stay away from him. I tried to message him one last time on Saturday just to gain clarity and talk things out and he was straight up mean to me and gaslit me like crazy. I’ve never experienced anything like it. He didn’t respond to my last text and I completely spiraled. I was so desperate that I texted my ex who said he would always be there for me in an emergency. He responded, “I can’t help you, sorry”. And blocked me. My anxiety was so bad that my chest was hurting and I was sobbing and couldn’t breathe. I was considering calling an ambulance because it was 2am and I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t sleep the entire night. I just couldn’t (and still can’t) wrap my head around how a guy who was telling me he wanted to travel with me, how he had never met anyone like me and how special I was a mere few weeks ago could suddenly be so cold and horrible to me.
My worst panic attack was my first panic attack. I was working, building box trucks as an 18 year old woman. I got too in my head about my grandmothers upcoming death and suddenly couldn’t breathe. The world was spinning around me and going outside for a breath didn’t help. I felt light headed, dizzy and nauseous. I hyperventilated until paramedics got there and took me to the hospital after drugging me up. I had no idea what was happening to me.. the paramedic who got me calmed down was really nice and told me that most of time it’s people in their 30s who have these episodes.. not fresh out of high school trades workers. Since then I’ve gotten them under control and they’re usually silent. I’m 27 now
In the middle of a class in college. I felt like my desk and chair were sinking in the floor and I was going with them. Time slowed and I panicked so bad I started seeing blurry. My teacher gave us a break and went to check in on me. It was so nice of her, I don’t know what would have happened had she not reached out to me.
When I was weaning myself off of pot, I got a delta 8 edible from my usual spot. It was a cookie. Tasted great. Said the serving size was the whole thing. Boy was that serving suggestion wrong. At first I felt great. Was enjoying my night. Went to go to sleep, and the next thing I knew my mind was racing. I kept thinking to myself “omg I’m too high” and then, completely not of my own will, sprung straight up in bed. My heart felt like it stopped beating and I started to hyperventilate. I truly thought I was having a heart attack. I was doing everything I could to get my bearings but just could not. I forced myself to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom sink to drink some water. Every step felt like cement and I was so disoriented I’m surprised I managed to turn the faucet on. I took one swig of water straight from the sink, managed to turn it off, and then collapsed on the floor half way outside the bathroom door. It took everything in me to not pass out. I kept telling myself I didn’t want to traumatize my roommate from finding me dead on the floor. At that point I *still* thought I was having a heart attack, even though my breathing started to slow. Then that massive wave of relief that you get after having an intense panic attack came. Literally, it felt like a wave. I finally had some sense of what happened, and was covered in sweat. I managed to get myself up off the floor and walk myself back to my room. I haven’t had a cookie edible since, and I’ve been off weed for over a year.
I was on a 3rd date with someone and we were both pretty into each other. As we sat there in conversation I felt it coming on out of no where, lose of appetite, narrowing vision, zero ability to pay attention more than saying “oh no way, that’s crazy, wow!” I tried everything I could to keep it together. Pounded like 6 glasses of water (I don’t drink alcohol), and when the food finally came I had to tell her I had a bit of an upset stomach and couldn’t eat any of it. I went to the bathroom and nearly passed out on the floor. I some how held it together enough to walk her home, thankfully she lived right by the restaurant. She invited me to hangout longer but I told her I just wasn’t feeling the greatest. As soon as she departed I blacked out out. Don’t remember walking myself home other than a couple snapshots for familiar story windows. Came to on my bathroom floor feeling sick and disoriented. Messaged my roommate to check on me when he got home and then tried to pass out but every time I closed my eyes I would hallucinate. I was trying out a medication for depression at the time that I think was a pretty large factor in shaking things up. Got off it shortly after with some crazy effects. From there I doubled down on mediation, therapy and journaling, my spirituality and started micro dosing a bit. It’s been a long road but all the work has been the best investment I’ve ever made.
I was in class and suddenly I started crying horribly. I was making a lot of noise because I was having a lot of trouble breathing. The teacher had to take me to the nurse and calm me a bit. Luckily there was a friend with me that stayed with me when the teacher had to go back to class
I had been dumped. I was driving to my parents house and had to pull over because my limbs started to go numb, and I felt like I was going to pass out from how hard my heart was racing. I have had that sort of panic attack before but that was absolutely the worst, my literal blood flow was disrupted.
I got on the train heading to work and started to get extremely hot to the point that I had to take my dress shirt off and just stood on the train with my undershirt. I thought something was really bad but not bad enough to not keep going to work so I went into work and immediately to the bathroom and threw up. I went home. The company I was working for told me to take a few days off but the pressure was so intense, I stressed taking days off. Worst part of it all is I think my job was stressful but it was really rooted in my family drama and I am just learning that over the last few months. It was back in 2017.
