Panic attack?
Hi I'm wondering if anyone can help me on what I've been experiencing. What it is, is that I get this weird feeling in my stomache as though I've been kicked and winded and then it works up towards my chest and throat making it feel tight and hard to swallow. My face also goes bright red and hot and I get a throbbing sensation in my head and also my body feels prickly all over. The first time this happened was last week and it's just happened again and it lasts about 15-20 mins,I do suffer with anxiety so could it be a panic attack or something more serious?
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Normal I think, I didn't really notice a change.
It might be worth having a chat with your GP to eliminate a physical cause, and also to see if you can get access to a stress control or a CBT course which can be very effective at teaching ways to take the edge off the attacks.
It is possible to deal with them on your own, but in many people panic attacks can escalate into more serious problems like avoidance or agoraphobia if they are not well controlled.
No idea, the both times this has happened I was sat down doing nothing.
Adrenaline.
A panic attack is where the body overreacts to anxiety by producing as much adrenaline as it possibly can, this causes the entire nervous system to overload. At the same time most folks hyperventilate disrupting the balance between CO2 and oxygen in the blood. This affects most organs in the body (but most notably the heart), the net result is a wide range of very intense and unpleasant symptoms.
The one upside is that the whole process does not do any harm to the body, and once the body runs out of adrenaline (usually within 20-30 minutes), the symptoms subside, though some people feel a bit tired and washed out.
While a lot of people have obvious triggers for their attacks, some people don't and they can come on entirely out of the blue. It is possible with practice to control some o the physical reactions if you notice one coming on (especially breathing control which makes a huge different) , which makes them easier to bear.
For me PAs start in ya brain and the crux of most is a total fear of death..youve not mentioned that..hence dont explain it away to yourself..go see your doctor
Sounds awful but nobody really notices and I just remove myself politely but firmly from my surroundings asap. I'm quite chilled out generally so these things really piss me off.
Anyway if what I'm having are panic attacks then the symptoms are a lot different from yours.
Nothing like any panic attacks I've ever had.
However, I've experienced something like the first part of what you describe: a very, very strange and unpleasant feeling somewhere around my stomach, and migrating over the course of 20 minutes to nearer my back. First happened a few years ago, then repeated 28 days later, then once or twice since. No idea what it was, I think I just put it down to a random manifestion of my Lyme disease.
I also suffer from visual migraines, another kind of phenomenon that might also last 20 minutes, sometimes less or more depending on severity. That I think is due to some spasm in the nervous system. Anyway, see a GP just in case, although they don't like when you don't have symptoms they can see or measure.
many diluten juice, fruit juice and fizzy juice contain a lot of artificial chemicals, sweeteners and sugars. many of these, aspartame in particular, cause panic attacks, irritability, skin rashes.
many people turn to green tea, and water. once used to them the feelings of anxiety are greatly reduced or go altogether
I've had panic attacks on more than one occasion and it's horrible. My symptoms were a racing pounding heart, breathing felt constricted and the fear it may be something more serious (Like a heart attack) making the scariness worse. My muscles around my chest and throat were sore for sometime afterwards. Taking deep slow breaths helped with me.
Something like that happened to me once. I was lying in bed and felt weird, so I got up and was pacing the room, shaking my hands as they felt prickly, I was panicking a bit too! Lasted about the same time. There was no reason for it, and it's never occurred again, this was about 5 years ago. Weird.
I only have PA's at night and they are as described above. Never experienced one in the daytime. My heart feels like its going to burst out of my chest. I also get a dreadful feeling of a need to rip open the window blind because the feeling of not being able to breathe is so overwhelming. I have on numerous occasions honestly felt I was going to die.
I now use breathing techniques and repeatedly chant positive thoughts in my head. I will hum or count ( all in my head) because your body and mind can't panic whist your mind is busy with other thoughts.
Also Bach Rescue Remedy spray helps.
To anyone who has suffered with or is suffering with PA's you have my deepest sympathy.
OP you should visit your doc.
Water and tea mainly.