November 2008 Weddings
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Panic/Anxiety Attacks...anyone???
So I am not sure if I am having these or not...or if there is something else going on with me.
Its usually at night. My heart gets all fluttery and it feels wierd/hard to breath.
Last ngiht I went to bed and it started happening, I felt all hot and flush and couldnt get my breathing undercontrol and my heart felt all weird and skipping around.
I went and got DH and he just laid with me and rubbed my back and after about 10 minutes I was fine.
Does this happen to anyone?
Re: Panic/Anxiety Attacks...anyone???
Hmm. I might get it checked with a doctor just in case. You're probably right, but still.
I had a panic attack once and didn't know what was happening, but mine escalated and got really bad. I got hot and then cold and then so faint I couldn't even stand and my heart was racing. I didn't know what was going on so I went to the ER. They couldn't find anything wrong so they figured that was it, but they first suspected it was a blood pressure issue.
Classic panic attack.
I don't get them anymore, but in college I got them 5-10 times per day. I took a workshop that helped me "cure" them. I feel them starting, but I can stop them.
Here are my tips: it's all about understand what is happening.
It's just your endocrine system over-reacting to general stress as if there is an immedate threat. It is not dangerous. You are not going crazy. There is nothing wrong with your heart.
The number one cause is fear that you will have them. The number two cause is general stress which causes some unconscious tightening of the chest or jaw and shallow breathing. This is what triggers your body into fight or flight because these physical symptoms mimic the first stages of reacting to an immediate stressor (such as a bear attacking you).
The shallow breathing can lead to some oxygen deprivation which makes you feel lightheaded and the world seem surreal.
What can you do?
Turn everything off! No tv, radio, phone, other person talking. Use a little biofeedback to listen to your body and pinpoint the reactions.
Take deep, slow breaths. A paper bag or breathing into my cupped hands helps me. Breathing back in the CO2 can be very relaxing. Talk to yourself about how your body is overreacting and know that there is nothing to be afraid of.
Take a hot bath or shower. Sometimes this can be relaxing. Sometimes the humid air can feel suffocating. Still, it's worth a try.
Orgasm. It helps. However you want to get there is fine.
Glass of wine can help or be more disorienting. It may also help prevent by keeping the general anxiety away.
Try eliminating stressors, if you can. This is a sign that your body is starting to fray under all the presure. Healthy eating and healthy relationships and healthy priorities are good preventatives, too.
Good luck! I know its scary and sucky!
Aria is a wealth of knowledge about this. I remember her posting something similar before, I forget who else asked about them. I get them all the time and are exactly as you described but........my BC also made the same thing happen. Not sure if you are on BC or not but that is also something to consider. I just wanted to throw that out there.
And not to freak you out, but something else to consider (thanks to Dr. Oz on Oprah) is that women in their early twenties (but other ages, too) can have mitral valve prolapse. This is when your heart valve pops out too far and snaps back into place. This causes the blood to "flutter" against the wall of the heart. This fluttering can cause panic attacks.
In and of itself, mitral valve prolapse is not dangerous, but when you are exposed to more bacteria than usual, such as during a teeth cleaning at the dentist, you can subject your valves to infection. The prolapes makes them more susceptible. If you have mvp, you take antibiotics in advance of dental work.