What triggers your WORST panic attacks?

[lowendgenerator]

I'm gonna let you guys in on a little secret, share a little piece of me with you. I suffer from panic attacks and stress disorder. It's not a major disability, I'm not missing limbs or have seizures, but there's no worse feeling than freaking out and letting your adrenaline kick in for the slightest reasons.

Tonight, I was on my way home from an open mic night. I was traveling at 70mph on a 5 lane highway when my tire blew. I don't mean went flat, I mean dramatically shed the sidewall. In an instant I go from rocking out to freaking out. As soon as I saw the tire I knew I was going to be there for a while. I tried to stay cool, change the tire and get my happy ass back on the road, but it wasn't budging. Lugs were seized pretty hard. The best part was, my insurance's roadside assistance operators were out to lunch and not answering the damn phone!

I'm still trying to remain calm, but every move, every thought sent me further and further into a spiral of madness. My heartbeat was rapid, sweating like a pig, trying like hell to talk myself down while semi trucks were flying by. I always carry a small pill bottle with some xanax in my pocket, I haven't left home without it in 2 years. In fact, the few times I did leave without it, I turned around and went back for it. Sometimes just knowing I have it makes me calm, a little placebo trick. But tonight my mind was having it's naughty little way with me, and the xanax wasn't working. I ended up taking 3 pills (1.5mg total) and I'm still wired enough to write this.

Eventually, a "Hoosier Helper" truck showed up and helped me get the tire changed. (Hoosier Helper trucks patrol highways as an incident response team for accidents, who also help stranded motorists as a way to pass time) Finally some relief, but I was still on the edge of my seat. I was fumbling horribly. I missed 3rd gear trying to merge back into traffic and hit 1st, whoops. I also got off on the wrong exit, then went the wrong way to get back on. It wasn't the xanax, I was just a friggin wreck. Still am.

Not many things scare me, but being in a car that's broke down sets off my panic attacks like nothing else. Artificial sweeteners are a close 2nd. I learned that after eating a whole tin of Ice Breakers mints.

So, I ask you, my many colorful members of TB. Who among you suffers from panic attacks, and what triggers them? How do you cope?

[Jim Nazium]

I don't have panic attacks bro (just a raft of other mental disorders), but I'd like to make a couple of observations:

First, having a tire disintegrate at 70 mph is dangerous. Getting scared and having the adrenaline pump is a perfectly appropriate response. The adrenaline is a good thing, it gives you a little extra mental clarity to deal with the situation.

Second, it sounds to me like you handled it very well. You pulled over to the shoulder without wrecking the car, you tried to change the tire, you called roadside assistance, etc. You missed a shift and took the wrong exit? I do that every other day; that's no big deal.

Finally, if you can, try to look at the thoughts about the initial reaction, and see if they contribute to the spiral. You can't stop the initial adrenaline surge, and as I've said, it's a good thing. But then what happens?

(a) OMG, I just blew a tire, I'm freaking out. I'm going to have a panic attack! Oh no! Not again! I hate this! Do I have my meds? Oh crap what if I faint? What if I can't drive home? What if my ex-girfriend stops to help? etc.

or (b) OMG, I just blew a tire, I'm freaking out. Well of course I'm freaking out, who wouldn't? That was scary. (deep breath) OK, where's the jack?

If you can observe the situation (and yourself) in a non-judgmental way, you may be able to slow or stop the spiral. Meditation is a way to practice non-judgmental awareness.

That's all I got. Good luck to you.

[Ericman197]

Lowend: Has your doctor discussed with you the idea of taking a daily medication to prevent panic attacks? There are many available. The risk/benefit part of it is not always wort it if you rarely ever have panic attacks to begin with and you only need the Xanax. But it's something to look into if you're having these attacks a lot, and they're interfering with your functioning.

Anyway, there's a lot of things (other than daily meds) that can make the attacks better/worse, or more/less frequent, but I gotta go!

[machine gewehr]

Blowing a tire at 70 mph?I'm glad you're fine,you took it very well I see.

Last time I drove,I missed a shift,didn't stop at a crossroads (I could have get me and my father killed),I didn't slow down where I should have.**** happens.

For me,I don't have pannic attacks but dogs create artifical pannic attacks for me.

[bassybill]

Originally Posted by Jim Nazium

I don't have panic attacks bro (just a raft of other mental disorders), but I'd like to make a couple of observations:

First, having a tire disintegrate at 70 mph is dangerous. Getting scared and having the adrenaline pump is a perfectly appropriate response. The adrenaline is a good thing, it gives you a little extra mental clarity to deal with the situation.

Second, it sounds to me like you handled it very well. You pulled over to the shoulder without wrecking the car, you tried to change the tire, you called roadside assistance, etc. You missed a shift and took the wrong exit? I do that every other day; that's no big deal.

