Panic Attack, PTSD -TRIGGERS-

Panic Attack, PTSD -TRIGGERS-
S

sadanddown

Registrant
Ok, so last night I had my very fist panic attack. I just want to say that that was the scariest thing that I have ever been through in my life. I am feeling very exhausted today because of it. Luckily I had a friend of mine come over, because I was so scared. They helped me to calm down a lot. After hyperventilating for a while, I started to relive my abuse as if I was there and I couldn't get away from it. My face started to go numb as I cried. I'm sure a lot of you have had panic attacks here, but I am still feeling a lot of anxiety today. I don't want to go into what caused it right now, I just need to tell some people that understand what it's like to go through one. I'm trying to relax and stay calm...that was honestly the scariest thing I think I have ever been through. I'm afraid that I will have another one.

Thanks for listening,
Jon
 
Jon,
If you had one, you will probably have more. There are things that you can do to try to see them coming in advance and to try to sort of side step them. There are also techniques for trying to lessen the intensity of them. Please do some research and learn about those things.
Good luck.
Mike
 
Jon,

Yes, panic attacks are frightening. You can feel you are dying, you can feel you can't breathe, and then you can go into full flashback of things that occured.

I don't know if you are in therapy, but if so, you may want to ask about cognitive behavior therapy, which includes ways to relax yourself and maintain your breathing more during panic, which can help settle you some. Also, there is medication you can take 'as needed' when you feel panic coming on. That of course doesn't help much if it happens suddenly. But as Mike says, there are some options to help. I wish you luck, I know it is scary and draining.

leosha
 
Originally posted by MikeNY:
Jon,
If you had one, you will probably have more.
Mike
Click to expand...
Yeah, I find I'm spending the better part of the day trying to calm myself down now. Last week I was having such a good week too. I thought I was going to be alright and all, and then this happens. I've got finals this week too...lucky me.

What happened to cause all of this anxiety is that I got a really negative reaction from one of my friends that I told about my SA. He said to me that he thought I was "overanalyzing" things because I am a psychology major. I didn't even know what to say...I mean I'm overanalyzing it??? He completely dismissed it as a problem in my life.

After he said that, I told him "I'll be back in a couple minutes" Well I got home and I tried to call two of my friends and I couldn't get hold of them. At this time I was really starting to panic, both of them finally answered, one came over and the other talked to me on the internet to help calm me down.

This is exactly the reason why I've never told anyone til recently. I thought that guy was one of my best friends too. Maybe he just doesn't understand and I should forgive him?

Jon
 
This is the text of a leaflet I did for the outfit I work for about panic / anxiety attacks.
Dave.

A Panic Attack is a frightening experience, and one a survivor of childhood sex abuse, and other trauma, can suffer from repeatedly.

Panic attacks are a sudden and unprovoked feeling of fear; the bodys natural fight or flight response has been triggered for no apparent reason.
Suddenly we feel scared and a sudden and overwhelming fear engulfs us.

The symptoms experienced include:
Racing Heartbeat
Difficulty Breathing. ( Similar to an Asthma attack )
A feeling of Terror, and sometimes Paranoia.
Feel Light-headed, Dizzy and Nauseous.
Shaking and Trembling.
Chest Pains.
Sudden Chills or Hot Flushes.
Tingling in the Fingers and Toes.
Confusion, and a fear that you are having a Heart Attack or something similar.

During a panic attack these symptoms seem to arise out of nowhere, and for no reason. They even occur while asleep and in other seemingly harmless situations.

Thankfully though, a panic attack will subside fairly quickly, our bodies cannot sustain this feeling of panic for very long, usually a matter of minutes. Although repeated attacks can occur soon after.
This is because the attacks are a result of our bodys natural fight or flight response being triggered, and this response is designed to save us from danger by giving us a boost when we need it. Unfortunately, in a panic attack there is no need for fight or flight response in the first place.

Because its a natural response to fear our bodies can cope with the symptoms of the panic attack, its not a physically dangerous occurrence, and the level of fear experienced is way out of proportion to the actual situation, and is often completely unrelated.
It is however alarming, even terrifying, because we are suddenly thrown into a feeling of panic where we feel crazy or out of control

The level of the attack can vary as well, from a mild feeling where the person just feels a bit edgy and nervous to a debilitating attack where someone will cease to function normally while the attack continues.

Many sufferers will begin to identify triggers that can set off an attack. Sometimes its a piece of music, a smell, or a particular place. And these can usually be avoided.
But for many people it remains unknown.

Sometimes the frequency of the attacks can create a fear of future attacks so much that it affects that persons life, and the sufferer can develop Phobias by avoiding situations where an attack has occurred before.


WHAT CAN I DO ?

Fortunately some of the best ideas to help to get through panic attacks are simple ones.

Most importantly; remember to breath.

The feeling of panic and loss of control seems to make breathing harder. It doesnt stop us breathing at all, but the body suddenly needs more oxygen so we need to breath deeply and slowly.
If you can sit or lie down then do so, and concentrate on taking big breaths of air.
Watch your chest rise and fall and think breath iiinnnn. And breath oouuut..
Concentrate on this, think about the air rushing in and out, this helps to take your mind off the other symptoms of the attack as well.
Another method is to 'reverse' the natural action of your stomach when you breath, this requires concentration and also slows down your breathing.
When we breath in the diaphragm rises and pulls the stomach in, and the opposite happens when we breath out.
But we can push our stomach out as we breath in, and in as we breath out, and it helps us to focus on our breathing.
Practice this a bit when you're not having an attack.

