Discussion What are your panic attack symptoms? (if u have em)

[FluffIsJustice]

Depending on how to manage the situation I did get them to stop at times - like when the cause was something being talked about on the radio, I could turn it off or when I was nervous about a group project, I could start it directly after (since I can't avoid it anyway). But there are situations where I can't change anything and I have to endure it. And it does end up still happening in different situations, so I don't really think it will ever fully disappear either. Additionally, since mine are so quiet nobody ever realizes what is going on (even if I told them about me having these issues in beforehand) I always have to find a way to manage by myself.
The only time someone realized and helped was when I was hyperventilating, they walked me home after. (it took an hour and I was still shaking badly when I was at home lmao)

 

[lastappleonearth]

Depending on how to manage the situation I did get them to stop at times - like when the cause was something being talked about on the radio, I could turn it off or when I was nervous about a group project, I could start it directly after (since I can't avoid it anyway). But there are situations where I can't change anything and I have to endure it. And it does end up still happening in different situations, so I don't really think it will ever fully disappear either. Additionally, since mine are so quiet nobody ever realizes what is going on (even if I told them about me having these issues in beforehand) I always have to find a way to manage by myself.
The only time someone realized and helped was when I was hyperventilating, they walked me home after. (it took an hour and I was still shaking badly when I was at home lmao)

It's good that someone was there to help you at least this one time. In my experience it does make a difference if sb is there with you during an attack, well if it's sb you trust.
Mine are unfortunately not usually quiet, well they are in a way, but I get so dizzy and nauseous that it puts me into survival mode ig and that's def noticeable. I hope you can get get rid of them eventually

 

[NonEssential]

During very stressful situations one of the things that happens is that I turn completely mute and my mind floods with suicidal thoughts. After that I can sometimes go through days without saying a word to anyone.
Idk the exact definition of a panic attack so idk if this classifies as one or not.

 

[FluffIsJustice]

Same for you, I also hope you can get rid of them as soon as possible. Nausea seems to me like it would also cause a lot of shame afterwards if you had to throw up, so I imagine that having those symptoms causes additional issues...

The symptoms listed on (german) Wikipedia are as follows:

• Shortness of breath, tightness in the chest and throat
• Hyperventilation (resulting in tingling sensations in the face and hands, muscle cramps)
• Heart palpitations
• Sweating
• Trembling, dizziness, nausea
• Anxiety-related thoughts ("This is a heart attack," "I'm going to die right now," "I'm going crazy")
• Feelings of depersonalization ("feeling detached," "not feeling like myself anymore")
• Feelings of derealization (the surroundings are perceived as unfamiliar or unreal)
• Fear of leaving the house or apartment because something might happen

 

[lastappleonearth]

Same for you, I also hope you can get rid of them as soon as possible. Nausea seems to me like it would also cause a lot of shame afterwards if you had to throw up, so I imagine that having those symptoms causes additional issues...

The symptoms listed on (german) Wikipedia are as follows:

• Shortness of breath, tightness in the chest and throat
• Hyperventilation (resulting in tingling sensations in the face and hands, muscle cramps)
• Heart palpitations
• Sweating
• Trembling, dizziness, nausea
• Anxiety-related thoughts ("This is a heart attack," "I'm going to die right now," "I'm going crazy")
• Feelings of depersonalization ("feeling detached," "not feeling like myself anymore")
• Feelings of derealization (the surroundings are perceived as unfamiliar or unreal)
• Fear of leaving the house or apartment because something might happen

Thank you, fortunately I only had to throw up bcs of it once so far and it was at home, so that's like the best case scenario for that happening ig. Would be rlly uncomfortable, if it happened in public

 

[time2gosoon]

I'm just curious, bcs it seems to me that panic attacks adapt/ change in symptoms depending on u realising them as such.
For me, as soon as I realised I was experiencing panic attacks, they changed in symptoms and I no longer was able to see them as such, at least not immediately.

During my first ever panic attacks, I couldn't breathe properly and legit thought I was suffocating.
Then the symptoms changed and now it was just extreme nausea, even worse imo.
And most recently it changed to sudden dizziness and nausea, it feels like I'm going to faint. I alr puked once bcs of that and I hate puking.

So what are your symptoms and did they evolve?

My arms and legs shake like a scared dog.

We're twitchy, breathing heavy but it feels like we're suffocating.

We don't want to be held, but if there's someone/thing to hold we clutch with a death grip.

We want to tear away our flesh.

 

[werewolfgirl]

I'm just curious, bcs it seems to me that panic attacks adapt/ change in symptoms depending on u realising them as such.
For me, as soon as I realised I was experiencing panic attacks, they changed in symptoms and I no longer was able to see them as such, at least not immediately.

During my first ever panic attacks, I couldn't breathe properly and legit thought I was suffocating.
Then the symptoms changed and now it was just extreme nausea, even worse imo.
And most recently it changed to sudden dizziness and nausea, it feels like I'm going to faint. I alr puked once bcs of that and I hate puking.

So what are your symptoms and did they evolve?

