Panic Attacks Support Group
A panic attack is a period of intense fear or discomfort, typically with an abrupt onset and usually lasting no more than thirty minutes. Symptoms include trembling, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, sweating, nausea, dizziness, hyperventilation, and sensations of choking or smothering. Panic attacks can be very sudden, appear to be unprovoked, and are often...
Hi! I'm Amanda, 19/f and I've been living with panic and anxiety since 2001. So roughly 8 years old because I remember I was in 2nd grade.
Anyways, I looked up support groups after a terrible panic attack that happened to me at work yesterday and I just knew I needed additional help or support. Here's the story:
I work at a Burger King. (HATE my job, btw. I'm trying so hard to look for a new one outside of fast food....but no luck as of yet.) So it's a lazy Sunday at work and I get sent to work in the kitchen because they needed an extra person in the back. Sure, I'm okay with this for my adoring boyfriend was working back there too. So it was pretty slow for a while, but then noon came around and suddenly we were getting slammed with lunchtime orders. So many orders were popping up on my screen and I was working as fast as I could, breaking a light sweat for it was blazing hot back there as I'm preparing chicken and fish sandwiches as well as not running out of product.
But then suddenly I felt it coming. My mind started going foggy, eyesight going a little buggy and it was getting hard to focus and concentrate. I quickly dug my tiny pill box out of my pocket and held a half of a 0.5mg Clonazepam pill in my mouth, trying to gather enough saliva to swallow it because I couldn't leave my position to get water at that particular moment. But as soon as I put that half of pill in my mouth (I only take them in halves because a whole pill is too much for me because my body is sensitive to any sort of medications) I was in full-out panic attack mode. I felt scared when there was no danger at all, my hands became really shaky and wrapping sandwiches was hard. I felt like I couldn't move, that I had to stay standing in one spot. Almost like I wanted to collapse on the floor, curl up into a little ball until it was okay. I like tight, small spaces, which is odd because usually people are claustrophobic, but I think I'm agoraphobic. Anyways, I try to push through my panic, keep working as best as I can. I duck out into the back employee room by the wash area and wet down some paper towels to wrap around my neck to try and keep myself cool as I work, but then as soon as I walk back over to my work area, I'm still petrified. I didn't want to be there. I felt trapped and there was no way out. That's how I always feel whenever I get a panic attack: that I'm trapped within myself and there's no way out, no way to get help because I don't know how others can help me and I'm afraid to tell anyone how I'm feeling because they wouldn't understand.
Eventually I just got to the point where I couldn't work anymore and I had to just go sit down and breathe. I told this to my boyfriend, who knew what was going on, and he told me to go sit down and he'd help another employee watch my station in case any more orders came up.
So I sat in the crew room curled up on a chair, playing with my cell phone (because that seems to help a lot for whatever reason) and held wet, cold towels to my face until it passed. But out of desperation to feel better, I took another half of a pill so I had a whole 0.5mg of Clonazepam in my system in hopes it would work better or faster and I could just go back to work. But it wasn't working. It was just making me super "doped up" or really drowsy. I did calm down and start to feel better, but I was still in a daze, which seems to be the norm with my panic attacks.
It'll suddenly hit me out of utter nowhere, heart racing, hot flashes, feelings of non-reality, helplessness, agoraphobic, and then even after I come down off of it, I still feel aftershocks of it, like constant feelings of non-reality and I feel really tired. As if something struck me and sucked all the life out of me.
I need some advice, support, any ideas to help with this. Yes, my medication does help if used at the right times to prevent this from happening, but what to do when in the heat of the moment and instead of taking more pills out of desperation, how can I calm myself down? Because I hate having to sleep it off in order to feel okay.
(I apologize for the novel I wrote, just that I'm a writer so I can't help but write lengthy pieces lol)
Anyways, I looked up support groups after a terrible panic attack that happened to me at work yesterday and I just knew I needed additional help or support. Here's the story:
I work at a Burger King. (HATE my job, btw. I'm trying so hard to look for a new one outside of fast food....but no luck as of yet.) So it's a lazy Sunday at work and I get sent to work in the kitchen because they needed an extra person in the back. Sure, I'm okay with this for my adoring boyfriend was working back there too. So it was pretty slow for a while, but then noon came around and suddenly we were getting slammed with lunchtime orders. So many orders were popping up on my screen and I was working as fast as I could, breaking a light sweat for it was blazing hot back there as I'm preparing chicken and fish sandwiches as well as not running out of product.
