Will the panic ever go away????

Hello!

I made an account just to tell you this: It WILL go away.

I started having panic attacks for what seemed like no reason one night when I was sick. I woke up in the middle of the night and felt like I couldn't breath. I panicked. After that, I started having them at the most random times, and especially out in public. There was no rhyme or reason to it. It was like it had a mind of its own. Panic attacks started controlling my life. I couldn't work, go to school, even going somewhere like a bus or train made me panic. I became agoraphobic. And I felt the same way you do now. I started questioning if it would ever go away. I took a lot of different medications, and I have to tell you, Zoloft was the worst. It made me panic more. What worked for me was Risperdal and Klonopin. I took these for about two years, when one day I woke up and decided I didn't want to take medicine anymore. I was at the point where I hadn't had a panic attack in a while, and it felt right at the time to stop. It has been about 4 years since I quit taking them, and I have had maybe two panic attacks. So, although I did struggle with it for a little over a year, it did go away. And honestly, I think it would have gone away sooner had I known the right information:

First: panic attacks are a natural response in the human body. We are just overly sensitive to that response. The response is called "fight or flight". When you are in danger, your body has an automatic mechanism that triggers you to do certain things to stay alive. We have let our bodies think we are in danger when we aren't. Think about if you were being attacked by someone. The response your body makes is all reasonable in the event of actual danger. Your body tenses up to take hits and increase body strength and speed. Your pupils get bigger to see better. Increased heart rate for extra energy. This link describes the exact science behind it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight-or-flight_response#Autonomic_nervous_system

So you see, whats happening is a normal response, we just have to teach our body not to react so easily. It also helps knowing the above information, because you know that no matter how serious it might feel, the panic attack will go away, and it cannot hurt you.

When I feel a panic attack coming on, I just tell myself "It's fine, even if I go into full blown panic, it will only last a few minutes" and that alone is usually enough to stop it from happening. Accepting that it's ok to panic, will stop them. If you are like I was, you avoid places just incase you will have a panic attack. That's the most debilitating part. The worst part about panic attacks is anticipating them. So if you truly believe in your head that you will be ok and it can't hurt you, you will be a lot better off. Does that make sense?

I hope that helps you. It really helped me knowing these few things, and just letting go of the worry that I might have a panic attack if I do this or that. It's no way to live, and you can fix it.

jmr,

I just wanted to check in to see if you're still posting with us and to see how you're feeling today! We are here to support you....











M.

I'm at the point where I am more than happy to take pills daily to feel good.

Bring on the pharmaceuticals! Because without them, I have no life.

I hope they make me feel like a kid again. If so, I'm getting a bike and riding up to the store for candy every Friday, just because.