Finally, if you can, try to look at the thoughts about the initial reaction, and see if they contribute to the spiral. You can't stop the initial adrenaline surge, and as I've said, it's a good thing. But then what happens?

(a) OMG, I just blew a tire, I'm freaking out. I'm going to have a panic attack! Oh no! Not again! I hate this! Do I have my meds? Oh crap what if I faint? What if I can't drive home? What if my ex-girfriend stops to help? etc.

or (b) OMG, I just blew a tire, I'm freaking out. Well of course I'm freaking out, who wouldn't? That was scary. (deep breath) OK, where's the jack?

If you can observe the situation (and yourself) in a non-judgmental way, you may be able to slow or stop the spiral. Meditation is a way to practice non-judgmental awareness.

That's all I got. Good luck to you.

Excellent post.

[jdieh1]

I don't suffer from panic attacks but whenever the phone rings I get all nervous and my heart starts racing. I know that it usually isn't because someone has bad news to tell me... It's because of some other, strange and unknown reason.

This is why I very rarely answer the phone, whether I'm at home, work or if someone calls me on my mobile. It is odd, I know.

[Relic]

I can sometimes get like that too, so I know where you're coming from.
Jim Nazium hit the nail right on the head though - you need to realize that you're reactions are creating a downward spiral.
If I allow myself to do so, I can have the same exact reaction that you describe because I'll let stuff build until it becomes one gigantic monster of a problem. The way that I deal with it is to take each piece of the problem separately. I really dont know how else to describe it. I compartmentalize the issues?? Dunno..it's a weird thing but it works for me..
IE - Tire blowing out is one problem. I'll deal with it and allot the right amount of worry to it. The stuck lug nuts - OK separate issue. Not really a big deal, I'll worry about it for what it is and deal with it. If I do this I'm completely cool. I get the issues resolved with not too much anxiety and I'm on my way to have a beer and chill.
If however, I let each thing compound on top of one another and cloud the basic issue, it becomes this gigantic monster of stress, anxiety and worry that I can do little to control.
So I guess how I deal with it, is to trick myself into thinking that I have 5 minor problems to solve rather than one gigantic mess that I can do little about.
Not sure if that makes sense..

[Illbay]

Zombies. I just can't get used to the idea.

[MakiSupaStar]

I've crapped my pants from things a lot less scary than a tire blowing out at 70mph.

[Ericman197]

Originally Posted by jdieh1

I don't suffer from panic attacks but whenever the phone rings I get all nervous and my heart starts racing. I know that it usually isn't because someone has bad news to tell me... It's because of some other, strange and unknown reason.

This is why I very rarely answer the phone, whether I'm at home, work or if someone calls me on my mobile. It is odd, I know.

I'm tempted to say that's normal, if only because the same thing happens to me

It's most annoying when I'm asleep. Due to the huge rush, I won't be able to fall back asleep for half an hour or longer... whereas I can otherwise fall asleep very quickly.

[lowendgenerator]

Originally Posted by Ericman197

Lowend: Has your doctor discussed with you the idea of taking a daily medication to prevent panic attacks? There are many available. The risk/benefit part of it is not always wort it if you rarely ever have panic attacks to begin with and you only need the Xanax. But it's something to look into if you're having these attacks a lot, and they're interfering with your functioning.

Anyway, there's a lot of things (other than daily meds) that can make the attacks better/worse, or more/less frequent, but I gotta go!

I was on a few different treatments for a while, mostly anti-depressants. The problem was, I wasn't depressed, and the drugs actually caused depression and more mental problems than it was worth.

I spent months thinking there was something physically wrong with me. The room would start spinning, heart rate would skyrocket, erratic sweating, etc. Once I was properly diagnosed, it seemed like I had won half the battle already. My attacks are few and far between now, I was having them almost every day at the first onset. I had to quit my job, almost lost my family, it was a real buzzkill.

I don't get set off by much anymore, and rarely need to take the xanax. I've been on the same 30 pill prescription for over a year.

The kicker of it all is that I deal with normal stress very well. I have 2 devil-children and a crazy wife, they don't cause me any panic. Blowing the tire out didn't scare me, hell it didn't even phase me. I think it was the fact that things were out of my control that doomed me. I have roadside assistance on my insurance, so I knew help would arrive eventually.

I've learned to control the panic attacks in almost every other aspect of my life, but that feeling of not being in control, especially with automotive breakdowns is still too big for me to fight.

[MJ5150]

How do you do on an airplane? My former co-worker would get panic attacks on airplanes, so he took some kind of meds to totally mellow him out for the flight.

-Mike

[lowendgenerator]

I am like BA Baracus on a plane, I need to be drunk or heavily medicated to handle it. I think that goes along with the control issues I have. If I'm in a car, I'm driving it, or I'll take my own lol.

I also stay away from air travel because it wreaks havoc with my inner ears. One 2 hour flight and my ears are shot for a week.

