Panic attacks

[anneq]

besides getting a prescription from your doctor? LoL - really I'm not a fan of prescription drugs, and I'm not suicidal.
I have certain ways I try to get through panic attacks - and I know what causes them, but am interested in how other people who experience them alleviate the condition.

 

[pamnock]

I have them occasionally - the only way I've found to alleviate them is to get out of the situation.

Pam

 

[mardigraskisses]

I have to be heavily medicated. :embarrassed:

I've heard there are some homeopathic remedies for anxiety... I don't generally put much stock in those though. But hey, they may work for some people who don't have horrible anxiety.

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

i have anxiety it was never horribly bad but when i would have them i would just have to breath through them, and try to relax. I now take medication which has stopped them but before taking medication i tried things like st johns wart, and some other things, but never noticed a difference. I tried meditation, that didnt seem to work either. lol., if you dont want to take perscription medication then try the natural kinds of things first.

 

[SunnyCait]

I don't personally have panic attacks, but my wife has them on occasion, mostly if we are in crowded places or we're out somewhere and she's left alone for too long.

Sadly though, the only way to end hers are to simply leave/get away from whatever it is that caused the attack. If we CAN'T leave, then we sit somewhere and she breathes and I mess with her hands and oddly enough knees, for some reason that works? Not sure why! Just patting them and take her hands in mine and sway slightly. Refocuses her attention off of whatever it is that set her off.

Hmm I've heard of people whipping out crossword puzzles during their attacks.

 

[JadeIcing]

Walk or scream. Even just pacing helps.

 

[myLoki]

I have had only a few attacks. Escape is the only way to calm me down. I HAVE to go outside and get fresh air. Take deeeeeeep breaths and let them out slowly and in control. That's what works for me.

t.

 

[Saudade]

I do some tai chi and martial arts kata, it always calms me down.

I always have panic attacks before performances, meetings, introductions etc.

 

[Flashy]

Mindfulness, breathing exercises and trying to head it off before it takes full hold.

 

[anneq]

Thanks guys for the replies.
Some I already try to practice (getting outside and walking, breathing more deeply)..when they get really intense I have to hold my daughter or husband and BREATHE, lol - my daughter even volunteered her little black stuffed bear that's she's had since she was 7yrs.old...she's such a sweety-pie.
I can usually head them off, but sometimes they just *hit* me and it almost paralyzes me. Fortunately, those times are not too common.

 

[undergunfire]

My panic/anxiety is genetic...from BOTH sides of my family. YAY meeee :rollseyes!

I have panic attacks daily...over nothing, really. Of course, when I get them I often get small pressure pains in my head....which makes me panic even more because I think I am having a brain aneurysm (something I fear and think I am going to die from...paranoid, much?).

My panic related "fear stuff"...

I rarely can go shopping alone. I fear doctors, dentists, and getting hurt. I live in fear daily of ghosts. My new fear is that someone is going to break into my house. I for some reason have developed a fear of saying "Hello" when I see someone I know (they have to say it first or I won't say it). I kind of want to take a course at the local college, but I fear it in a million different ways. I fear money....etc!

I am also a person who wants to rush, which always ends up in me panicking because sometimes I can't rush the things I want to rush. Then I start to get paranoid.

Most of my panic comes from being paranoid. I am a very paranoid person.

For me...I avoid situations. Like, I don't have friends because when I think of meeting a new person who could potentially be my friend.....I panic because I don't know what to do. Haha...I don't know how to "hang out" with people. So, I usually avoid trying to make friends. I guess it could be because I also know they we probably won't get along because I am way into my animals...and lots of people around here my age are into partying, etc.


Lots of the time I just can't avoid certain things. So, I take these all natural anxiety pills that my Dad gave to me. I take 3 of them at a time and it "zones me out" and relaxes me enough to get me through what I have to do (depending on what it is I am doing).

My Dad told me not to go onto prescription drugs because it will just mess me up. He has been on them for 9 years and he says he wishes he never went on them. I always wondered why my Dad was a "zombie". He "goes off" of them occasionally because he thinks he is fine....and I can tell a big difference (he is more fun!!)...but then he has to go back on them because his anxiety gets bad again. So...I just don't want to have to rely on drugs like that.

 

[Gordon]

I should probably see a doctor about my anxiety issues, but I haven't. As for panic attacks, I have not had one, per se, but I know my anxiety in ceratin situations could lead to one.

One of the reasons I like my 3rd shift job, is because I don't have to deal with the pressures of other workers around me. I'm the Night Manager of a small, but high-end hotel, and my main issues have been drunken groups of guests who demand certain things. I do not like being "put on the spot". --That stress me out, causes anxiety, and definitely a panic attack could result.

I've seen my tolerance or threshold for b.s. get lower as I've gotten older, and it worries me.

 

[steffiexxweffie]

i've lived with them all my life. i now have a lot of health problems because of the anxiety i have. i am on lexapro and have been for 5 years. it sucks and messes with my brain so much but i have no choice. well anyway i just try to rationalize my thought that will cause a panic attack and it sometimes helps... therapy is good too. they usually tell you that just concentrating on counting in your head or spelling things out and just keep concentrating on that helps too. it blocks out whatever youre really thinking about. i heard doing like 20 min of yoga every morning helps.