Anxiety/panic Attacks ??? - Appleton,WI

Deep breathing exercises (google relaxation exercises) and speaking to a therapist. You have no idea how helpful a therapist can be for anxiety.

I am very strongly against anti-anxiety drugs. In the 80s, my mom was having anxiety attacks and they put her on anti-anxiety meds. The meds made her so relaxed that they became a depressant. So, the doctors countered this with anti-depressants. I have watched my mom for 3 decades make the transition from an energetic, ambitious and fit woman to a woman who only cares to eat and sleep. 10 years ago when i was in grad school I was learning about a lot of the harmful chemicals in these drugs. So, with the help of my mom's psych doc we were going to try and wean her off, starting with the most minimal reduction in meds. My poor mom had such awful withdrawl that she had a grand-mal seizure and had to be rushed to the hospital. I sat there in ER with her as I listened to the doctor tell her that she will NEVER be able to be off these drugs b/c her body is so physically dependent on them. Please guard your health and do not let a doctor talk you into consuming harmful & addictive chemicals.

Oh is this familiar to me! I went through about 10 years of my life with panic attacks daily and sometimes more than once a day--I spent HOURS and DAYS and probably WEEKS of my life panicking. Some of the best advice I got from one of the 4 therapists I've seen in my time! First, was learning that, for me, it was distinctly hormonal. I had horrible, crippling, debilitating anxiety when I was pregnant. As soon as baby was born and I was nursing, totally gone. When I started feeding my babies real food, the anxiety came back--along with my period. After kids, the anxiety hit directly before my period, but also at other points, which I had learned to identify. Sherry, this in particular is for you--your husband, and, I think many people who suffer from panic, feel "trapped". I'm in a situation, and I can't get out. For some, like your husband, that's pretty clear--he's stuck in traffic and freaked out. For him, I'd recommend starting out 10 minutes earlier (or more if need be) every day so he can drive in an outer lane as much as possible. That way, if the anxiety starts to hit, he is close to a shoulder and can pull over quickly and safely. In my experience, knowing I COULD at least reduced the frequency of my needing to pull over. I even rearranged routes so that I could have ample shoulders. Similarly, for M., I found that certain situations--overstimulus, primarily--sometimes set me off. Once I could get the track out of my head that said, "YOU HAVE TO BE HERE NO MATTER WHAT; HOW EMBARRASSED ARE YOU THAT YOU'RE PANICKING!!!" and moved on to, If you don't feel good, GO HOME, I could eventually work through more and more situations. I mean, there's definitely something to be said for toughing it out and realizing that a panic attack is not the end of the world (though it feels like it) but there was also something important for me in realizing that, since I was not the President of the United States, pretty much there was no situation I couldn't leave if I felt bad enough. I also found that being honest with people often helped me work through things. I was amazed at the number of people who have experienced anxiety, and most people were very sympathetic when they realized this was something that happened daily. Most people would just keep talking to me, and ask if there was anything they could do. Basically, a panic attack is a stimulation of your fight or flight response--a surge of adrenaline to your system. But, since you are not fleeing a saber toothed tiger or hunting a wooly mammoth, the adrenaline just ends up sitting in your system--and the more adrenaline you have, and the more upset you become about it, the more you produce. Because it's all about the adrenaline, when you're having a panic attack, it's important to breathe and not to hyperventilate--the shallow breathing does not let oxygen to your system, and just increases your body's response by producing more adrenaline. If you can walk, that will help. As someone already pointed out, daily exercise and reduction in caffeine will help quite a bit. So will eating well and getting enough sleep. For me, oftentimes, it's a ridiculous balancing act--but once i figured it out, it sure did help. I would say the last thing that helped me quite a bit was re-framing my anxiety. Many times, I would be excited, but wind up panicking instead. Now that I have kids, I see that even more--my son will be experiencing the same symptoms (his waist hurts) when he's excited--to go see grandma and grandpa--and when he's anxious--starting something new. When I could accept that a lot of my anxiety came from the adrenaline of starting something new--which was both anxiety provoking and exciting--I could start to focus on the excited part of it rather than the anxiety part of it and it resolved itself a little. Ultimately, your anxiety feeds on your fear--the more you fear another panic attack, the more likely you are to have them. You can remove some of the fear by accepting them, making contingency plans, etc. I always told myself that people with migraines aren't embarrassed to have to leave work or a party with a migraine; why should I be upset so much over a panic attack? Good luck!!!!