[CrispyDelicious]

"I missed my period."

Or the confirmed:

"I'm pregnant."

[Sonic_Death]

My panic attacks have been severely reduced over time, but there was a point where even going in the car would bring about a slew of troubles. Just casual driving around could set me off at times.

It was a very similar control issue with me, when a problem was presented or things seemed to be slipping out of my control I just get in a crazy paranoid and panicked stated. It is a bad place to be and extremely hard to get out of once you're in it, especially since I personally become very very irrational.

Other things used to set me off a lot too. Even being in social situations where I felt uncomfortable, which was more often than not. Luckily in the past few years I have taken big steps to try to ensure that none of this happens anymore. I still have some residual effects of it, but I haven't had a full blown panic attack in over a year now.

To me, even though you were bugging out on the inside, it sounds like you handled the situation just fine, and everything is okay now. You did everything you should have.

[HailCorduroy]

Being in a crowd or crammed in with a bunch of people do it to me. When I fly, I have to take xanax, not because I'm afraid to fly, but because I can't stand being that close to so many people. Last time I flew to Vegas, I took 2 xanax washed down by a couple of beers in the lounge and I slept through the takeoff.

[BillyRay]

Originally Posted by CrispyDelicious

"I missed my period."

My gf has this nasty habit of asking me, on the phone, "when is my period due again" ? This is is because when she does have her period, she is comatose/MIA for two or three days and has incredible mood swings, so she has to plan her activities around them and she has a terrible memory.

I know this. Yet, every freaking time she asks me this question, my heart races and I get instant cold sweats, wich can last for hours.

I also suffer from anxiety attacks from time to time and have been diagnosed. They are prevalent especially in times of stress, but it's been a few years since I have gotten a severe one. I hear you brother, it's sometimes rough.

[fretlessguy]

Intersting post. Applicable to myself as well.

Back in the early to mid 90s I had a rash of things that hit me jsut one after the other. Loss of a grandfather, a terrible job that I couldn't find a replacement for, a relationship that at best was difficult (She was the best thing that never happened to me) and newly discovered high blood pressure that took over a year to get in control. Did I mention two clinical depressions? I attended counseling sessions and started on anti-depressents to treat both conditions.

During that time I developed panic attacks. After time the rest went away, but the panic attacks kept coming back periodically. My antidepressent was actually having a reverse effect on me, making me quite aggressive. When I grabbed one of my students at school and tried to choke him, and then cleared out a room of very large men with a folding chair by myself (I am only 5' 5") I decided to get the medicine changed.

The doctor put me on an old-fashioned tri-cyclic medicine (nortryptiline). It made things better, but the attacks would still come back. They would come back at the least expected times. The doctor started having me write down everything about the environment and what was happening around me at the time. Through a few moths the results were looked at and it was decided that certain kind of noises would trigger it, such as loud noises or continuous grinding noises such as bagpipes, crowd noise at football games, distroted metal guitars, etc.

They trained me how to take control of the situation and use calming techniques to help control it until I could get away from the situation, or till it changed.

The attacks are very rare now, and I can either put my mind off of it or just leave the situation for a few minutes. I have only had 3 panic attacks since 2001.

My advice would be to get some extra behavioral modifications and learn to control it the best you can. The medicine is good to a point, but you need to do some other things to get it under control. Beside the techniques I was taught, I do a lot of prayer and meditaion in my quite time, and when I feel one coming on now, I use that as the best route. I wish you well in this struggle. You WILL succeed in the end.

FG

[ErebusBass]

Driving in the snow is what sets me off.

It's not so bad if I'm driving, but in 2007 my brother gave me a ride home from school. He overslept so we ended up driving through a blizzard. He was driving too fast and flipped the car over.

I totally freak out if three flakes of snow fall from the sky while I'm in a car, especially if I'm not the one driving.

[Papazita]

"Rapid-cycling Type 2 Bipolar disorder"
Yay me!


I can go from a paralyzing, lead-weight depression to ultra-hyper panic attack (often with an added bonus of paranoia...SCORE!) within a day. Sometimes several times a day.
Emotional rollercoaster! Weeeeeeeeeeee!

What's funny is, I've had issues with serious depression since I was about 12 (I'm almost 32 now); but not with mania/anxiety. It wasn't until a few years ago when I finally got serious about getting help that someone said "bipolar." There were a few signs here and there, but nothing definitive. A month or so after looking for the right anti-depressant, I had a MAJOR manic episode. The docs said "Oh yeah. Definitely bipolar!" I have the feeling that starting the anti-depressants (and going from pill to pill to pill trying to find the right one) is what triggered that first manic episode. I often wonder how I would be today if I had never taken anything.
Or, it could be that I really was bipolar the whole time, but the manic side just took a while to fully kick in.
Oh well; who knows? I am what I am.