How to deal with panic attacks?

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And especially when they are so infrequent and I don't really even see them coming? I have been dealing with anxiety for a few years now and didn't get a true panic attack until last year. And since that one, I've only really had one "full-blown" attack and two "mini" ones. I don't want to take drugs, and again, it doesn't seem like the right thing to do when this hardly even happens. I'm just wondering how I can try to stop it when it does start to happen?

The first and worst one I had was at school, when I was taking a math test. While I actually hate math and sometimes do struggle with it, I wasn't even particularly worried about this test or struggling with the material. But, I always tend to take a long time on tests. I guess because I'm so detail-oriented and I really read through and think about everything. But that doesn't work so well in college where the classes are 55 minutes long. It also doesn't help when you're not allowed to use a calculator at all...ugh. So anyway, I just looked at the clock while I was working and realized that I wasn't going to be able to finish in the amount of time I had left. And I just FREAKED out. I got truly scared because this stuff had never happened to me before - not only was I shaking and my heart was beating fast, but my body started tingling and I felt dizzy. I basically just sat there in fear and shock until I had to turn the test in. I felt like I was going to pass out as I got up to turn the test in. Then I just barely made it to the bathroom and had a nervous breakdown and missed my next class because of it. I got a 40-something on that test when I could have probably gotten a B or at least a C had that not happened.

The others have all happened at work. I've had this job for nearly a year, and normally, I do okay and have gotten used to having to work in a fairly fast-paced environment and deal with customers (I work in a cafe-type restaurant - it's not sit-down so I'm not a full-blown waitress, but I mostly just take people's orders at the cash register, sometimes take the food out to them, and some other things). We're normally quite busy at lunchtime, but at random times, we'll just get completely and insanely swamped. Even that I've mostly learned to deal with, but it was a couple of these times where I had "mini" panic attacks. I just get overwhelmed at being asked to constantly run back and forth between taking orders at the register and running food (normally I'm either only doing one during a "busy" time, or I do both during a "slow" time, so I don't have to constantly switch between the two and I don't feel rushed to get one done so I can get back to the other). Today was one of those days, and I just started shaking, having shortness of breath, and sweating really bad. At one point, since I was shaking and feeling quite weak, I just knew I couldn't take this big heavy tray of food out to the table. I was terrified that I'd just drop it. I was panicking and trying to figure out what to do - I didn't have time to agonize over it, so I made a split-second decision to just take out a smaller tray that only had two salads on it. I guess I figured that someone else would be able to grab the big tray, or, maybe I could attempt to calm myself down a bit while running the salads and I could grab the big one next. But then one of my managers started asking me why I just left that big tray that was ready. Of course, I was too afraid and embarrassed to tell him I was almost having a panic attack. I just told him I wasn't feeling very good and I was afraid I might drop the tray if I tried to carry it. He told me that if I felt too weak to take it, that was fine, but that I should have just asked someone else to get it. Then of course I was beating myself up for not thinking to do that - again, I was just panicking and in the heat of the moment, I just grabbed the different tray but I guess I should have tried to ask someone else to take the other one.

The one other time I had a worse attack was when one of the assistant managers just made me feel really stupid. I didn't know how to make tea, because again, this is the first restaurant job I've had. Plus, I HATE tea, so I never drink it myself, so I had never even made tea at home before. And anyway, this guy seemed to just expect that I'd know how to do it, and when I told him I didn't, he showed me how, but the whole time he was being all sarcastic about how "hard" it is to make tea and just making me feel ret*d. Later I just couldn't stop thinking about how stupid and inadequate I felt so I started feeling the tingling and dizziness and getting the shortness of breath. Luckily this was during a very slow time and I was just hanging out at the cash register by myself and rolling silverware. I tried and tried to calm myself down but it took probably ten minutes to do so. Looking back, I feel really silly. Maybe the manager was being kind of rude but I shouldn't have taken it so personally or gotten so worked up about it. But once I just started thinking about the way he talked to me and worrying about being seen as a a bad and inadequate employee, I couldn't shake the feelings and started to freak out.

Can anyone else relate? Am I the only one who freaks out and gets panic attacks over small things? I just wonder if I'm crazy sometimes, and again, I'd like to know how I can keep myself calm and stop a panic attack before it starts. And again, preferably without drugs. I just don't want it to affect my job or my schooling. These are the only two places that have ever triggered it. One time it caused me to flunk a test that I otherwise could have done at least okay on, and today I actually got called out by my manager and probably looked bad to him, so it worries me, even though it doesn't happen that much.

