Passing out

[anberry]

Hi I am new here and my main fears lie revolve around heart problems and loss of consciousness (fainting or passing out). I have never lost consciousness before besides sleep and the one time I went on local anesthesia to get my wisdom teeth out. Ever since my girlfriend passed out in front of me last year, I have wondered what it would be like to pass out. Thinking so much about what it would be like to have an impending loss of consciousness has caused me to develop a bit of a phobia regarding suddenly losing consciousness. I will all of a sudden randomly imagine myself collapsing when I am in public which will cause anxiety attacks. I was wondering if anyone could share their experiences with passing out and also how the symptoms differ from panic attack symptoms?

[1Bluerose68]

That's a good question?

[RealisticTrain]

Hi I am new here and my main fears lie revolve around heart problems and loss of consciousness (fainting or passing out). I have never lost consciousness before besides sleep and the one time I went on local anesthesia to get my wisdom teeth out. Ever since my girlfriend passed out in front of me last year, I have wondered what it would be like to pass out. Thinking so much about what it would be like to have an impending loss of consciousness has caused me to develop a bit of a phobia regarding suddenly losing consciousness. I will all of a sudden randomly imagine myself collapsing when I am in public which will cause anxiety attacks. I was wondering if anyone could share their experiences with passing out and also how the symptoms differ from panic attack symptoms?

The one definitive thing you need to know is that 99.9% of the time, you will NOT pass out during a panic attack. Exceptions are for folks who might have other underlying medical issues. Your fears of passing out are perfectly normal and rational -but your panic of them is not. Once you can start to convince yourself that you won't pass out randomly and without warning, your anxiety will lessen. Hope this helps, and remember to discuss these things with your own doctor or psychologist, as this is only my personal opinion.
- Dr. Dan

[gypsylee]

I fainted on the train once. I was standing up reading a book about The Doors and they were talking about what happens to your nose with cocaine addiction. The next thing I knew people were helping me get up off the floor. It was embarrassing but not that bad.

I've never fainted from anxiety though and trust me I've been about as panicky as you can get :)

[Ryker]

We get into the feedback loop of a panic attack because our system is wanting to motivate us to act.

It's called the "fight or flight" reflex. Your body is preparing you to flee or to fight. Passing out at this point is really not what your system wants! You're so not going to be doing any fighting or fleeing while you're passed out!

[danielhermanson]

Passing out is related to physical or emotional problems but not to anxiety or panic attacks. If you just calm down and think about positive things and how you will not pass out because you are not ill, you will get through a panic attack mush easier.

Take care!

[anberry]

Thanks for the responses! I bet actually passing out wouldn't be as bad as the anxiety I get when I start anticipating passing out