I figured out the trigger. They happened after 10:45 at night so I just went to bed by 10:30 and they were no longer a problem.

I have them around making the connections to flights. (12 RT per year and I never get used to it) To deal with that I go early and have wheel chair service which I need for a bum knee.

It is a form of PTSD. So I never leave the house without Aconitium 30c a homeopathic remedy for shock or other emotional trauma. In an attack take every 5 minutes. It'll stop in a short time. You won't even know you were in the midst of a panic attack.

I agree with BH 's answer below.. However, it wasn't a doctor who told me that in my 40s.. I would begin to experience ANXIETY................... I had to do a lot of research on my own. now you might not be in your 40s, but that doesn't mean your hormones aren't wreaking havoc on you... if that too is not the case, then consider this.. for me, diet/exercise plays a major role... when I eat better, I feel better and have less anxiety.. I definitely feel better when I exercise.. can you up the exercise and begin some if you haven't already ? additionally, sleep.. when I don't get enough, it affects me emotionally and physically. I tend to feel more jittery when tired..
I don't like meds either.. so avoid them if you can.. if you drink a lot of caffeine, perhaps begin to limit that and sugar.. small changes like that can make a big difference..

I wish you the best

I have anxiety attacks more often than I'd like :(

If I'm with my husband (who has had panic attacks in the past), since he totally understands, he'll try to talk me down. Sometimes just rubbing my back helps. Sometimes he'll just start talking about everything and anything just so the words distract me. If it gets bad, he knows where my medicine is.

When I have them by myself or in public, it's awful! It adds to it so much having strangers around!! There's no turning back if one starts in public... if I don't get out of there immediately, I'm done for. They're terrible!!

Mine are unavoidable, there's no rhyme or reason to them really, so I can't avoid my 'triggers'. I just know when they're starting which helps remove me from the situation.

I started having them just before a hot flash started. It's really awful, that bad feeling and the panic. Then the stinking hot flash...lol

My doctor told me that anxiety & panic attacks not related to menopause can be caused by hormone deficiencies or imbalances. That might be worth looking into for you?

a brown paper bag. That helps me, anyways. That and positive self talk and reinforcement. I do this during it, to try and calm myself down. It hasn't happened in a long time, but I can feel it when it is about to come on, and usually by now I know the signs, and I can start my deep breathing excersizes before it gets worse. Music is good too.

Lamaze breathing sometimes helps me.

For me visualization of a calming scene, sitting in a park and/or listening to music helps me re-focus and calm down. Practicing meditation or yoga poses may also help.

I actually signed onto mamapedia just now to ask about panic attacks. My husband has started having them. They seem to only happen when he is driving in heavy downtown Chicago traffic (not an option to not do this as it is part of his job) he has never had them before but about 2 weeks ago started having them. he says he is going along just fine hits a bottle neck on (I think 290 or 294 not sure which) and he says his throat cuts off he can't breath he feels like the sides of the truck are closing in on him. He has called me twice in the past week hysterical crying and coming undone. I talk to him and get him to pull over but I am scared about this happening. He has not been sleeping good and now this. I have a call into the union hall to get some referrals for doctors. sigh.... not sure how to handle this. am going to read all the posts you get.

i get them all the time & i try to just breathe or crying sometimes helps haha. my ex boyfriend used to get them & he would struggle to breathe when he got one, the only way that he could get them to stop is if he put his head on my chest & listened to my breathing to help regulate his. probably not the best idea in public but it might help.