health Have You Ever Had A Panic Attack?

[EpicEnergy 22,074]

If so what was it like?

I had a panic attack before, it was because I accidentally split my knuckle open. I got very shaky, felt a little numbness, felt like fainting, and I was hyperventilating. Thankfully it only lasted like 15-29 minutes.

[PoisonClaw 8,153]

I suffer from an Anxiety Disorder, so I've suffered numerous panic attacks over the years, some of them I still don't know what provoked them. 

The worst one I've had was so bad I actually suffered from disassociation, where I was both experiencing and standing outside myself watching myself experience it for several moments. Like my whole world had turned into a split screen almost.

[Olly 1,008]

Total fear, which leads to shaking. When I've had one, the lingering feeling stays for a long time, and changes you after. 

[Venomous 18,813]

Yes.

I was diagnosed with Panic Disorder 5 years ago. I would have anxiety attacks in high school and they were so severe that I refused to attend. My psychiatrist had to work with my school to think of a system which I could go to school but have the ability to deal with my anxiety at the same time. It was decided that, if I was having an attack in class, I could exit the classroom for 10-15 minutes and return when feeling better. I implemented this system all 4 years of high school. My anxiety has gotten much, much better since then though. I am on a medication that has been very helpful.

As for what it feels like, it can vary from person to person. For me, I get tunnel vision, my hands tremble & sweat, I get nauseas, I get hot, and I just have an overall feeling of fear and that I need to escape.

[Thuja 3,658]

Back in middle school, I used to have them, the thought of going to school at the time had me very anxious.  For me, I would become very numb along with a cold sweat, I had problems breathing only once thankfully.  I haven't had a panic attack in a while, which is good.

[ShadOBabe 18,984]

I’m pretty sure I have. I’m not entirely sure, but I have had instances where my stomach drops, I feel like I’m gonna puke, I am compelled to get up and pace around, my heart races, and I can’t breathe or think straight.

So if that fits the description, then yes.

[Bastian 13,319]

I think I've had one, Im almost sure of it, but I can't remember. What happened in September 🎵 

Sorry, I get carried away easily. 

[Cagey 4,206]

I’ve experienced many of the things already mentioned in this thread, but I’ve never had a true I-feel-like-I’m-physically-dying panic, the kind I always hear about, brought on by little to no reason, sudden and physically painful. 

[SharpWit 2,472]

I think I've had 3? Usually when somethings out of my control I worry for a bit and do the bad thing of putting something off but eventually just accepting the situation for what it is since nothing good comes from staying worked up. All three revolve from feeling cornered by my mother unfortunately.

The first one rose out of anger. The soil around my parents house is filled with rocks, so if you realistically want to garden, you have to rely on raised garden beds. One of these we had made of bricks with a tarp underneath that we were trying to grow raspberries in. They were stunted because their roots were blocked off by the tarp, so I spent hours sifting through the dirt meticulously by hand to retrieve every precious plant, and then moving the dirt and bricks to one side and then the other in order to remove the tarp. The whole purpose of me doing this was to get raspberries. On top of this, I had gone over a gardening plan with my mom based on what we wanted and had successfully grown in years prior to get a maximum yield. We were in agreement, until suddenly we weren't and she wanted to change everything up. All of that work was suddenly for nothing, and I was freaked out over all of that wasted effort and feeling lied to. My body felt contorted, trapped inside of some tiny crooked space. My mind was running circles and I was practically hyperventilating. I was exhausted but had this nervous energy that I put into plunging a pickaxe into the ground thinking I could maybe make a new spot for the plants but the rocks were too much. In the end I put them with some dirt into a storage bin and kept them off to the side since my mom just didn't want any in the ground. They stayed stunted and we got rid of them 2 years after, but at the time I felt utterly defeated.

The second came when I was given an ultimatum. I had to find work in a certain amount of time or have to move out. It was very stressful since I didn't get my first reply back till near the end date, so I asked for an extension. I started getting more replies back, I scheduled and had interviews, but the hiring process was being ridiculously slow, so I was really going to have to take on whoever was willing to hire me first. I was finally given 2 job offers around the same time, one for a company my step dad worked at which I was sure would make me miserable, and another that wouldn't be great but would give me more opportunity to unwind and remain happy and focused on other things. I really only applied to the former out of desperation, but my parents didn't think I was making the right decision, so they said I could either work at the place I thought would make me miserable or move out. If I moved out I wouldn't have even been able to work at the other place, so being financially insecure, there really wasn't an option. I was cornered and this was a change in our agreement. My mom asked me why this was so difficult for me, and trying to explain how it really wasn't a choice and how I didn't want to be miserable resulted in me crying and hyperventilating on the floor. My mom said those were my choices because they were worried for me and basically expressed that she felt sorry that I felt this additional pressure, but it didn't really change anything so I end up taking the miserable job for nearly 3 months.

