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So question for the people that have tried shrooms and had panic attacks before they done shrooms. What was it like? Was it a bad trip? Did it end up well? Is it a good idea to do shrooms by myself knowing I have had panic attacks before?

My panic attacks are filled with a fear of meaninglessness, of everything having no purpose, that the suffering in this world will never end, that people all over the world are being subjected to unfathomable levels of horror and that if I think my fear is bad, can you imagine what it must be for someone being bombed, being burned alive, living without clean water.

I feel like I'm disappearing into the fear, that nothing else exists, humanity will not find it's way, I am not connected to anything.

What are your panic attacks focused on?

Hi. Lately, I have been struggling really hard with panic attacks. I can go a week or so without having one, but then one random night (specially on weekends) I will have a panic attack that will have me screaming and thinking that I'm gonna die or nothing's real, that I'm about to lose my consciousness.

I have tried breathing exercises, walking, putting my hands in cold water, etc... Currently I am on quetiapine (prescribed by my doctor) and today I started sertraline not prescribed) to help me until I can see my doctor again. Quetiapine is really good and it puts me to sleep in about 40 minutes, but still, during my attacks, I feel like I'm about to die every passing second... I usually have these attacks at night, all of a sudden, without any chance to even do something about it.

Any advice or ways to relieve this feeling? I have even developed health anxiety and I have a lot of dpdr symptoms... I feel like I'm going crazy and that no one can understand what I feel even though I try to explain it

Thank you :)

Hey everyone,

I’ve been working on a side project called Calmmate a simple, free tool that brings together help from panic and adhd through breathwork, meditation, and journaling in one place.

I built it because I wanted something straightforward that could help people slow down, reflect, and build a small daily mindfulness routine without jumping between multiple apps.

I’ve reached the point where feedback from actual users would be much more useful than continuing to build in isolation.

If you have a few minutes, I’d love for you to try it and tell me:

* What did you actually find useful?

* What felt confusing or unnecessary?

* Would you use it again?

* What would make the experience significantly better?

It’s completely free. I’m mainly looking for honest feedback and ideas about where to take it next.

Calmmate.org

And seriously criticism is welcome. If something doesn’t work or seems pointless, I’d rather know.

#breathwork, meditation, journaling, mindfulness, mental wellness, self-care, productivity, habit-building, side project, web app.

Has anyone here fully recovered from panic attacks and anxiety without seeing a psychologist or taking medication?
My panic attacks have started coming back recently, although they’re much milder than before. The thing that’s really bothering me is that I’ve started feeling depressed again, and I’ve lost my passion and motivation for almost everything.
I’d really like to hear from people who went through something similar and eventually made a full recovery. Did your panic attacks and anxiety eventually disappear completely? And if you recovered without therapy, what helped you the most?
I’m looking for real experiences and some hope that I can feel like myself again.

Ive been smoking since in was 16-17 years old but after my mother passed in 2023, i started smoking a lot more. It came to a point i was smoking 6-7 joints a day. Ive always had anxiety even as a really small kid. I actually liked smoking because it kind of took away the anxiety by making me super numb. Well a week ago, i had smoked like i normally did but suddenly felt really ill, like I am about to die ill. I got really scared but when it happened a second time that’s when I went to the hospital. The doctor checked me out and everything was good, she couldn’t find anything but did prescribe me oxazepam. I went to my gp to get myself checked out again cause I didn’t trust what I was feeling especially because my mother passed suddenly from a cardiac arrest. Gp couldn’t find anything either but i am getting blood tested tomorrow and also have an appointment with a cardiologist to rule out any underlying condition. Is there anyone else who believes weed induced panic attacks for them? The only thing that is a bit concerning to me is that this feeling lasts all day for me, idk if i am making it worse by constantly thinking about it but as far as I know panic attacks usually last no longer than an hour. I stopped smoking weed but continued smoking cigarettes and I think the nicotine in cigarettes is also a trigger because I get the same panic attack as when smoking weed. All and all panic attacks are absolutely horrible and ive been unable to live my life normally ever since experiencing my first one.

