Im so sorry that happened. I have similar experiences of anxiety episodes where its really hard to breathe... and it seemed you were handling it well until your mother in law shoved negative things in your face and being unreasonably rude.., although maybe running upstairs in a middle of a conversation wasnt a good idea darling, ALTHOUGH i do understand that fighter flight mode, especially when your having an anxiety attack. Most of the time I go blank and freeze.

Not exactly sure your situation... But ill do my best to help give you something from my experiences.
I dont know why, there is so much stigma towards seeing a counselor/therapist.. I admit at times I have my own doubts but it can do wonders if u give it a chance. Especially when it comes to handling difficult situations, such as confrontation with your mother in law. Nothing wrong with it. Especially with the way she pointed it out, was totally unnecessary... I can imagine why it would be very upsetting for you. But again, id like to stress that there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting help... In any case, it means youve taken a step towards self care.

One thing that helps me when I feel anxiety is breathing deeply. But it has to be a practice of "Mindfulness", Practice deep breathing when you dont have an anxiety, I do it every night before bed... just a few deep breathes, it helps to relax your system. And when an anxiety attack is lurking, it really helps!!
you can think of it like... exercising, but "exercising" to relax your body and mind.

feel free to check mindfulness out! i bet theres a lot of resources on it on google :) My counselor gave me this resource http://self-compassion.org/category/exercises/#exercises

hopefully it helps! warm hugs.

Your situation reminds me of many that I have had to push through. Unfortunately my coping skill is no longer working for me and making my anxiety worse. My way of coping is to simply accept all blame and apologize for my inability to know the right things to say and do within conflict because my anxiety reaches a point that my heart races, face and neck turn blood red, hands shake and words get slurred to the point I retreat to a place such as a bathroom to cry or sit on the floor until the physical symptoms pass. Then I return with the apologies that are not always my place to apologize. My husband told me this morning that "people that just see you and don't know you think you are this beautiful woman that I am lucky to be with, but they just don't know how unattractive your anxiety makes you". He claims he said this to make me stronger and fight thru. However, I have been able to fight thru a lot; which makes me recent his comments and only makes me weaker, not stronger. As for your situation, leaving for a brief cool down is what I would have done, but walking away and coming back as often as I do has not been beneficial in the long run. If it became an all too often problem, then you may be like me and forced to decide if those around you are hurting more than helping.

@ReadyForLife
I've gone through similar symptoms/situation when my anxiety attack creep up behind me. All my mistakes, uselessness, dark thoughts just hang over my head in a dark fuming cloud. I go through the same, red neck/face, slurred speech, hand/body shaking.. I would try to be it together, bottled it up so no one will see me crack but I would always end up crying in the bathroom/bedroom locked away from preying eyes.

Afterwards I just feel fatigued and empty..

I took a big step this week for myself, found a therapist to help me talk about all my fears, worries, dark thoughts, trapped feelings insides. Help uncovered anything that I might not know how to put in words for my love ones.

I will be seeing them this Monday March 05, 18.

I'm nervous about this meeting since its been the first since I was 17 years old.

Hello, Thanks for your strength. It's understandable that this is frustrating and difficult. I am sorry to hear about the anxiety attacks. Please know that your life is worth the fight. Continue to fight through this. Yes, you did the right thing by leaving. In the future maybe try relaxation and breathing exercises. Such as. Mediation, slow deep breathes, count to 1 to 10 and then recount. Also, write down on a sheet of paper your feelings when you feel this way. Don't reread anything you write down then rip the paper. This helps to release feelings. Hugs!

I am so sorry this happened to you. I totally applaud you sharing.

It’s very difficult explaining panic attack symptoms, experiences to friends or family members who have never experienced it. They often don’t understand and can’t relate.

I’ve suffered from debilitating panic attacks on and off over the last 7 years. During that time, I have learned *not* to share my symptoms/struggles with family, especially my husband. All he does is get mad and yell out of frustration. But the thing is, I know that’s exactly all it is on his part: frustration. He’s frustrated because he sees me suffer, and doesn’t know how to help.

Without knowing what the argument was about, I would talk to your mother in law when emotions are less elevated and explain how it effected you.

It’s okay to set healthy boundaries between family and yourself. I had to set a boundary between myself and my mother - our arguments would often just make my anxiety worse.

I hope this helps. Please know that you are not alone. *HUGS*