Panic Attacks...ugh

[Rickysa]

Just curious if anyone else here has had to deal with them...if so, you can surely appreciate just what this fella was experiencing:

[wdfifteen]

My wife has had panic attacks. For her they come from out of nowhere. I may have had one the day before I had to confront a trusted partner who I caught embezzling from me. I couldn't breath and tried to drive myself to the er. Couldn't make the pedals work.
More common for me is what OZ talks about. I'm constantly editing what I say. I speak a sentence and while I'm speaking the next one I'm running the previous one through my head to see if I could have said it better.

[look 171]

I briefly had it for a few weeks about 6-7 years ago. Heart rate is sky high, blood pressure is off the chart at 170. Comes on in the evening after 9-10pm, just about the same time I logged onto here. I kept taking my BP but it kept going up. Doc wanted to drug me. Eventually, I let things go and stop thinking about all the stupid siht. That yelling match would have eaten me up, but I learn to let it go. Rode my bike to get some exercise daily back then and it went away. Doc thinks its self induced. Its all gone. Oh, doc also suggested I talk to a head doc. I don't do any of that he suggested. All gone now no matter how mad I get.

[GG Allin]

$100 says the recreational drugs he's talking about was weed. I used to have panic attacks. I quit smoking weed, no more panic attacks. And I'm not talking about when I was intoxicated. I would have them any time within a few weeks of smoking it.

[ckissick]

I guess it sort of happened once, although it was for a good reason. I've been in a few plays at our repertory theater, and I always get a little nervous while back stage, waiting for my cue. Just about everyone does. The anxiety is not stage fright. What the audience thinks of me doesn't bother me. The anxiety comes from being convinced I'll forget my lines and screw up the whole scene, thereby letting down the other actors as well as the audience who want to get their money's worth.

So last year, playing Dr. Grimwig in Oliver!, I go up to Oliver and just freeze. (I was distracted by a late set change and lost my focus.) So I'm just standing there staring at Oliver, not knowing what to say. My head starts ringing, my heart rate doubles, and the sweat starts to pour instantly. The world is coming to an end. I'm convinced the booing will commence any moment. Then the 10-year old boy playing Oliver improvises with me and gets me on track. The scene goes on and all is well. But it was hard to finish the scene.

I apologized to some friends who were in the audience, but they didn't notice anything was amiss. So it was all for nothing, as panic attacks tend to be, no matter the circumstances.

[pavulon]

Bad news for your money. It was cocaine and ecstasy.

[HardDrive]

Originally Posted by GG Allin

$100 says the recreational drugs he's talking about was weed. I used to have panic attacks. I quit smoking weed, no more panic attacks. And I'm not talking about when I was intoxicated. I would have them any time within a few weeks of smoking it.

I concur. I like smoking MJ. Big time. But it doesn't matter if its Indica or Sativa, I still find myself more tense if I smoke it regularly. Avoiding or anesthetizing ones sell to life's problems never makes the problems go away.

Doesn't mean that some tasty Sativa while hiking in the mountains isn't enjoyable of course....

[Don Ro]

And now...The Rest of the Story.
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[look 171]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

And now...The Rest of the Story.
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~~~~~~
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Interesting. During college, my schedule was crazy busy since I started my little construction business it seem that the day needed to be another 5 hours longer. I had a hole in my schedule and decided to take a meditating class. It was held in the gym. I walked in there thinking, "god, time to sleep in the dark for an hour". I did fall sleep sitting there a few times, but the benefit of sitting there clearing one's brain help tremendously. it took about a month for me to actually catch on. Loved it, but have not done it since the class. I should start but taking out an hour out of the day would be nuts just to sit and do nothing. This Video really got me thinking about doing it again.

How many of you guys have tried something like it?

[look 171]

Originally Posted by GG Allin

$100 says the recreational drugs he's talking about was weed. I used to have panic attacks. I quit smoking weed, no more panic attacks. And I'm not talking about when I was intoxicated. I would have them any time within a few weeks of smoking it.

You really think? I wouldn't smoke weed even if my doctor ask me to.

[sc_rufctr]

[NY65912]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

You want a real answer or?
Look up "grounding" . It might be as simple as carrying a item in your pocket.
Also you and your body is looking for a way to handle stress.
One has to "learn" new ways to cope and or change the situation(s)

BINGO!

I have suffered for years with PA's and it has taken a long time for me to be able to learn things that set one off. Been to the doc, psychologist and finally the answer was in myself. I still get anxious in certain situations like bumper to bumper traffic, I feel I have no way out, so I deal with it by bypassing traffic or setting landmarks which I tell myself the panic will end. I call my wife or a friend and talk through the anxiety.

One thing I can tell you is that it sucks and can be debilitating.

[Rickysa]

One thing I can tell you is that it sucks and can be debilitating

Amen to that.

[Reg]

At Dentist now....it gets me anxious most times as well as traffic. The whole trapped idea I suppose.

Good topic!

[GG Allin]

Originally Posted by look 171

You really think? I wouldn't smoke weed even if my doctor ask me to.

I don't have a problem with people smoking marijuana. It just didn't mix well with me personally. I honestly think it's less harmful than alcohol.

[pavulon]

They can shake a person right to the core. An attack robs people of everything. In those moments, they have nothing...not even themselves. Humbling, very scary and makes people live in fear of the next time it happens.

[widgeon13]

So I guess we now know who won't be getting CC permits.

[Rickysa]

At Dentist now....it gets me anxious most times as well as traffic. The whole trapped idea I suppose.

Yep...can't escape...what if I start to choke...I have to stay still..., s**t, why is my heart racing????....can't breathe...they're leaning all over me...jaw is shaking...can't stay open...gotta get up...can't...f*uck...

Deal with it daily, and for the last 25 yrs or so...first attack was at age 6 (once I learned what was going on).

Try running in place hard for 10 seconds while hyperventilating and then turn in circles five times...then multiply that feeling about a bazillion times

For some CBT (cognitive behavior therapy) is magic...for some, it takes more.

[J P Stein]

I had one....
I was in the hospital and within a few days after getting my guts cut open.
God knows what drugs they were pumping into me.

It was no fun but not as bad as loosing my mind after a previous surgery about 25 years before. Back then, Morphine.....a blast in the ass every 4 hours ....I went nutso. It's tough to find your mind when it's missing.

I don't do well with hi-tech pain killers either. (Oxycodone?)

[look 171]

Originally Posted by GG Allin

I don't have a problem with people smoking marijuana. It just didn't mix well with me personally. I honestly think it's less harmful than alcohol.

I don't care what others do, I just don't want to smoke it. Its like beer, a six pack will last me more then two or three months. Don't get me wrong, I love the way beer taste, just don't always have a craving for it, but it is damn good with Mexican food.