I don't even really remember much from the third time around other than it involved me and possibly moving out again, or at least a discussion about it. That ended with me puking and shivering while taking a shower a few minutes later.

I can think of possibly 2 others, but I think these are more along the lines of mental breakdowns kind of after the fact or something? and it's too late to be putting myself in an unhealthy mindset thinking about them. I'm not really prone to anxiety and whatnot so I'm not too familiar with all this beyond my very specific examples, though related to feeling insecure aren't regular occurrences. 

Edited April 21, 2020 by SharpWit

[Odyssey 5,713]

I'm diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, so I definitely get them. Not every day, but at least once a month. The feeling of losing yourself from your panic attack and feeling guilty for refusing help really sucks.

[Prospekt 10,984]

I have gotten them several times.

My heart starts racing, weakness sets in, I get really pale, I break out in a cold sweat, I get shaky, and I get nauseated to the point where I feel like I'm about to projectile vomit. 

[Dreambiscuit 8,024]

I don’t think I’ve had anything you’d call a panic attack. Plenty of stress related things and a total breakdown when I was in my late teens, but not a panic attack in the way everyone seems to describe it.  

[Splashee 28,537]

Yes, a few times in my life. It was worst in the beginning, but nowadays I can deal with them. When I feel them start building up, I know what it is, and will try to avoid getting all worked up about it. (Trying to relax and think about other things, to calm myself down)

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,278]

Being someone who has crippling anxiety problems, I know these all too well. I try my best to avoid situations that can cause them. Usually it results in me freaking out with some usual results. Heavy breathing, shaking, random twitching, intense paranoia, things like that. It could lead me to have a total meltdown which...isn't fun at all. So I do what I can to avoid any of that, but sometimes it just happens. 

[Stone Cold Steve Jobs 22,410]

Yes. They’re hell. For me it feels like you can’t catch your breath and the room is closing in on you. I also get a sharp pain whenever I attempt to breathe too. I get them less often now that I cut so much sugar from my diet.

[TBD 17,228]

Not that I can recall but I had lost my cool before, but that's another story to tell. Whenever I have anxiety it tends to make me a more aggressive rather then panicky. 

[Oblivion 20,265]

Yes!!!!! Which may or may not be why I'm literally just freaking turbo posting right now!!!!!!

[DixonTheAdversary 1,631]

Nope. I'm not the kind of person to panic or get extremely anxious. Sure, I'll worry about stuff, but not to the point where I'll have an attack.

[Tom Gallagher 33,521]

Not me personally but I know this mare has!

[Petrus 696]

Yeah. My first job was at a gym/athletic center  on the operations team. This meant I would be first responder for accidents/violence/cleaning/repairing etc. I had a lot of jobs in that place. this job was garbage anyways. All my bosses thought I was too young to work there at the time so they hated me even though I did most of the work. Whenever someone was hurt or needed an ambulance I was always the first one there. One day not one person showed up for their shift (including the manager) Usually you work with 4 or 5 people. I was the only one so I had to clean the men’s locker rooms, the upstairs gym, the family locker rooms, the hallways in the building. Both men’s AND women’s restrooms on both floors. And I had other teams calling operations every two seconds because they didn’t know how to clean things. Then I got a call saying people had to vacate a room because a workout room was blood splattered. I went and checked and I mean every wall had blood. It was freaking me out. So I had to take care of that too. Everything that was adding up gave me a panic attack. I felt my heart sink into my stomach and I couldn’t breathe. And my mind was racing. Nothing like it.

[Fluttershyfan94 5,738]

Not sure if anxiety would actually count as usually panic attack is because of something while I personally tend to get panic attacks over literally nothing. Like just tonight I was hyperventilating for no other reason then being anxious. However, I don't really count anxiety in general as something like that. Since usually it is because like something traumatic happens to you. So having social anxiety and anxiety in general really isn't like that.

[Retro*Derpy 3,081]

I've had a few but only one made me hyperventilate.

[ZiggWheelsManning 7,360]

Had one yesterday morning.  The worry I wouldn't get much done in life for only a day that was either interesting or important.  

[They call me Loyalty 1,941]

No, but my family suffers from comorbid personality disorder and psychosis, especially me and my mother. And the risk is considerably higher with comorbid antisocial personality. Which we both have due to development problems. Meaning that I am bipolar and shift between autistim and extreme violence. That is the reason we stay at home, because I don't want to harm someone during an attack.

I've noticed since childhood that I have problems to react. Our condition is the cause of chronic anxiety. So, we cannot add more stress to that. Since we are constantly under pressure, already.

Edited March 4, 2023 by They call me Loyalty

[Cash In 21,509]

I've had plenty since childhood. Last one happened to me last month while I was driving. I pulled over until I calmed down, though so there wasn't any danger. I have gotten far better at handling them as I've gotten older.