Just Wondering...Can you Recall first Panic Attack and Circumstances??

 Hey all

Hoping everyone had a great wknd .....

I was just thinking last night about my very first attack and I was 8 yrs old .

Mom and Dad were always drinking and I was having to always clean up after them and watch the young ones

I remember Mom with blood all over her face....her and Dad had gotten into a dousy of a fight and plenty of violence involved well over 40 yrs ago

THIS is I believe the very first time I went into a full blown attack

I was so afraid to see mom like that they both were horrid on rye or liquor of any sorts ......

I became a protecter for a few yrs but then thank god it all stopped dad quit drinking .........

I had been damaged by then and I know I will never forget this as long a I live......

Anyone else remember their's???

Tootie
Thanks for sharing....you never know who you may help with your posts ya know
I am so sorry you too went thru the drinking and being the protecter.I grew up too fast never had a " childhood" persay............and I cannot get it back .......
Again thanks for sharing and know you are not alone in this ...
.Luvs
LYN

Thanks Lyn.............not having a childhood and having to be the adult in these situations carry great consequences as we grow up. I think that is why I was
so protective over my own children and worked 110% to be the perfect mom,
which I know added to my anxiety. I stopped blaming my parents when they became ill and they died within 15 mos of each other. I took care of them for
13 years, as my mom lost her eyesight and my dad developed a ton of ailments.
I never resented taking care of them though, forgave them, and they both died in my arms, as I promised I would never put them in a nursing home. Running two homes, my parents and my own. was very difficult, and it was after they both were gone, that my anxiety started up again. I think of them often, and have tried to bury the parts that were so horrible when I was a child, but they do surface. They are at peace now, and I will always love them. Its up to me now to get this anxiety under control and stop blaming myself for their ways. Wellll, I guess I rambled enough, but it helps to do it once in awhile. Thanks Lyn

Big hug to you

Tootie
I too looked after mom for well over 10 yrs and dad too til I got sick just awhile back with pnuemonia
I HAD promised them both the same no nursing homes.........

Mom has been gone for just 2 yrs now and dad is literally dying with cancer.He also wants to be with Mom and has given up
We have alot in common dont we...
I strive for the perfection of being a great mom and actually thanks to a gret kid I am not doing to bad a job
I am severe OCD but getting better with CBT

Take care my friend
WE will WIN this battle

Luvs
LYN

My first attack was at 13 years of age. I was standing in school for an awards cerimony and started to get anxious, I ended up getting pains in my stomache and not too long after that I woke up in the back of the room with one of the teacher rubbing me head. They said I didn't pass out but I don't remember any of what happend.

I was also the protector of my siblings due to my parents alcohol and drug use. I was the second eldest so I did alot. My mom always came to me when my dad had hurt her, as if she was going to great advice from a kid. But she had no one else. Many times the abuse took place in front of us, he even chased her with weapons. I recall hiding in a neighbors house a few times with my mom waiting for him to settle. Perhaps this is where the anxiety stemmed from along with the abuse I was dealing with at the time.

Alcoholic parents seem to be a treand here with anxiety.
Glad you are all fighting the good fight and glad to be here with you

Pressing

Congrats on your alcohol victory Lyn. Thats a huge step to take. I'm sure it was not easy.
Your a strong women:)

Pressing

My first attack occured wen i was 22, I had been awake for over 48 hours coz i had so much uni work todo. I had to giv speech and i cudn't find the room wher the speech was so I ended up being late. When I did find it, I just cudn't go in the now familiar pans in my chest and I had the overwhelming sensation that i jus needed to get away from this place. However it was combination of alot stressful factors tht finally drove me into anxiety attacks, the extreme lack of sleep prob didn't help either.