Once the breathing is controlled Positive Visualization can also be a useful tool.
Try to think, and concentrate hard, about something positive. Replace the breath in breath out thoughts with Im safe Im calm
Positive thoughts can replace the panicky ones, and if we have a few good thoughts that we use every time an attack takes place then we dont waste time searching for them and possibly panicking even more when an attack is happening.

Simple tasks can also help by distracting us from the attack as well.
Count the floor tiles, add up the dates on the coins in your pocket, anything simple like this will focus your mind on something other than the attack, and keep you grounded.

If you can find a quiet place to go then all the better, even a toilet cubicle can give you a quiet place if you have an attack in a crowded public space.
But even leaning back against a wall in the street and staring above the crowds while deep breathing can get you through an attack. Remember, they are usually quite short and not always obvious to people passing by.

LIVING WITH PANIC ATTACKS.

Suffering panic attacks doesnt make you mad or dangerous, they are more common that most people think and do no lasting harm to your body.

Panic attacks are often the result of trauma such as sexual abuse.
Therapy or Counselling can help immensely by helping to deal with the cause of the anxieties that may be the trigger for the attacks.

Even if they never completely go away, we can learn to get through them safely.

In some cases a Doctor will prescribe medication that can help.

Dont live in fear of the next one.
 
Thanks for that info. I appreciate it. The last part "don't live in fear of another one" is what I'm doing. I can't stop it though either, and I have tried meditation and all. I am going to go into the school psychogist today once my friend gets out of his final so that hopefully he can go with me. I just need someone to go with me if that makes sense. I can't study for finals while thinking about all of this stuff...thats not working :) I need to try something else. Plus the fact that I haven't gotten any sleep hardly doesn't help much.

Anyways thanks again for the info.

Jon
 
Thank you for that Lloydy. Tells me what I keep having. And it's so weird. Because I never panic normally. Even when I know I'm going to get thrown. Heck, I expect that and know what to do when I hit the ground. But sitting in a room with my wife and suddenly feeling like something is just about to happen makes me crazy.

Bronc
 
I was asulted by other soldiers while in Vietnam. Its been over 30 years I still have panic attakcks, nightmares cold sweats , ptsd. I wish there was a magic cure. There is not I am in councling and have been on and off for years. There are times I have gone without the memorriies then something will happen to bring them to the surface again and it stars all over. Like now I have lost my means of making a lliving due to agent orange , sooo the nightmare rule my live it sucks good luck.
 
Panic Attacks are even worse than PTSD flashbacks, but keep telling yourself one simple thing: YOU WILL SURVIVE
Either one will leave you tired the next 1 or 2 days in some cases. Yes, dying is what it felt like to me too, and sorry but you may have others...just be prepared:
Slow your breathing, Do something Normal (take a walk, play a CD). I:m not saying Relax cos the fear that you are unable to do so can make the Attack worse.

Geez, I wish I had Lloydy a dozen years ago when I had my first. Panic Attacks are mostly under control in my case now, but PTSD flashbacks seem to never go away. You may well be different and cure both of these Panic/PTSD at the same time. As far as your friend:s insensitivity remark re: *overanalyzing*, simply Inform him you are not. Most friends are pretty insensitive from my experience; they just do not want to confront themselves with the Outrage. A girl/friend once told me after I cried at the end of Hitchcock:s film *Marnie* that I was *...dumping on her.* Later days I corrected her saying I was dumping *...in Front of Her*, since I made no comment in her direction; ANY feeling in front of her was like it was directed at her from her insensitive viewpoint and that:s unfortunately not rare. That:s just not going to be one of the friends you can talk to, that:s all...there are others and we are here too.

You are smart to deal with this from Day 1. When I had my first Panic Attack, I had never heard of the Term. Your posting puts you in a good position here and there to deal with it and minimize it:s short/long term effects. Feel damn glad yer piecing together this complex picture, sorry it is indeed a puzzle.
One Peace at at time...
 
This is a link to a group who are local to me, their reputation is very good.
Dave

https://www.nopanic.org.uk/
 
Panic attacks when they occur can be pretty frightening, but as Lloydy said, they are not as bad as your mind makes out, and you will learn to get over them.

Unfortunately, we need to know what triggers them and why, I used to go into a supermarket, get my shopping and suddenly have one, and have to leave without buying things, so I don't shop there for a while. I have to go someplace else and pay more for my groceries!

Sense of smell can be a trigger, so can other things, but we need to identify and confront these fears.

I remember having asthma like attacks where I felt like I was asphyxiated, this occurred mostly at night or in teh morning, but I do not have asthma or breathing problems.

The problems I get today are like heart racing, where I just have to sit there as my head spins, so I have to do breathing exercises, but I really feel like I am losing my life.

Luckily this is not a common experience, but I find it happens when I am under undue stress,

ste
 
I'd like to add this to Dave's post about dealing with panic attacks. It comes from Survivors Sheffield's Male Survivors: a self help pack:

If you panic attack in a public place - provided you're not in real danger - try not to run away. Breathe, reassure yourself and ride out the feeling. If you escape from the situation it can be hard to go back later.

As Dave wrote, they aren't always obivious to a passerby. This I know from my experiences with mine.
 
Bill_

I wish I had heard this advice along time ago. "try not to run away". I never understood what caused them. I would start to shake, I thought everyone was looking at me and my voice would almost sound like a whisper just being in front of another male.To this day I avoid Places I want to go If see only guys there because I know it will bring on that weird feeling.I now understand this is one of the pieces of the puzzles of my life. Sadanddown,Its the scariest feeling of loosing control. Solo
 
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