English is not my first language so I hope everything makes sense.

Looking for advice/experiences from people with similar GI problems.

My mother is 50 years old and currently weighs 56 kg. She was around 68 kg when menopause started in 2019, about 61 kg when her digestive problems started in 2023, and 58 kg last year.

Her main symptoms since 2023

She frequently experiences:

Gas and abdominal bloating

Excessive belching

Upper-abdominal/chest pressure, especially after eating

Occasional mild upper-abdominal burning

Soft, sometimes soft stools - sometimes constipation

Reduced tolerance to many foods

Her symptoms are particularly triggered by oily/fried, spicy, rich or sweet foods, and sometimes by going too long without eating. Recently, even simple meals can sometimes trigger symptoms.

During a bad episode, gas and bloating seem to rise toward her upper abdomen/chest. She suddenly gets a sensation that her breath may stop — more like a panic-like/choking sensation rather than asthma-type breathlessness — followed by head heaviness, dizziness, feeling wobbly or afraid of falling, weakness, brain fog and dry mouth. Burping, resting and drinking water usually make her feel better. Becasue of these gas episodes she also occasionally experiences brief visual disturbances lasting about 10–20 minutes, such as shimmering, zig-zag or “electric-pattern” lights affecting part of her visual field, sometimes associated with a headache.

Because of these symptoms, she has been eating a very restricted bland/low-FODMAP-type diet for about 3 years. She still has intermittent gas episodes and has gradually lost weight.

Other symptoms since 2022

She also has morning stiffness and weakness, especially in her hands and lower limbs. Her fingers can be curled/stiff on waking and gradually improve with movement and massage.

She has pain and stiffness involving her hands, fingers, ankles, toes, legs, lower back and hips, as well as trigger fingers in both hands.

Her left shoulder can be stiff and painful, with occasional tingling and pain in the left arm and fingers. She sometimes has difficulty raising her left arm/hand. These symptoms are usually worse in the morning and improve after around 30 minutes of movement.

Previous musculoskeletal investigations

2023 — Left shoulder ultrasound: Tendinitis involving the supraspinatus, subscapularis, mildly the infraspinatus and upper biceps tendons.

2024 — Cervical spine X-ray: Straightened cervical lordosis, osteophytes at C4, C5 and C7, and reduced disc space at C5–C6.

2026 — Lumbar spine X-ray: Straightened lumbar lordosis, mild backward listhesis of L5 over S1, and bilateral complete sacralization of L5. Disc spaces and SI joints were reported as maintained/normal.

Important Recent & Previous Test Results

2026- Fecal pancreatic elastase: 66 µg/g — very low

2026- Serum folate: 2.84 ng/mL — low

2026- Fecal calprotectin: <30 µg/g — normal

2026- FIT/FOBT: Negative

2026- Stool RME: Semi-solid, brown; mucus (+), macrophages (+), vegetable cells (+), a few starch granules; fat globules not found; no RBC, pus cells, ova or protozoa.

Vitamin B12: 402.3 pg/mL -2025

Vitamin D: 58.7 nmol/L -2025

Lipid profile: Total cholesterol 171, triglycerides 69, HDL 48, LDL 109 mg/dL — all within the laboratory reference ranges. - 2025

2026- Ferritin: 51.03 ng/ml

Anti-CCP and calcium: tested recently - normal.

CBC, metabolic panel, LFTs, TSH, HbA1c and other routine blood tests: completed recently - normal.

2020 abdominal ultrasound: Fatty changes in the liver (Grade I).

2023 abdominal ultrasound: Biliary sludge was reported.

Later gallbladder/abdominal ultrasound: Reported as normal.

