Anyone else feel life slipping away during a panic attack?

[Jayce]

Hi,

I've had panic attacks on and off for the last 15 years. Usually i feel like i'm going to have a heartattack and i'm going to die. In the most extreme cases, however, I get in panic mode so much that I call an ambulance and in the waiting time actually feel my life slipping away out of my body. This is the most frightening experience i've ever had and puts me in purely instinct mode where i for example run towards the ambulance in my underpants, yelling "I'm going to die". Afterwards the feeling i've had is unsettling to even think about.

Does anyone recognize this symptom during a panic attack or can someone try to explain what happens in my body that i experience this? I can't really find anything about this on the internet.

[Ponder]

Welcome to the forum Jayce.

I feel confident in saying many individuals in here can relate to such symptoms of Panic Attacks.

To explain what happens in your body when fear takes over in such a way, I will share something that I came across on the internet some time ago. I am not claiming anything of this podcast other than the fact that despite myself having an aversion to analyzing a way out of a problem, the following link came to mind regarding how persistence stress/anxiety effects our bodies. For me the knowledge is useless without a desire to dedicate a routine that helps me unlearn and recondition new pathways in my brain (positive behavioral conditioning) ... whatever you want to call it.

There is no quick answer. Perhaps others can provide you with a better response in terms of relating the experience, however for interests sake I hope you get something out of the following: (I'm more for dealing with the core as opposed to dealing with symptoms ... although the latter perhaps a step towards finding ones way.)
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Click on link for Podcast:
THE IMPACT OF THE HUMAN STRESS RESPONSE WITH MARY WINGO

• The definition of stress
• The root causes of stress and learn how to manage it effectively
• Why the stress response is essential for helping one adapt to one’s environment
• The fascinating biology of human stress
• The 5 major causes of stress in modernized society
• How to protect your health – learn how to avoid over-loading one body’s stress response
  
  
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  Another one I found useful: (that may or may not be of interest)
  

I hope you find some of that as helpful as I did with respect to what goes on inside our bodies for when and why we feel the way we do.

[Jayce]

Thanks for the response and the help!

I'm trying to reason what's happening to my brain/body so i have a better chance of dealing with it in the future. I was thinking that maybe i'm almost fainting from the extreme panic ( heartbeat/breathing irregularities) and my fear of death registers it as dying. As i've never really fainted before i don't know the feeling. The thing is that my panic get's 10 times worse when i get this feeling and it actually keeps me from falling away. I'm not sure if this is logical if it is fainting as my body goes into further overdrive.