First panic attack...I was driving up to traffic lights which were at the top of a hill (some 20 years ago - when my son was only about 7 yrs old and in the car with me at the time)..when suddenly I couldn't breathe, and wanted to get out of the car immediately..sheesh...somehow I managed to get thru the lights and around the corner and pull over...I was a wreck...my son was fantastic..I remember him saying, 'Mum, you're not well you've gotta see the doctor' (bless him) and I remember saying the standard answer.."I'll be fine" (why do we say this lol)..and him saying 'No mum..you've gotta go to the doctor"
The truth of it was my marriage was falling apart...and life was kinda messy...I did seek help, meds and councilling..and my marriage did fall apart eventually..but still here to tell the tale thank goodness..and yes sometimes the old anxiety kicks in and yup I still go thru a bad patches but I know that I will be ok...just need a helping hand every now and then.
Maree

i remember mine. I had been pretty badly sexually abused for about 2 years by a family friend, and when i was about 9 i finally told my parents and they sorted it all out for me. Even though my parents were so great about it, i held a lot of guilt and thought i was disgusting for what had happened. I told a friend i used to play out with all about what had happened but i guess she didn't belive me, and then out of nowhere a few days later she asked my mum straight out if the man had abused me. I was just over come with panic because i guess i felt so guilty and bad like i shouldn't have told more people, i literally just RAN out of the house. It hit me the same as it does now, and the rest of the day i felt completely washed out and tired and sick and just had to go to bed.

Hi all I'm new to this group.

My first attack was when I was 16. My mom worked at a bar and because they served food I was allowed there. Plus it was way back when. I'm 47 now.

Anyways, I was there with my mom and she left me to go out with her b/f. I was left with the owners son. Nothing happened between him and I, he was like an older brother. Well mom was gone all night. I slept next to the kitchen stove since I was so tiny. Those were the days. He slept on the pool table in the next room. It turned into morning and mom never came back. I could hear my dad yelling and banging on the door. When the guy opened the door for my dad, he started asking me questions. Well I paniced and the next thing I knew I was in the car and headed to the hospital. When dad saw that I was awake we turned around. He asked if I was going to school. I told him no I was going to bed. I should have goe to school cause mom's clothes were out on the front yard. They made up but I had a lot of problems after that with panic attacks.

I now only have them once in awhile. But I also learned alittle on how to control them. 1 I don't eat fried foods and if I do I only eat alittle. I have to stay away from anything that lays heavy on my stomach like whole milk that will sit them off.

Roni

Lyn it took me many years to figure out how to control mine.
I would have them so bad years ago driving down the road to work in Ca. that I would have to call my boss to let him know I wouldn't be at work.
Then in 92 I moved to Ky and had them even worst for 3 years I was confined to my house unless old b/f was around me or my children.
Roni

Roni
I hear ya and thanks for sharing you will really help someone with your posts as do all the others that tell about their first time ...that had to have been Hades at its worst I am so sorry

Pressing
YOU did exactly right in how you managed that one
Good luck in Nursing
It was my life for 30 plus yrs......

KUDOS my friend

Yes, I do.  It was 26 years when I was 17.  I had just been in a serious head-on car accident and was on the way home from the hospital.  My dad was driving us home and when we got to a spot where we could take an alternate route home (to avoid where the accident happened) he asked me if I wanted him to take this alternate route.  I thought about it and decided no, that I needed to confront this and go through the spot where the accident took place.  At that moment I felt this was the thing to do.  Well, I probably should have thought about it thoroughly because I ended up  in panic attack as we approached where the accident took place.  My dad had to get to a safe spot to pull over and he helped me through it.   I think part of the reason this attack place when it did is because 3 weeks earlier, my family had experienced another trauma.  There was a fire in my house that destroyed the garage, shed, part of our kitchen and part of my bedroom.  I think the accident was just the final straw for me.  Needless to say, that was a terrible summer, but the outpouring of concern and help throughout our very little town was comforting and needed.   Since then I have had many panic attacks for various reasons and it's just a part of my life.  I wish I could control it, but it's hard to do that.   A great thread Lyn, thanks for letting us share.   Wen