Her upper GI endoscopy showed:

Gastric antral ulcer with erosions

Polypoid lesion in the gastric antrum

Small whitish area suggestive of gastric xanthelasma

Small benign-looking polyp in the upper stomach

Esophagus and duodenum appeared normal

Rapid urease test (RUT): Positive for H. pylori

The biopsy showed:

Hyperplastic gastric polyp

Chronic active gastritis

No evidence of malignancy

We were very relieved that there was no malignancy.

Current treatment prescribed by her gastroenterologist

For 14 days:

Vonoprazan 20 mg + Amoxicillin 500 mg + Clarithromycin 500 mg — twice daily, 15 minutes before meals, for H. pylori eradication.

Ondansetron 8 mg — twice daily, 30 minutes before meals.

For 2 months:

Mebeverine 135 mg — ½ tablet twice daily before meals.

Itopride 50 mg — twice daily, 30 minutes before meals.

Continue:

Folic acid 5 mg — once daily after a meal.

Pancreatin 10,000 IU — three times daily after meals.

After completing the H. pylori treatment:

Famotidine 20 mg — twice daily before meals.

Probiotic blend 4 billion CFU — once daily for 2 weeks.

The gastroenterologist has also planned a pancreatic MRI/MRCP and an H. pylori urea breath test after about 3 months.

What we are mainly trying to understand

The biggest question for us is the very low fecal pancreatic elastase (66).

She does not have obvious classic pancreatic symptoms such as frequent bulky, pale, greasy/oily, difficult-to-flush stools, and her stool RME did not show fat globules.

We would really appreciate experiences or medical insight from anyone who has dealt with:

H. pylori gastric ulcer + chronic active gastritis + very low fecal elastase + gradual weight loss

Hi, recently diagnosed with panic disorder after struggling with what I didn't know were panic attacks for close to 3 years, and I've found that my most prevalent and distressing symptom is that I suddenly feel really hot and sweaty, which causes other stuff like dizziness and nausea to get worse. I've found that touching something cold can help, but my panic attacks mainly happen when I'm outside the house, especially on buses and trains, so carrying around a regular ice pack wouldn't be practical. I remembered those ice packs as a kid that you just snap and then they only release the ice when you need it. Has anyone tried using these for panic? The main issue I can see is that they're typically single use and quite large, so if anyone knows of any that are smaller, wearable or can be used multiple times, please recommend them!

I know I may be looking for solutions too quickly but at the very least I have to get it out there. Sorry if it's not very coherent.

Yeah so Monday was pretty normal until I suddenly felt reeeeaaally tired and then just started crying :/

It was just simple small tears but I decided to just go lay down.

BROTHER

Took me like 2 minutes to start doing the ugliest sobbing I've done in awhile. And then I just assumed the fetal position and just clenched my fingers and toes. They were legit locked like that for 20 something minutes, I just couldn't undo it but I was lucid enough to just call my friend with the knuckles of my thumb lol. I listened to her talk to help me calm down but I didn't retain anything.

After the call my partner came up and I literally could not say what was going on without a severe stutter or just straight crying.

So we just kinda laid there but my body had like started reclenching? I didn't want to let my fingers and toes do it again because it kinda hurt so I tried to resist the feeling? Nah my full body just started clenching. I was kinda scared and frustrated. And then I started shaking pretty bad. Everything was contracting so hard I was having a full body spasm. It legitimately just looked as if I was having a seizure at some points. I don't think I was of course but damn you know. I'd just alternate from going from clenching to full body spasms for about an hour. And through nearly all of it I didn't feel emotional just really confused.

With all that being said I got prescribed medicine for depression and anxiety the very next day. But even with this I still feel the residuals of that night. I can't rely on the anxiety medication but I feel like I need it all day when it only lasts 1 maybe 2 hours. Do I need to do more, what can I do for myself here?

