Try and lay down. See the negative thoughts pass by in your mind like clouds as you deep breath. My therapist has me doing this and it helps. Maybe that will help the lightheadness to go away long enough so you can go for a walk.

So sorry you feel this way. I am still working on managing these moments. Hopefully, you will get some suggestions that will help.

Just know, that I understand and know what it is like to feel the way you are. Thinking about you and hoping you day treats you better than you are feeling now. Hugs and more hugs to ya.

I hope you are feeling better. Sometimes when you are hyperventilating(which is why you were short of breath probably), deep breathing can make it feel worse. You are feeling that way b/c you have too little carbon dioxide in your blood. Instead of breathing deeply, try loosely cupping your hands over your mouth and breathing normally into them. This should help the breathlessness feeling. Some people breath into a paper bag but I feel less smothered using my hands. Sometimes that will also help the lightheaded feeling. Do you have a hobby??? cooking or art or anything you really love to do? Sometimes distracting yourself and getting 'all in' to something takes your mind off those symptoms. I even took up cake decorating just to have something to immerse myself in when I'm feeling like that. I hope this helps a little :). Hugs!

Sounds like a panic attack those just come out of nowhere had one today as well first time in months! i lay down on something cold, the floor whatever is cold lye down on it and just breath! it's the only thing i have found that works well and gets your heart rate back to normal. I gotta little thing from cvs any drugstore has one it's a little pricey but a little gidget you put on your finger that tells your heart rate and oxygen level in your blood.

I sure hope you are feeling better. I am blessed to have two amazing friends I can talk to, and my husband is amazing. A therapist is always good to talk to also. It is so hard once it creeps up and stalks you. Mine's been stalking me for a while. I hope you are feeling better today.

I agree with Scarlett that distracting yourself is the best way.

Breathing exercises work for some people who are panicking. But I have found that they don't do much for me because its hard to stop thinking about panicking when you are doing something to try to stop yourself from panicking.....if that makes sense.

Breathing exercises are GREAT to use as a daily tool to lower your overall stress level and teach your body to remain in a relaxed state throughout the day. I just haven't had much luck with them in as a quick fix for immediate stress relief. If you are like me, and find they don't help much, then I would definitely take Scarlett's advice and use distraction. I know it feels like you will never be able to get your mind off of it, and doing something as simple as keeping busy won't be enough to make you feel better...but it really works. You can't panic about something you aren't thinking about. It's impossible. Find something that interests you, whether its a book or word puzzles or youtube videos, or anything else that you can lose yourself in.

Or better yet, just carry on with your day as if you aren't feeling panicky and tell yourself you don't give a crap about how you feel, it won't stop you from living your life. All of these things can really make a difference.

I think I can help you. Your thoughts are what is causing you to think negatively and be panicky as you know. So I have identified the barrier that stands between you and being healthy: your THOUGHTS. Now I'm going to tell you how a thought even occurs. A thought is the result of the INTERNAL DIALOGUE that you are having with yourself. Meaning, if you can change the internal dialogue that you are having with yourself, then you have successfully changed your thoughts. Once your thoughts are changed, you fixed the problem. I know you think that thoughts are automatic and that you cannot change them, but you are so freakin' wrong. Thoughts are LEARNED by MALADAPTIVE internal dialogue. You can UNlearn the maladaptive internal dialogue and replace it with more adaptive in internal dialogue.
Let me give you a perfect example:
Situation number 1: A girl is sitting on her couch on a thursday night and relaxing. Suddenly, something breaks in the room next door to her. Immediately she starts having automatic internal negative dialogue with herself and she tells herself that a thief must have broke in to the house and now is going to rob her. she gets scared and anxious and stays quiet on the couch while shaking and trembling and crying.
Situation number 2: An identical situation. The girl is sitting on her couch on a thursday evening and relaxing. Suddenly, something breaks in the other room. She starts having ADAPTIVE internal dialogue with herself and she tells herself how angry she is that the vase in the next room was just knocked over by the wind. So she decides to get up from the couch to go and clean up the vase in the next room and close the window so it doesn't knock anything else over.

Do you see what the difference is over here?! It was an identical situation!!! The only thing that changed was her internal dialogue. Once her internal dialogue changed, she no longer had the physical symptoms of shaking, trembling and crying. And she no longer had the emotional symptoms of being terrified.
WHY DID SHE NOT EXPERIENCE ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS?
simple. she replaced her maladaptive internal dialogue with adaptive internal dialogue.

I hope this helps. I suffer from the same problems as 99% of this support group, and it helped me BIG TIME. I am learning a new way to think because my internal dialogue is different than it used to be. so can yours.

Much thanks to all of you for your advice. I eventually got better and then got called into work which helped get my mind off things. I took a xanax yesterday, for some reason when I am in a horrible attack I fear even taking that. I have to overcome that, because it did help within minutes. Today has been better, anxiety is at bay, just going about my day and hoping for the best. I hope all of you are having a great day. Its sunny and 60 degrees here in Michigan so I am enjoying it :) Hugs to you all!!!! So forever grateful to this board and the help and advice and support from everyone! -Kacy