does anyone else experience these? i do from time to time but recently when i get them they are bad and really really scary and last for much too long.

the last time i had them over and over for a couple of days and then came down with sinusitus, could there be some connection between the two? or just both related to exhaustion/stress?

how do you know when it's a panic attack and when it's something more serious, like a heartattack or something? sometimes also if i eat something sugary it makes me feel a bit better and i'm starting to worry maybe it's some kind of diabetes?

i do. i consulted a doctor and said what i was describing to him was more likely agoraphobia. ok. i don't think the two are related but maybe if they persist you should consult a doctor too.

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then she dances skirt swaying in the half-light she dances white blossom in the black sky
'I need new clothes', she thinks, 'new skin, a mind I can bear to live in'.

i have panic attacks to the point i pass out for up to an hour at a time. if you cant learn to control them with mindpower, you need either medication or a plan. i take xanax when i begin to feel the chest pains i normally feel before one comes on. some people might not like the idea of taking such an addicting drug so there is some other stuff you could try. theres always the famous breathe into a paper bag technique but that never worked for me. you could try breathing exercises, such as inhaling for 5 full seconds and exhaling for 5 full seconds and if you focus on your breathing enough, the attack will subside. but do not freak out if you cant do the full 5 seconds either way, youll just scare yourself and hyperventilate more. just find the amount of time you feel comfortable with and work with it. another exercise is folding your hands together and pointing your thumbs at your chest. hold them far enough away so that your thumbs only touch your chest when you take a deep enough breath and keep doing this until your breathing is under control. you could also try drinking hot tea, which can calm you down, or just call someone to talk about something else until your mind stops obsessing over the problem. the last suggestion i have is having someone talk you through your attack. by this i mean the encouraging comments like, "okay, now just slow your breathing a bit" and have someone monitor you. i know the frustration you must feel, ive been going through this for years.

panic attacks and agoraphobia are related. i have agoraphobia associated with school because of the bad memories of passing out there 32 times and being transported to a hospital 21 times.

it is really frustrating i had myself convinced that i was about to die last night and couldnt sleep for hours after we went to bed, every time i start to drift off i have to jolt up and gasp for air because i think im dying.it sounds so ridiculous i know i should laugh at myself but i'm absolutely convinced that i am dying at the time no matter how much i try to rationalise.
the last time i got them nothing would stop them and i was just uncontrollably shaking alot and going cold and hot and could barely sleep until one day i just broke down crying because i thought that i would be like that for the rest of my life. i went to the doctor and told them but at the time they were just worried about the sinusitus and gave me tablets for that and told me not to be so worried.
i don't think it's associated with agorophobia at all as i get it in my flat and when hugh tries to talk me through it i just get more panicky. he used to have them a couple of years ago and he was agorophobic so he knows what i'm feeling like but neither of us can really explain why they come about. they started when a boy i only met once died just before christmas and i just couldn't stop thinking about it and how he must have felt and why it happened and how i could die at any moment and i'm not sure why i had that bad of a reaction because i've had deaths alot closer to me, in my family, my dad died when i was 11, and before this i've only ever had small tiny minute attacks which were manageable and i was depressed for a while a couple of years ago but these are big huge overwhelming things and i don't want to take medication. i'm also no good with counsellors as one of the things that most scares me is talking to new stranger people and i've been to one before and i couldn't talk to her at all i just shut down and couldn't speak about anything with her.

is there any kind of holistic/alternative type thing that actually will work?

i don't drink tea but i think i'm going to try that.

have you visited a doctor about this?

if you haven't, i'd strongly suggest doing so.

it could be diabetes, and that's not something you wanna fuck around with.

is a diabetes attack thing similar? because i have PCOS and i know i have a higher risk of having diabetes but i thought that woul djust be if i was fat or obese and i'm well within the BMI.

though uncommon, the fact that you feel better when you eat something sweet makes me pretty suspicious.

again, don't fuck around with your health.

see your doctor.

okay that scared me.

i'm looking up more about diabetes.

and i'm going to make an appointment first thing monday morning.

until then, i'm terrified.

it's nothing to be scared of.

but it is something to be concerned about, of course.

do some research and just chill until you can get in to see your doctor.

working yourself up about it is only gonna do one thing - make you feel worse.

i know you're right.

thanks for the advice though.

yeah, clinquant is right. if you have questions its fine to ask on a forum but if it becomes a problem, you should always go to your doctor. i remember getting tested for things such as acid reflux when i first started getting chest pains and panic attacks. its always a possiblilty that its not anxiety, but it seems with you thats most probable.