Fortunately I don't suffer from panic attacks anymore ever since I was put on antidepressants (in my case I was first put on the antipsychotic aripiprazole which helped at first but ended up making me generally anxious with a tightness in the chest, now I take fluoxetine)

Panic attacks would be triggered by anything, usually things that would somehow refer to death, and I would need to stay distracted 24/7 in order to have no space in my mind to actually think for myself because I would spiral.

Panic attacks would usually start as I would desperately try to fight the "scary" thoughts in my head, followed by cold sweat breaking out, a horrible sting in my stomach and hyperventilating followed by crying, it was totally horrible!! I'm glad my medication has been able to stop me from having the "scary" thoughts and panic attacks as it was really severely impacting my life, even going to lengths such as avoiding showering because it would give me too much time to think for myself...

 

[lastappleonearth]

Panic attacks would usually start as I would desperately try to fight the "scary" thoughts in my head, followed by cold sweat breaking out, a horrible sting in my stomach and hyperventilating followed by crying, it was totally horrible!! I'm glad my medication has been able to stop me from having the "scary" thoughts and panic attacks as it was really severely impacting my life, even going to lengths such as avoiding showering because it would give me too much time to think for myself...

Yeah my experience has been similar, I had terrible health anxiety a while back, like I was constantly scared of literally everything. Oddly enough I was especially scared of puking, so I stopped eating most foods for some time. I got over that fortunately, but now I still sometimes experience panic attacks, though for different reasons.
I'm glad that you found the right medication and you're feeling a bit better.
Might I ask, are there any side effects to the medication? I ask because I'll have my first psychiatrist appointment in December and I don't quite know what to expect

 

[werewolfgirl]

Yeah my experience has been similar, I had terrible health anxiety a while back, like I was constantly scared of literally everything. Oddly enough I was especially scared of puking, so I stopped eating most foods for some time. I got over that fortunately, but now I still sometimes experience panic attacks, though for different reasons.
I'm glad that you found the right medication and you're feeling a bit better.
Might I ask, are there any side effects to the medication? I ask because I'll have my first psychiatrist appointment in December and I don't quite know what to expect

If you also are prescribed fluoxetine (aka prozac), at least for me, I've had slight disturbances with sleep (now I sometimes wake up in the night, it's no biggie to me), my libido has significantly lowered but I'm not super bothered by it. I do struggle to lose weight a little bit more on my medication, and sometimes I have trouble feeling any kind of emotion at all as the medication kind of "numbs" me, but in turn I don't deal with severe anxiety anymore. It's important in case of this medication that you do take it every day and if you suddenly stop I'm pretty sure there could be some health risks! I'm also not sure if the side effects of prozac are the same for both sexes, but this is my experience with prozac as a cis woman!

 

[lastappleonearth]

If you also are prescribed fluoxetine (aka prozac), at least for me, I've had slight disturbances with sleep (now I sometimes wake up in the night, it's no biggie to me), my libido has significantly lowered but I'm not super bothered by it. I do struggle to lose weight a little bit more on my medication, and sometimes I have trouble feeling any kind of emotion at all as the medication kind of "numbs" me, but in turn I don't deal with severe anxiety anymore. It's important in case of this medication that you do take it every day and if you suddenly stop I'm pretty sure there could be some health risks! I'm also not sure if the side effects of prozac are the same for both sexes, but this is my experience with prozac as a cis woman!

Thank you, thats good to know tbh. Sounds like a decent trade off, I'd be fine with that as well. I already wake up during the night anyways and I don't care about my libido. Imo numbness is preferable to constant anxiety. Especially because recently it's been affecting me more and more in the physical sense and I just don't want to deal with this anymore

 

[khora]

I was smoking weed the other time; and this has only happened one other time, i've never gotten a panic attack from weed - or i possibly have but haven't noticed it to this extent - later during the day i progressively kept getting worst though, it's a stark personal reminder since i don't wear long sleeves - so in some way i'm possibly not consciously fully admitting to myself why i have these scars- they don't feel apart of (me), and as i'm reflecting into myself but falling deeper, it's like my mind is also not seeing me as (me) but as someone other than myself, like earth consciously admitting it's alive.. and i keep depersonalizing myself further; at one point in time it felt like i had slashed my wrists or my throat, the sweat running down my body and the heat only making it worst - and i was completely dissociated; sometimes it's like i've died before and all i'm watching is my life repeat itself before my eyes.
I felt like i was about to break, like i really needed someone and it was that, that i was trying to get off my chest. Since someone earlier in the day told me i was the kind of person that really needed a hug; in retrospect i really do.
But it's more than that, when you're aware everything is ending..
I also get this idea of 'accepting' death; because at one point death seemed to be apart of everything in the metaphysical and my body is a source of where i can 'find it' in daily life, and that scares me more accepting this might not really be who i am - just someone witnessing this as it's unbecoming - toward death or reaching the point of death to see myself - and it leaves me feeling really melancholic.
I'll have a tendency of reflecting the state of myself from a perspective that isn't mine to further the stress i'm feeling to understand it.
If i sat in a forest for too long; the branches; trees; bark; dirt. It could all eat us.

 

[GodzillasBiggestFan]

hyper ventliating, stomach hurting, and skin feeling burning