Panic attacks

Ive recently started having panic attacks (well im assuming thats what it is) this has happened 5 times in the last 3 months or so..which may not sound like much but its really scary. Does anyone who might have also suffered from these know any natural ways to calm yourself down..such as breathing exercises etc?

Hi Jessy

I'm sorry you're going through these attacks...I've suffered intermittently for years, and they can really be horrifying. Through therapy and yes, medication (Buspar helped while I was learning how to deal with the attacks myself through self-help, meditation and therapy - I ended up taking it for about 8 months, though meds aren't obligatory for everyone), I've managed to get to a point where I can usually recognise the signs and prevent a full on attack for the most part.

I came across TAPIR a while ago, and the forums there aren't bad at all - you can talk with and exchange experiences and ideas with others there who aren't going to judge you or make you feel worse. There's some neat info there, too.

And there's some great stuff here ....they have some breathing exercises too which really do help.

Part of the difficulty for me is recognising triggers...are there particular times or stressors where you're more likely to feel an attack coming on? (that's assuming you actually get warning signs - many sufferers don't!). Recognising them and being able to "talk yourself down" is sometimes a great step if it's possible to do so.

There's another great website here

And another here

The other thing I'd suggest is seeing your doctor too, if only to make sure you actually are suffering from anxiety attacks and not something else.

If there's anything else I can do, or suggest, or help with, please just give me a shout

Good luck - and know that you're absolutely not alone here!

I'm sorry to hear about your panic attacks, but I feel your pain. I tend to get really bad ones when really stressful things happen. My mom used to have them often so she's pretty good at getting me to calm down. I just recently had one during this past Katrina experience because of the ridiculous heat and just not knowing if everyone was okay, etc. Glass of water and my mom talking to me and trying to get me to breathe helped a bit. I've had much worse ones and it was harder to calm down, but eventually it's okay. I know how scary it is- You just can't breathe and don't know what to do other than continue freaking out.

Just wanted to say you're not the only one. My mom and I are out there with you!

Thanks for the replies and the links were really helpful. Its nice to read about what the symptoms are because I wasnt really sure what it was until a few people i told suggested panic attacks...but looking at the symptoms thats about right. Im going to check with my doctor like you suggested just to be on the safe side as thats what makes it so hard to calm down when they start, the not knowing if its something else because i seriously felt like i was going to die the first few times so will put my mind at ease

I get them sometimes. I tend to get bad ones when there are crowds around me. I was in a food court at a mall with friends one time, and literally had to run out of there, and across the mall looking for somewhere I could put my back to a wall and get away from everyone, until I could calm down.

I can usually calm myself down if I can get to a semi-secluded area where I can be by myself and if I can get a few deep breaths.

I used to get them when I was a late teen and early 20's, I used to think I was having a heart attack which made the panic even worse, eventually I got physically sick I had stomach uclers. So I study anxiety and realized that is all negative thoughts you have learnt to think of the worst possible outcome for any thought, you can do it so easily, most people don't realize they are doing it but if you analyze your thoughts you will see they are all nearly turned negative. So what I learnt was how to turn these negative thoughts into positive ones, slowly overtime this reduced the negative thoughts and thus panic attacks. I really believe in self help for anxiety anybody can do it and it's free, no need to spend money on treatment. I thought this website had a lot of good articles on anxiety self help take a look I hope it helps

I'm not saying that this is the case for your condition or situation. I just want the people that read this and do have the same condition to know a key factor about it. This helps many solve their condition.

Anger and Panic Attacks are very addicting to the brain. Many create situations subconciously to make themself Angry or Stressed. You may think this is absurd and wounder why someone would want to be mad or stressed and put themself through that.

Ilegal drugs have a thing called barbutuates. Barbituates create an amplied euforia emotion called dopamine.

The same applies with being Angry or Stressed Panic Attacks, it creates a natural drug in the brain dopamine. The same as in illicit drugs, so after becomming addicted to the feeling your subconcious starts to create unjustified reasons for becomming Agry or Stressed. Be aware of unnaturual behavior in yourself. Always be asking yourself, "Why am I doing this?"

For many as soon as they realize this they begin their road to recovery.

You won't here this from some psychologist, because the bottom line is they don't want you to become better. They want your emotional state to stay stagnant and you to think you are getting better. If they where making everyone better they would not have very many people returning for more visits.

Makes sence huh?

I'm sorry to hear that you are going through this. It is definitely a pain.

You have to really pay attention to your surroundings when you start to panic. Listen for noises, pay close attention to your exact feelings, and what not. Sometimes when I'm sitting in a really busy restaurant or mall or something, all of the noise of people talking makes me feel really panicy. So, I go walk around outside for a bit or something.

I've also read that the pressure point between your thumb and index finger can be really helpful at calming you down if you push it. Also, if you get headaches at all, that pressure point helps those too.

I have only had a couple of mild panic attacks, yes they are unpleasant. A nurse told me to sip on a HOT beverage and yes that seems to help, somehow it triggers the muscles to relax in the throat/diaphram. Don't know why it works but it does.

Also when you feel your breathing become labored be sure to exhale, when one feels like they can't breath they have a tendency to take very shallow quick breaths that don't actually bring much oxygen into the lungs. Blow on your thumb while exhaling, that is supposed to help to, I think it triggers the diaphram to relax much as hot beverages do.

As hard as it is don't fight the feeling, realize it it maybe unpleasant but it will pass. The more you freak over it, the worse the attacks can become. If you visit websites of forums devoted to panic attacks it might be a good idea to be VERY careful to avoid horror stories, don't read stories that will scare you and make you even MORE nervous about how bad they can be. That will not help reduce your anxiety. : )

[edit on 13-7-2008 by Sonya610]