Dealing with Panic Attacks

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I have them constantly. I had a panic attack at work today and seriously thought I was dying. Is there any way to get rid of them? I have been to the doctor twice and he prescribed two things. One made the panic attacks more severe and the other caused horrible stomach cramps and made me feel like I was high but did not affect the anxiety in any way. After that he said "So go to a psychiatrist. I can't prescribe you anything else." I don't have insurance, so that is not an option.

If you want to go non medication route, you can try biofeedback techniques such as relaxing in a chair, closing your eyes and pretending the sun is shining on your face- that sort of thing. Or, you can try conscious breathing, take very deep breaths, exhale and inhale for five seconds each, ten total. Do this several times, it will oxygenate your brain. Aerobic exercise is another option.

Also, you can try a community mental health center. They might be able to treat you for little money or free. Call around in your community or look in the Yellowpages under social services.

Try giving yourself a bit more time to do things. Plan some time throughout the day to chill out and relax.

I get those sometimes......usually I have to try and keep it under control so its not too obvious, and if I can't I just go in a bathroom or somewhere there are not a lot of people and try and calm down for a bit. Like the last one I had was in class so I tried to get it under control but it just kept getting worse so I went in the empty bathroom and tried slowing my breathing and such to calm down it helped a bit but not as much as I would have liked.

But yeah I know how it is, I don't know of any way to totally control or get rid of them.

So far the only thing I have tried that works (maybe an eight of the time) is holding my breath. It slows the heart rate...but....I tried that today at work. I had a really bad attack and I was shaking and I couldn't hear what anyone was saying and I could see their lips saying "Are you OK?" and it was really hard to answer. I thought I was having a heart attack. I held my breath (because...logically I know a panic attack when I get one despite the fact that I always begin to think that I am going to die)...and nearly passed out.

Biofeedback doesn't do me any good because I have these...intrusive scary thoughts during panic attacks (and when I am not having one. it is suspected that I may have OCD.).

You might try breathing in slowly while you count "1...2...3...4". Then hold your breath while you count "1...2...3...4". Then breathe out slowly while counting "1...2...3...4" Do that several times (OK, do it 3 times, if you want an exact number) If holding your breath until the count of four is too long then shorten it: try "1...2", then start breathing out.

Concentrate on your breathing. Just think about that and nothing else. Feel the air blowing trough your nose, feel your stomach and chest moving. Focus all your attention on the sensation of breathing.

This will help you to stop focusing on the causes of your panic, and will slow down your heart rate without you fainting.

Afterwards, if you can, you might sit somewhere quiet and maybe read something escapist if you have any books that you get completely lost in (or a special interest that makes you calm). That will keep you calm for a while longer and keep your mind off anxiety/stress factors. You want to bring your whole system down to calmness, not just make a temporary dip in your high arousal state.

I do something like this everyday on the train, going to work. It helps calm my nervous system and I don't think obsessively about work for the whole train trip because I am lost in the fantasy world of whatever escapist novel I am reading. Trying regular breathing with "mindfulness" (switching your attention to concentrating on the breathing and nothing else) is a way to prevent panic attacks too - at least, to keep your arousal levels lower at peek stress times, so that little things don't push you over the edge. I am starting to do a similar exercise at lunchtimes, and short relaxation breaks (e.g. less than a minute) occasionally during the day, usually when my computer tells me to take a short break from typing.

PS: I am most likely to feel panic when I am suffering sensory overload. Putting in earplugs (actually earphones attached to an mp3 player) helped me to be less stressed and panicky in that situation. Prevention is better than cure.

Just search Google for "panic mindfulness" and you can read a lot more for free about how to manage your emotional state. If you are good at research, you can find free material on the web to help you. My therapist is using mindfulness to teach me how to manage my emotions and stress levels, including stress from sensory sensitivity.

There are no public health or social service agencies that can help out?

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I will try that, one-A-N. Not really, LornaDoone.