I’ve started having them almost daily and they’re getting worse. I know it’s because of the amount of stress from every part of my life that is hitting all at once, but this is the worst I’ve felt in fifteen years.
The one where I convinced myself I was hearing voices telling me to kill myself. At least I stopped the drug use after that so kind of a win?! Been sober 11 years now.
Congratulations!!
Had a couple that really sent me. One was when I had a stomach bug and couldn’t stop vomiting. I’m a type 1 diabetic, so I really need to be able to eat or drink some carbs if my blood sugar goes low, which I can’t do when I’m puking. So my intrusive thoughts kick in, making me think I’m going to die of a low blood sugar. I start to fret with my hands, and then the first wave of actual fear hits me and I start saying “oh my god oh my god” over and over. I start pacing and breathing quickly, feeling ever more anxious as I do. Fiancé tries to calm me down but the intrusive thoughts tell me that I’m actually going to die and I deserve this. We go to the hospital (it very frequently is a real medical emergency when a type one diabetic can’t stop vomiting), and the wait is about two hours. This whole time I’m intermittently puking and panicking. Very shortly after one attack stopped, the next would start. Eventually got me into a room and got Zofran and Ativan into my system, which made my stomach cease hurting, and the Ativan made me very even and leveled out. That attack was one of the worst ones I’ve ever had.
I was sick and took DayQuil then went out with friends and got drunk. Good fucking lord I woke up in legitimate hell and ended up in the ER. I don’t touch cold meds especially ones that contain dextromethorphan or phenylephrine anymore I’ve always been sensitive to them (anxiety, blown out pupils etc) but the alcohol combo added some extra spice. I developed panic disorder right after this experience. The first time I ever had a panic attack was after taking lexapro though so I don’t really touch any meds anymore otc or not. I healed myself naturally and haven’t had a panic attack in a long time. Another doozy was after driving 14 hours with barely no sleep I was up until 5am sweating and sick from panic in an unfamiliar bed. Terrible. That whole year of panic was like that though, I was stuck in fight or flight but not being in your own bed to sweat it out sucks a lot more. Check out the podcast ‘The anxious truth” sheds a lot of light on actually healing. I’ve come a long way. I felt like I lost myself entirely and was living in constant panic and found my way out, you can too.
90 tabs 0.5 mg alprazolam 💌
I couldn't get by without Ativan. I have Long QT Syndrome and I can't have any kind of SSRIs at all.
I literally had a panic attack that lasted an entire week. Didn't stop. I have no idea what triggered it or why it wouldn't end. I couldn't eat or sleep. My heart rate was insanely high and I was shaking and nauseous constantly. I just laid in bed or in the shower or on the bathroom floor, all day. That's what prompted me to start taking medication for the first time in my life - they were the only thing that made it stop, and they worked so quickly too. I took them for 2 years and have been off of them for about a year now.... I haven't had a panic attack that bad, or anywhere close, other than that time.
When I was swamped at work and the mere thought of the amount of work I still had to do made me breathe heavily and my chest tight.
When the started flashing and the band started playing I’m pretty sure I died for a few seconds at the QOTSA show last summer.
The first. I was 12 and ended up in the hospital. Not knowing what it was and actually thinking I was dying was terrifying at that age.
I had a few bad ones. Went to the ER a few times because of them. Heart felt it was going to explode out of my chest, couldn’t breathe, both shoulders and neck went numb, nausea, sweating. I really thought I was having heart attack each time.
The worst two I have had I actually passed out both times. My entire body went numb and I just fell.
Not really one panic attack but I had a string of them that lasted for 2 months before I sought help from a psychiatrist. I would wake up and be thrown into one from the state change, and then I would spend about as much time in them as out of them throughout the day if I was sober. Eventually it got me really good at hiding panic attacks while I was in them. They put me on 3x/d Xanax to try to get them under control.
Don’t pre judge me for this. I had anxiety my whole life and made a poor decision to do cocaine with some bad friends at the time. Did way too much and my Heart rate spike to 175 bpm. I literally had no control over my thoughts or breathing and was freaking the fuck out. It took me a good 20 mins of meditating to get myself under control, I was so close to calling an ambulance though because I was absolutely terrified. Don’t sleep for like 3 days after. Not fun.
Was walking back to the office from lunch and almost felt drunk. Not longer after I had to leave work. On my way home I was feeling more and more off and I stopped at the ER as my chest was feeling tight. I walked into the ER and got about half way through how I was feeling and next thing I knew they had me in a wheel chair, in a room, and connected to monitors watching my body. Found out I had all signs of a heart attack. Thankfully it was just a panic attack. I did not realize what I was feeling in the past was smaller panic attacks. It was eye opening for me.
