NBR: Anxiety/Panic Attack sufferers

sfgiantsjo

My anxiety has been ramping up as I get older. On Saturday night I woke up in the middle of the worst panic attack I've ever had. No reason for it that I can discern, but I was absolutely, 100% convinced I was going to die. I couldn't breathe and it was like a house was sitting square on my chest. 

Do any of you have any tricks that get you calmed down? Anything that gets you through it any easier? I'm talking it's too late for meds, we're in the middle of it type tricks. 

Anxiety can suck it.

Menrandes

I know exactly what you are talking about.  Ice cold water always helps.  It acts like a shock to the system for me anyway.  I also find getting outside and walking around helps me a lot. 
Those wake you up in the middle of the night attacks are the worst though.

Hoycie

I'm not a big person for pills but I do take Nerve Tonic.  I pop one or two in and within minutes a sense of calmness soothes my body.  They are non-habit forming (which sold me) if you want to give it a try.

EliStar

I go through bouts where I get panic attacks. They're the WORST. I was on medication for it before pregnancy but I find that the most important thing for me is to know my triggers and try to avoid them at all costs. 

But sometimes, like you said, they just happen out of nowhere. When that happens, I try to force myself to drink cold water or anything - sometimes that works. The act of having to swallow makes me work harder to control my breathing. 

Breathing in through my nose, out through my mouth. I try to reason through it - my doctor always tells me that the worst thing that's going to happen to me is that I will hyperventilate and pass out. I try to remind myself of that when I feel a panic attack coming on. 

sfgiantsjo

@Hoycie - So you take those when needed? That sounds like something I could get behind!

@Merandes - That makes sense - I'll try ice water as well.

EliStar

OH, and get yourself to a quiet, dark room with absolutely nothing stimulating around you. When I get to that point, anything can set me off. 

Hoycie

sfgiantsjo said:

@Hoycie - So you take those when needed? That sounds like something I could get behind!

@Merandes - That makes sense - I'll try ice water as well.

I only take them when I feel that knot in my chest forming and I find it harder to breathe.  I have never been one to take pills EVER (I don't even take pills when I'm sick unless I'm dying) but these are heaven sent.

NicoleAnne416

I am so glad you posted that! I may need to look into those later on (pregnant now and probably not safe but who knows). Thanks!

Lauren620

EliStar said: OH, and get yourself to a quiet, dark room with absolutely nothing stimulating around you. When I get to that point, anything can set me off.  I do this with deep, slow breathing through my nose.  Sometimes I will get in the shower and sit there for a bit trying some more deep breathing, which normally really helps when it happens at night.  Anxiety sucks so bad.

fabk

One of the things i got back into doing last fall when my anxiety was getting bad was running and yoga. I hadn't been as faithful to exercise the last few months and it was when i got back into it that i began to feel better.
That may have been just me though.
I hope you find something that works for you.
Big hugs because panic attacks suck.

Skeezon

My wife has anxiety and not often, panic attacks. Any advice for those of us who want to help and feel helpless?

EliStar

Skeezon said:

My wife has anxiety and not often, panic attacks. Any advice for those of us who want to help and feel helpless?

Don't hover. For me, that makes it worse. If I'm in the middle of an attack, and DH is over me asking what's wrong and what he can do to help, it makes me even worse because I want to respond to him but I physically can't. Just get her a glass of water and rub her back and remind her to breathe in through her nose, out through her mouth.  

angelrx4

When I feel the anxiety building and I'm in a place where I can't hide in the quiet (work, public places etc) I find that repeating a short phrase over and over helps.  I know it sounds crazy but focusing on the repetition helps calm me down.  My husband taught that to me since he suffers from anxiety as well and has me repeat old school Nintendo video game cheat codes because he's nerdy like that.

">

julie37619

I'm less of an anxiety sufferer and more of a depression sufferer, but I will say that the thing Luke does that helps me the most is to remind me that my brain isn't working right and that it will pass.  When I get going, I lose track of the fact that A) I've felt this way before and I got through it.  It seems like right now is the worst it's ever been and I'll never recover.  It helps me a lot for him to (lovingly of course) remind me that my brain isn't functioning the way it should at the moment and I'm not "hearing" the truth, I'm hearing a depression lie.  

AshleyT121

Menrandes said:

I know exactly what you are talking about.  Ice cold water always helps.  It acts like a shock to the system for me anyway.  I also find getting outside and walking around helps me a lot. 
Those wake you up in the middle of the night attacks are the worst though.

Ditto cold water. When I'm having a really bad panic attack I'll fill the tub with cold water and get in. Shocks my system enoigh that I can concentrate on breathing and calming down.

packfan20

I also need a shock to my system.  If I'm hot, I need cold.  If it's cold, I need to warm up.  I've gotten in an ice cold shower before.  Sometimes going outside helps too.

If DH is around, he needs to get in my face.  He tells me to snap out of it, sometimes YELLS at me to breathe and talks me through it. I've had panic attacks the entire time we've been together.  After I was in counseling for a while, we figured out what I needed HIM to do.  Sitting there, holding my hand, saying "It's okay." was NOT working.

Hugs.  9-year anxiety disorder sufferer here.  I know what you are going through. 

ThisModernLove

angelrx4 said:

When I feel the anxiety building and I'm in a place where I can't hide in the quiet (work, public places etc) I find that repeating a short phrase over and over helps.  I know it sounds crazy but focusing on the repetition helps calm me down.  My husband taught that to me since he suffers from anxiety as well and has me repeat old school Nintendo video game cheat codes because he's nerdy like that.

">

The repetition of a phrase usually helps me a lot too since I've learned to recognize my triggers and when forced into a situation with them, I just repeat things.

@skeezon , the best thing you can do is give a little space, rubbing the back actually does help me, and sometimes DH will repeat to me in a soothing tone "You're safe. I'm here." and that will sometimes help me loosen up if that makes any sense.