But then suddenly I felt it coming. My mind started going foggy, eyesight going a little buggy and it was getting hard to focus and concentrate. I quickly dug my tiny pill box out of my pocket and held a half of a 0.5mg Clonazepam pill in my mouth, trying to gather enough saliva to swallow it because I couldn't leave my position to get water at that particular moment. But as soon as I put that half of pill in my mouth (I only take them in halves because a whole pill is too much for me because my body is sensitive to any sort of medications) I was in full-out panic attack mode. I felt scared when there was no danger at all, my hands became really shaky and wrapping sandwiches was hard. I felt like I couldn't move, that I had to stay standing in one spot. Almost like I wanted to collapse on the floor, curl up into a little ball until it was okay. I like tight, small spaces, which is odd because usually people are claustrophobic, but I think I'm agoraphobic. Anyways, I try to push through my panic, keep working as best as I can. I duck out into the back employee room by the wash area and wet down some paper towels to wrap around my neck to try and keep myself cool as I work, but then as soon as I walk back over to my work area, I'm still petrified. I didn't want to be there. I felt trapped and there was no way out. That's how I always feel whenever I get a panic attack: that I'm trapped within myself and there's no way out, no way to get help because I don't know how others can help me and I'm afraid to tell anyone how I'm feeling because they wouldn't understand.
Eventually I just got to the point where I couldn't work anymore and I had to just go sit down and breathe. I told this to my boyfriend, who knew what was going on, and he told me to go sit down and he'd help another employee watch my station in case any more orders came up.
So I sat in the crew room curled up on a chair, playing with my cell phone (because that seems to help a lot for whatever reason) and held wet, cold towels to my face until it passed. But out of desperation to feel better, I took another half of a pill so I had a whole 0.5mg of Clonazepam in my system in hopes it would work better or faster and I could just go back to work. But it wasn't working. It was just making me super "doped up" or really drowsy. I did calm down and start to feel better, but I was still in a daze, which seems to be the norm with my panic attacks.
It'll suddenly hit me out of utter nowhere, heart racing, hot flashes, feelings of non-reality, helplessness, agoraphobic, and then even after I come down off of it, I still feel aftershocks of it, like constant feelings of non-reality and I feel really tired. As if something struck me and sucked all the life out of me.
I need some advice, support, any ideas to help with this. Yes, my medication does help if used at the right times to prevent this from happening, but what to do when in the heat of the moment and instead of taking more pills out of desperation, how can I calm myself down? Because I hate having to sleep it off in order to feel okay.
(I apologize for the novel I wrote, just that I'm a writer so I can't help but write lengthy pieces lol)
Im new to the website but unfortunately not new to panic attacks. I had my first one in 99. One of the worst places to have them, in my opinion, is work. Really the only way you can deal with it at work is to do what you did and take yourself away from the situation. I read a really good book that gives a good breathing excercise. Breathe in for 4 seconds hold your breath for 16 seconds and exhale it for 8 seconds. Tough at first so you amy want to practice before the real deal but it will calm you down. Remembering that you are not going to die and nothing is going to happen to you is paramount. You have to keep that control. I feel for you and wish you all the best.
heres some general advice
panic attacks, also called anxiety attacks are a false triggering of the fight or flight response, google fight or flight response for all the possible effects of it. panic attacks often are inherited. they cant harm anyone so should not be feared. when feeling stressed or panicky simply relax and breathe deep and slow. dont tense up or fight back against it. do disolve any mid range valium type pill under tongue for fastest help, google sublingually.
agoraphobia is avoiding or fearing places or situations likely to cause a panic attack. Ive found that the best advice in overcoming both is in cheap self help books from internet bookstores, order a few to be delivered to you by mail. therapists, especially psychiatrists often give little advice and consider the panic attacks as unimportant. they waste time and are often expensive, also their advice is hard to remember as most patients are very nervous.
valium type meds are still the best for reducing or stopping a panic attack, if taken to hospital, the usual treatment is an injection of valium. antidepressant meds help some a lot but sufferers can have severe early side effects so start at much less than the min dose range and slowly work dose up, google the antidepressant dose range for guidance. valium reduces early side effects. antidepressants take from 2 to 6 weeks to start working and occasionally never help. the prozac or SSRI type are popular but other types also help and so can be tried.
older sedating antihistamines calm some. valium type must be used sensibly but its been my long experience that few sufferers have addictive type personalitys,t he main problem being to get them to take a large enough dose rather than stopping them from taking too high a dose
the fight or flight response can become a strong addiction, people activate it with dangerous sports, downhill skiing, bungee jumping, parachute jumping, etc so some panic attack sufferers refuse to make any attempt to recover or to take helpful meds. panic attack and agoraphobia sufferers dont usually lead very stressfull lives. they become expert at seeming calm and relaxed whan actually panicky
I had panic attacks and severe agoraphobia for 20 years before diagnosing myself and am now completely recovered, have advised many sufferers thry self help groups