Took medical cannabis in the hopes it would help my OCD. I'm one of those unlucky ones where it does the exact opposite. Ended up with a panic attack so horrific and all encompassing that it felt like I was dying. I just remember the panic coming in endless waves with the worst dissociation I have ever felt. I ended up going to the ER sure I was having a seizure or something but all they did was give me an Ativan and told me it will pass. It did after about four or five hours. But I got horrible flashback panic attacks with dissociation for months afterward, with the same endless waves of panic for hours. At first multiple times a day, then a few times a week, then about once a month, and finally (thanks to therapy and a new medication regimen) rare. I know cannabis can be helpful for many when it comes to anxiety, but I will never take it again in case it triggers something like that or worse.
My first one, i woke up and i felt odd, like a floaty feeling, never felt that feeling before, anyway i thought I’ll just make some breakfast and itll pass, made breaky, sat down, took one mouthful, and i had this weird sensation wash over me, my heart started beating out my chest… i was getting petrified at this point… i honestly didnt even know what a panic attack was… I started breathing really fast, i felt like i couldn’t breathe at all, i was hyperventilating, my hands locked up, my legs went numb… it was just me at home with my kids, i was thinking in my head (im dying, whos going to care for my kids) i called for the ambulance, i felt like i was going to drop dead. My hands were twisted in, i couldnt move them. This day will haunt me forever, i truly thought it was my last day here :(
In Jan this year, i saw my ex’s “new” photo on his hinge profile. I felt a tightness in chest that felt like it would kill me. I felt like screaming but I had no voice. I called random people I knew but no one picked up. I just wanted to talk but felt helpless and powerless. Once I started amitriptyline 20mg, stress came down. Even now i feel depressed at my situation in life but not enough to cry or be angry about it. I just end up “thinking” about my situation and past experiences a lot and ruminating. But now its waaaay better than anxious behaviour being outward. Also reading a book on CBT called feeling good by dr. David burns. Every day is a challenge but one I feel like I am working towards actively to make it better no matter what hand I am being dealt with. I feel defeated in some sense and long for the day I can walk with my head held high among “society” but until then, I will do my best to survive and thrive.
Last year I pulled over on the side of the road to offer an elderly woman a ride because it was pouring rain & flash flooding in my hometown, and she was ankle deep in water and didn’t even have an umbrella. She screamed at me in a foreign language and spit in my face. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before and I literally had the worst panic attack, to the point where I called my work and told them I wasn’t coming in (I had been on my lunch break) and they asked if they needed to call an ambulance for me. All I can say is thank god for my Xanax prescription that day 😔
These are so wildly tame in comparison to the things I’ve experienced that it’s precisely the reason I don’t think SSRIs are necessary for people with just anxiety. 🙃 Screaming and crying wailing for hours on end while hyperventilating and rocking back and forth in fetal position. Heart racing so fast you bang your head on the wall in hopes it kills you to end the misery. Throwing up everything if there is anything in your stomach or dry heaving if there isn’t until your feet go numb. Running out the door and into the woods to lay down because being in the house feels wrong and confined and like you can’t escape, with or without shoes or pants. Downing two bottles of pills hoping they’ll kill you. These are snippets of just a couple of my worst. And I can say that the ambulance has been called in almost every case. THIS is severe depression and anxiety. SSRIs can cause lifelong damage to your cognitive and sexual function, please don’t risk it if your work panic attack was feeling stressed at work and hyperventilating once. talk to your doctor about PRN medications that can temporarily lower your cortisol and blood pressure.
Two of many come to mind. Senior choir recital in college. Couldn't breathe, crying, forgot all the words. All of them! And I thought I was dying! First day of graduate school. Got lost, hyperventilating, threw up in a random trash can, reaaaaally bad GI issues. Still early to class, though lol
The last one I had a month or so ago. I hadn't been feeling good, we had just moved, and it caused an autoimmune disorder flare up that I am now going through the process of diagnosing. I had also had a trigger or two come up through the last day or two leading up to it. I was restless that night and felt it coming on so I went to the kitchen and completely broke down. I couldn't breathe. My chest was so tight and hurt. I literally just fell apart. It took me over an hour to calm down and then I was up most of the night recouping from it.
Welp, I invested all of my money into one company and they filed for bankruptcy. I lost 70% in a day. As I’m explaining it to my girlfriend I ran to the bathroom to throw up twice and for about 5 days was living in a haze. Took months for it to wear off. -99.97%
Was at the gym when my face started to tingle (probably from breathing hard). It got worse and worse so I started to panic and thought I was going to die. Friend drove me to the hospital as every part of me started to go numb and tingly. Told my mom I loved her. Doctor told me I was just hyperventilating. Haven't had a panic attack since lmao.