Ah, I feel your pain. I used to get monster panic attacks that lasted hours. And were particularly bad at night. Now I'm 18 days away from my finals, which at Oxford means 100% of your degree in 7 exams in 7 days. Stress for a normal person. Today I felt the return of the panic attack, but luckily I've managed to avoid another one by sheer dint of being so stressed and working so hard I literally told myself "NO, you AREN'T doing this". But I doubt that will keep working. Its bizarre, I think I have the most supressed stress in the world. I once took a computer test that measured how you performed under pressure and I scored 0% stress. Yet I suffer from panic attacks from hell. Strange.

i take high doses of zoloft for my anxiety. ive had a few panic attacks. horrible, horrible stuff. i recommend xanax, it was like a godsend for me when i was having them

I think that stress can contribute to sickness...I think somehow it must take a toll on one's immune system.
I think it happened to me...it wasn't until I started getting stressed and anxious about money and work etc. a few months back that I ever really got sick in my life...a month long bout of mono and hepatitis! (that was originally mis-diagnosed as sinusitis, if you can believe it) Not to mention accompanied by a wonderful bout of rashes! (allergic reaction to antibiotics)
And ever since, I've had an armpit infection, yeast infection and toothaches...I feel cursed.

eating sth sugary makes your endorphines high so that's why you fell better.

I have panic attacs since I overdose drugs... perheps there is something wrong with my brain?
i don't know when it's a panic attack and when it's something more serious, like a heartattack or something. When I have my panic attack I think i'm dying and it makes me more scared!
i don't know what to do it's serious roblem for me.

It does- high levels of corsitol suppress your immune system. Everytime I get a few days of really bad insomnia and get tired and stressed, I get sick and I mean REALLY sick. Pneumonia, viral meningitis, bronchitus, you name it, I get it. And so now I get paranoid about not getting enough sleep and getting sick and then....guess what... I DON'T get enough sleep and I DO get sick!

I know how you feel, I used to always get some in the car when driving, and then i'd over think and cause them again..because I'd be nervous of having one when in the car. And it's weird because at first, it's sudden..you never got this before and now you're struggling with panic attacks. They say people in their 20's are the most commo suffereres. I had a friend who got them so bad she never wanted to leave her house.
I only got them while driving but still i didnt wanna faint out of nerves and feel like crap while trying to focus on the road.
I had only one major one..a few minor ones that led to the major one. The major one was horrid, and i lasted all night pretty much with it, not able to sleep it off depsite trying to. I finally did fall asleep and felt better during the day, or till i had to drive. Then i was nervous some more but i knew i had to beat it. I told myself i was really fine, and that i could breathe..and that I knew you cant die from a panic attack. I calmed myself as much as possible, assuring myself. I would then try and distract myself or act all happy to be going for a drive...i'd then try to sing along to a tune in the car, anything to take my mind off of thinking about panic..cuz if you think too much about it, you're gonna get it again. It took one ride in the car and back to feel better the next time i drove..and then after a while you grow to deal with it, and now i havent been nervous at all..im back to my normal self while driving.

Try not to take pills to deal with panic anxiety..cuz once you try getting off them, you might not be able to deal with your problem without them. It's always best to beat this with your mind. Just say to yourself, I am fucking fine!! Toughen up if you can.

Just know this though...one persona I knew couldnt even leave her house..and now, she's perfectly fine. She can live again. That's the thing with panic attacks..if you dont control them, they can alter your way of life.
And really all they are is a mind thing.