Had an anxiety or panic attack for the 1st time on Friday night

[neoryte]

It kind of came out of nowhere or at least I thought. I generally don't think of myself as an excessively anxious person so this hit me like a mack truck and I'm really scared.

Couldn't catch my breath, had trouble focusing or understanding people, got cold sweats and my extremities felt numb. I didn't know what was happening to me so I took an Uber to the nearest ER. The nurses seemed to recognize it immediately. The doc gave me a lorazepam and I just had to wait it out before going home after a couple of hours.

This was terrifying for me. I've known people with anxiety problems but I never knew what it truly entailed.

Felt pretty normal on Saturday but today those feelings started bubbling up again and my brain feels like it's going a million miles a second. It's nowhere near as bad as that 1st one on Friday night but I'm still worried it might get to that level.

I'm going to make an appt with my primary doc tomorrow and try to find a psychologist as well. In the meantime, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[silver lining]

neoryte... as you read other's testimony, you will realize most of this is just in your head. It's simply the fear of fear if that makes any sense. The worst thing you can do with anxiety is remain all freaked out. All that will do is cause you to trigger another panic attack. My non-PHD advice to you is learn how to cope with stress, cope with fear, make your body very strong and healthy.. (meaning eat healthy foods, get rest and exercise frequently). Most importantly, learn to calm yourself through meditation/self hypnosis. You will thank me later if you try these steps, it has helped me immensely. Trust me, those symptoms you named are pretty text book anxiety problems. During an attack say to yourself: "this feeling is UNCOMFORTABLE but not DANGEROUS". If you can truly believe that statement, you will end the attack much much sooner. Once again not an expert but I researched plenty experts opinions and they all say about the same thing. Good luck friend, hope I helped.

[BlessedBackyard]

Hi and welcome! The panic attack that started my spiral came out of nowhere, while i was weeding my garden, so i know what you mean. The physical and mental are so closely related, so anything you can do to help your physical health will also help alleviate the panic and anxiety. Healthier eating, getting enough sleep, taking time to recover from stressful events, physical activity, etc.

[gypsylee]

Hi and welcome :)

This is an interesting post from my perspective (as someone who's had anxiety disorder pretty much my whole life). It's also interesting how you say "the nurses seemed to recognise it immediately" because that suggests a lot of people turn up at the ER with anxiety.

I had some pretty bad anxiety yesterday (for absolutely no apparent reason) and was thinking how the supposed randomness of it is a big part of the problem. Silver Lining is completely right in saying the best way to deal with it is to be able to say "this is uncomfortable but not dangerous" but it can be SO uncomfortable and you get so sick of the damn thing it's very tempting to do unhealthy things to just get rid of it for a while.

Anyway, I hope you find it helpful here..

Gypsy x

[kkleco]

The first post to your thread was well said- learn to deal with this head on.. It is a mistake I made to NOT do that and now I am kind of in over my head
I would say seek a therapist and hypnotherapy. Anxiety attacks can occur with triggers you did not know were there.
It is all in your head, but it sucks because those thoughts can control you.
You are going to be ok, and get through this fine.

[neoryte]

Really appreciate the support.

Do any of you take any sort of medication as a last resort when an anxiety attacks hits? Is there a specific type of therapy that you would recommend? Is meditation a good way to moderate it?

One thing I've resolved to do is completely stop drinking coffee and replace it with green tea instead.

[gypsylee]

Do any of you take any sort of medication as a last resort when an anxiety attacks hits? Is there a specific type of therapy that you would recommend? Is meditation a good way to moderate it?

I'm on Prozac 20mg and Mogadon 10mg. The Mogadon is like a shorter-acting but stronger Valium and yeah I certainly take it when I'm anxious.

I'd recommend a therapy called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) which I've been reading about in a book called The Happiness Trap by Dr Russ Harris. It's basically the idea that fighting negative feelings and thoughts is futile (and actually adds to them) so it's much more effective to learn to accept them and not get too caught up in them.

Meditation is definitely a good way to moderate anxiety and goes together with theories like ACT and mindfulness - essentially the ability to accept bad feelings without adding to them is the key to beating this thing.. I'm 43, had it my whole life and STILL struggle with anxiety/depression so it's not an easy thing to do!

[Teafrenzy]

It is ideal to not use medication but everyone is different. It really depends on how much the anxiety is bothering you. Unfortunately medications can have side effects, can sometimes be ineffective, can be costly depending on your drug plan and can be addictive.

[neoryte]

I'm on Prozac 20mg and Mogadon 10mg. The Mogadon is like a shorter-acting but stronger Valium and yeah I certainly take it when I'm anxious.

I'd recommend a therapy called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) which I've been reading about in a book called The Happiness Trap by Dr Russ Harris. It's basically the idea that fighting negative feelings and thoughts is futile (and actually adds to them) so it's much more effective to learn to accept them and not get too caught up in them.

Meditation is definitely a good way to moderate anxiety and goes together with theories like ACT and mindfulness - essentially the ability to accept bad feelings without adding to them is the key to beating this thing.. I'm 43, had it my whole life and STILL struggle with anxiety/depression so it's not an easy thing to do!

Interesting. I'll look into ACT. Was initially going to try CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy).

[kkleco]

Something amazing I discovered is hydroxzazine <spell?? -- NON addictive, and if your anxiety spikes at night this really takes the edge off and you sleep through the night.. highly recommend.

[silver lining]

Hi kkleco, have you heard of Valerian Root? It's a natural remedy to helping with insomnia and anxiety.. I bought the extract from my nearest health food store.

[Manekineko]

I still use oxazepam when its really bad!