I get panic attacks over such small things too but I got a way to overcome it and it usually works.

As soon as I feel the panic attack starting and I realize I can't allow it to affect what I am doing I use my thoughts to yell at myself: "No. You won't!" and then I explain to myself why panic attack is not something I am supposed to do, that it won't help at all and that I am smart enough to deal with the problem as long as I keep my emotions on leash. Then I try to figure out what I am supposed to do instead.

The most important part is to realize a panic attack is starting and do something to get focused (my inner yell "No. You wont!" does the thing for me, clenching fists can also help). Then you talk to yourself (in your mind) in a logical manner. You might argue with yourself like this:

"I just can't do it!"
"Yes, you can. It's not so hard. Look here. This is a tea bag, right? Think. How can you make a tea from it? You put it to a cup and use hot water..."
"But I never done anything like this before! I will make it bad. I am so stupid! Is it my fault I don't know how to do it?"
"It isn't. You never done it before so it is totally OK that you don't know how to do it. Everyone feels like that when trying something for the first time. You can be afraid, you can feel bad about it. But you have to learn how to do it and it isn't something you are too stupid to do. And if you do it bad first time you can always try again. Everyone can make a mistake when they try anything for the first time. You will find it easy as soon as you do it right a few times."
"I don't know how to start."
"You have seen it before. The guy in the restaurant, your parents, your friends - whoever - were doing it in front of you. Just repeat whet they were doing. Get the bag. Great. Now put it into the cup. Ok. Cover it with hot water... Ok, that should be enough. Now look at the tea, you might move the bag a little so it gets ready faster. It apparently should get a color similar to the one on the box, not too light and not too dark. The current color seems about right, get the bag out and put in on the dish. It looks ice. See? It wasn't that hard."

The logical voice in your head is your self confidence, it understands how you feel but it knows you are strong enough to deal with it. The scared voice is the current you - experiencing the panic attack. It needs the guidance of the logical voice to calm down since the logical voice will stop negative thoughts from building up.

The whole point of this is not letting yourself think about what you can't do and instead put arguments about what you are able to do and that even if you fail it is not going to be the end of world. Panic attack gets stronger when you are being swallowed by negative thoughts. Thinking positive lessen the panic attack.


You might also just try to smile.
When I am scared of an exam or something I force my face to smile. Then... the fear suddenly gets lessen. I know it is not natural to smile in a situation like this but it really helps me when I do. Even if it isn't an honest smile. I guess smile forces the body to create endorphins.

panic attacks are the worst. i have such a bad fear of them, i have them nearly every time i leave the house.
my therapist told me that instead of fighting them, just let them happen. get to a safe place and ground yourself - maybe take off your shoes, touch your body, hug yourself - and take deep breaths, let yourself know that you're in a safe place and nothing is going to hurt you. just tell yourself that you're safe. observe how your body is feeling. come up with a mantra to focus on - like kirae said, 'no you won't!' or 'stay calm' or maybe think of calming song lyrics. just focus on your mantra and try not to think of anything else.

breathe in for five seconds, hold it for five seconds, and then let it out slowly for ten seconds. do this for as long as you can until you're calm. breathing slowly like this physically calms down your body by slowing down your sympathetic nervous system - your flight or fight response, basically. it's good to do before you go to sleep, or if you're just feeling jittery. i learned this in a psych 101 class in community college ok, trust me i know my s**t

if you have an android/iphone, download SAM app - it's been incredibly useful for me. you can rate your panic/anxiety and it gives you tools for getting through them, such as methods of relaxing your body and deep breathing. i can't link them since i'm new to the site, but you can google them.

i've also gotten into this weird habit where i personify my panic/anxiety. while some people like to fight their anxiety with all their might, i don't think i could handle that. my panic disorder is a part of me, and fighting myself is exhausting. so what i do is sort of...personify my anxiety as a very nervous, fuzzy little animal thing. it's kind of bear-like. when i feel anxious, i mentally hold the little animal thing and pet it and tell it that everything will be okay and mentally sing songs to it. but sometimes even just holding it won't help, and it grows into a huge, terrified bear - how i personify the panic attacks. the panic symptoms are it trying to escape - the tingly feelings are the bear trying to claw its way out, and the heavy breathing is trying to roar. it's a wild animal, and a wild animal's main goal is survival. but even when i panic, i still try to tell the bear that nothing is wrong, it's safe, nothing will hurt it and still try to pet and hold it.
i dunno, it's a weird method, but it's been helping me.