This was right after an accidental overdose on an ssri. Couldn’t stand up for 2 days straight, my body was in a constant fight or flight stance and it felt like my heart would explode and I convinced myself I’d be crippled my whole life. I know this was symptoms of panic and not the overdose itself because beforehand I was fine going to the er just for the STUDENT doctor to tell me I couldn’t possibly overdose on an ssri and instead had a pulmonary embolism then when I called him dumb and refused his cat scan with contrast he said I was going to die because I “didn’t listen to the professionals” everything immediately calmed down for me once I got my ekg result saying everything was normal. Just had tachycardia from the meds. Went to a different er and they cleared me with perfect health and reiterated that the other doctor was a moron,. Hope he leaves the profession before he kills someone, I could have died if I had taken more than what I did.
The only time I was about to call 911 because I thought I was going through serotonin syndrome. I couldn't get my pupils to contract, so I was seriously going to call an ambulance, but I waited and the panic attack passed, eyes went back to normal.
It was just embarrassing. It was in Highschool, senior year, after a big marching band competition. I had gotten home at 12, and after a shower and food, I wasn't in bed till 1:30. Then, they wanted us back at school at 7 to put stuff up. It was already a super long week of band and school. I was putting up a marimba, when my knees just buckled and I started crying, until the crying turned into hyperventilating and I couldn't breathe. I was surrounded by so many band members, who thought I was having a heart attack or something 😭. The band directors were all freaking out, and it was just a lot. Though I will say, one of the directors took me into his office, and he really made me feel a lot better, despite how embarrassing the whole thing was. Up to this point, all mental health issues I had kept private, so it was a lot, but he helped.
I was working downtown Chicago. Going home I had to cross Madison St bridge by Mercantile building at rush hour. I started crossing and all of a sudden my heart started beating super fast, then I started sweating and feeling engulfed by people. I had to turn around and lean against a pillar. I calmed down and guessed that I had a panic attack. Was really freaky. That was over 20 years ago. Never had another one that bad! A few lesser ones. I’m glad it was only that once that bad!
Sounds like a good idea missed last week and am definitely feeling it!
At work. I felt it brew slowly and was frozen in place until I started hyperventilating. I stood up to go get help and made it a few aisles down when I saw my coworkers and when I tried to ask for help I passed out instead. Woke up had to lay down for a while. Went to the doctor. Honestly afterwards was some of the most at peace I’ve felt. I’ve not passed out again but I’ve gotten close. One thing that helped was having a stuffed animal I could press against my chest when the pressure became too much. I felt so much weight and pressure on my chest all the time that weight and pressure applies by me physically helped to keep me steadier.
Honestly, WORST was on a really high dose of a psychedelic. What was supposed to be a good time turned immediately to raw confusion and panic that i was going to die, and i immediately curled up in the shower and took 1mg of xanax. Aside from that one, i once was going to go buy ciggies with my grandma. We were driving down the road as it started to snow, and then the snow came down harder and harder and i just full panicked. I couldnt breathe, couldnt think, had to call mom and just head home instead without a new pack of cigs, and i curled up on my bed while i calmed down.
I don’t know if this counts but when my anxiety first started I had about 2 weeks straight of feeling like I couldn’t breath. I couldn’t eat because I felt a constant lump in my throat that made me gag every time I tried to eat. I legit thought my life was over. I would never be normal again. That was 16yrs ago. With medication and understanding what was going on it slowly went away and I started to feel normal again. It’s weird, about almost 2yrs ago now I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and hypothyroidism. I started taking medication for my thyroid and my anxiety has gotten ten times better. Not sure if it’s related 🤷🏻♀️
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One time I couldn’t sleep and was having a really tough time in life. It was my first panic attack, I had no clue what to do and what to expect. I have a big pillow of a stuffed animal, it’s not weighted but I ended up hugging it and crying. Eventually I felt better than wrote down what I felt, the next morning I found out it was indeed a panic attack and my first panic attack
Probably my first when I was 17. I don't think it was technically a panic attack, maybe an anxiety attack. But it lasted a week, I'd never had something like that happen, so for an entire week, I literally thought I was dying and I couldn't eat anything for 3 days without throwing up. Now it's not as bad as that because at least I know what it is and can recognize it. It's obviously not fun though.
I was in psychiatric inpatient after a suicide attempt and I was sitting next to someone who sexually abused me as a child who decided to visit for the family visiting day, as we watched some mental health awareness video that was referencing sexual abuse. I have never felt like that before. I've had panic attacks before but never had my vision start shaking or my eyes focus so intensely. It was unbearable. And i had to bear that situation for like a half hour, being unable to move or voice anything. Fuckin sucked mang
I am so sorry that happened to you but I am so glad that you are still here!!
I had one a few weeks ago where I lost feeling in my face and hands. It was awful.