Panic attacks are no joke and difficult to explain to someone
who has never had one. That said I will
try my best.
For me…an acute sense of dread comes over me. I start to shake a little and my heart starts
racing. Sometimes it’s difficult to
find my breath. Then I get a little
dizzy and confused…difficult to concentrate or pay attention to anything other
than the attack. Pretty frightening
actually. Sometimes it last less than a
minute, sometimes it takes a little while to come out of it.
If I am alone when it happens I try to find someplace that I
can sit and be found. One of my biggest
fears, and this actually escalates the panic attack a little, is that I will
pass out or worse. That’s why I try find
a place that someone who is walking by can see me and call 911 if needed.
If I am with other people I put on a fake smile and try to
pretend nothing is happening. Most times
I hide very well, others not so much.
They started about six years ago for me. At first I had them daily if not weekly. Without knowing what the hell was going on I
was completely freaked out. Went to
several doctors with no help. Could be I
was not describing it right. Just kept
telling them my heart would start racing.
Finally went to a psychologist and that’s when I was diagnosed. Took meds for a few years and they definitely
helped…at the time it was worth the side effects.
Once I started understanding more about what was going on in
my head, I knew that I would not be on meds much longer. Just had to accept that panic attacks are not
going to kill me and that it is just temporary.
Started some breathing exercises when they came on. Helped to shorten them when they occurred.
Weaned myself off the medication which I do not recommend
doing…once your body adjust to the meds suddenly coming off of them could have
worse effects than ever taking them to begin with. I was on such a low dose to begin with I was
lucky. What helped is my resolve to not
let it run my life. Just have to accept
it and live with it. That seemed to help
a lot. Only get them once every six
months or so. I know what signs to look
for…know when to sit down and breath deep.
Still scares the hell out me every time, just not as much.
Now…what can you do to help?
You probably can’t if you have never had one. I can provide with some things that you
should not say to them…
·
Just calm down, its only in your head·
It’s no big deal·
I know how you feel, I was once on a roller
coaster
Basically, don’t play it off like it’s nothing. You don’t know what’s going and you are not a
doctor so don’t try to explain it away or diagnose it from WebMD. I think it is great that you want to help,
but the truth is that there may not be a lot you can do. The nicest thing anyone did for me was to
stay quiet and lightly rub my back. That’s
just me though…it’s different for everyone. 4951