Guys, I'm so sorry you're all going through this. I, too, used to suffer with really bad panic attacks. I now know that they were caused by the abuse from my stbxh and me not understanding it.
GOOD NEWS for panic attacks--I read something one day that completely stopped them. I haven't had one since. It said:
IT IS THE FEAR OF HAVING A PANIC ATTACK THAT CAUSES A PANIC ATTACK.
You have the ability to stop an attack at the onset. When you start to feel dizzy, or afraid, or nervous, take really deep breaths for a full minute. Many panic attacks actually start because we STOP BREATHING and the lack of oxygen puts our bodies into that "fight or flight" survival mode.
Basically, your body feels like it's drowning on dry land and it gets scared that these are its last minutes on Earth.
You have to tell yourself when you feel that first bout of intense dizziness, "I'm not afraid of panic attacks. Panic attacks don't kill me, they don't hurt me. They just go away. I'm not scared of something that only lasts ten minutes."
Literally, I read these words and I applied them to my daily life. Once I understood that panic attacks are a cycle that we build upon, it was possible to intervene in my own thoughts. I am the only one in control of my thoughts and I am responsible for my own fears. When you're no longer afraid of having panic attacks, you will no longer have panic attacks.
I'm in my third year of medical school, so I'm pretty much just sharing what it costs so much darn money to learn, haha.
Try this for a week before trying meds. Nothing is without side effects--the general principles in medication: does the good outweigh the harm?
[This message edited by blindsided03 at 11:18 AM, August 17th (Saturday)]
