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yamato_rena
Pileated woodpecker
Pileated woodpecker

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Joined: 21 May 2010
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Posts: 176
Location: United States

31 May 2014, 3:42 am

So here's the deal. I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't figure out why. Wandered around for a few minutes. Tried to go back to bed. Then my heart started hurting every time it beat and my face and upper body got really really hot. My ears started ringing, and I got upset and went to see my roommate in case someone needed to call an ambulance. Got a drink of water and a few minutes later all the symptoms died down. As I'm writing, the only remaining symptom is that my ears are still ringing a tiny bit, but much less than earlier. A similar thing happened once about a year ago when I was visiting my parents. Symptoms followed almost the exact same trajectory (replace heart hurting with heart racing). My sister has told me she suffers from panic attacks. I'm wondering if that's what I'm dealing with, and the only reason I'm hesitant to chalk it up to that is that I generally don't feel any emotional symptoms other than those directly attributable to the physical symptoms. But I'm only in my mid-20s, so I'm a bit young to be having a heart attack. Does it sound like I'm closing in on a reasonable explanation?



pinkmoon
Tufted Titmouse
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Joined: 16 Jun 2014
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Posts: 39
Location: UK

21 Jun 2014, 7:12 pm

Sounds very similar to the panic attacks I get. It's hard sometimes to accept that it is just panic because the symptoms are so physical and feel so out of your control, that you're convinced it is something serious. Initially the symptoms can be hard to pinpoint and recognise and I think I'm losing my mind or have some sort of impending neurological emergency. For me the key is about recognising and accepting what they are and just going with the flow, focussing on breathing very slowly and deeply and remembering all the previous times I've had this experience and been fine afterwards. Focussing on a positive thought or memory helps too.



BobinPgh
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

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Joined: 5 Apr 2012
Gender: Male
Posts: 352

22 Jun 2014, 2:41 pm

Before I had an autism spectrum diagnosis, it was assumed that my main problem was anxiety and panic attacks. Now that I know, it helps but so far, any treatment, has not changed.