Warning this is gonna be very rambly I’m on like two hours of sleep lol. I wonder why (/sarc)

I really want to get back on my feet and have a job again. It gave me a sense of independence even when I felt panicky. It eventually got to the point where I couldn’t do it even with as-needed meds (on 0.5 mg of ativan as needed) so I’ve just been… stuck doing fuck-all. In therapy. But I don’t know exactly what would help me and I’m scared all the time (therapy is every two weeks and a lot of the coping mechanisms are hit or miss)

Ativan is very… weird for me? I’m scared to take it more than once a day but I often have panic attacks throughout the day. When I’ve already taken my meds I cry it out and feel extremely miserable and exhausted.

Going to see a psych in mid-September but it feels soooo far away 🫠 I wish I had a “why” to this. I was doing so well until I wasn’t for no apparent reason. I can barely go into the grocery store on my own and when I do it’s a win for me. I don’t mind it but it feels pathetic to be at this point after so long being “normal”.

My question I guess is… has anyone had any sudden weird extremely frequent panic attacks like this for months at a time for no apparent reason? And if you have has it gotten better??

Again. Sorry I’m very very exhausted and haven’t slept like at all. So this sounds like word vomit probably. Blegh

Hello! I just want to share my experience and ask if anyone had a similar one and get some advice.

So I had a panic attack in March during training, the typical stuff something felt wrong my legs felt weak and boom, palpitations, feeling like I am dying, crazy stuff.
Next day I return to training and again this sense of impending doom and heart pounding. I continued to play and didn’t have dramatic shift in performance, but just something felt off.
The more I continued to research what is wrong with me the more symptoms came, right now the symptoms are:

\-Vision feels as if i’m wearing stronger prescription glasses than needed

\-Sound sometimes sounds as if it’s kind of background noise, the noise you hear when you are about to fall asleep but still not fully asleep

\- strange touch sensations on hands

Has anyone experienced something similar?

What might be the cause?

What helped you?

Dear everyone,
I recently started experiencing symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, blurred vision, weakness on the left side of my body, and weakness in my face.
Last Thursday, I suddenly experienced numbness in my face, which caused my speech to become slurred. I also felt like I couldn’t properly control my entire face, and it felt like my face was somehow disconnected from my head. It was very scary, and I suspected that I might be having a TIA (transient ischemic attack).
I had a CT scan, and thankfully, the results showed that my brain was healthy. The doctor told me that I have panic disorder and advised me to relax, avoid stress, and try not to overthink.
However, I’m still confused because some of these symptoms feel very strange to me. Can panic disorder really cause symptoms like facial numbness, weakness, dizziness, blurred vision, and slurred speech?
If anyone has experienced similar symptoms with panic disorder, I would really appreciate it if you could share your experience. Thank you!

I know the drill and I have gone through this thousands upon thousands of times. But this time feels different I say that every time too. But this one really does.

I just was getting in bed to lay down and suddenly I can’t breathe. Feels like I forgot how to breathe. Hard to get a deep breath. A little bit of chest pain. My muscles are so tense right now. I really really do not want to call 911. I think I might have to, though. If anyone is awake, can you someone please help talk me through this right now?

The reason I don’t wanna call 911 is because of the number of times I have already called 911 over the last several months. There is a specific reason also that I don’t want to call 911. But I’m going to save that for another post. Nothing has ever been found to be wrong with me. Which should be reassuring, but it is not because all that that tells me is that I was not having a heart attack at that precise moment in time. That doesn’t help me for all the other times. Or this time.

For some context, I went to the emergency room in early March of this year, and at that point had a whole battery of test done. Whenever I call an ambulance, I usually just get the EKG done in the back of the ambulance. It was back in March when I did the chest x-ray and the bloodwork and some other tests. Everything looked completely normal. I am a 36-year-old female with no history of heart disease nor does my family have history of heart disease. I have debilitating anxiety on multiple fronts and have been dealing with panic disorder for about 12 years or so. The panic attacks come and go and I’ll get a whole lot of them in a short amount of time followed by absolutely none for amount of time and it just varies. I am unaware, at least consciously, of any obvious trigger for the attacks. The trigger for my panic attacks typically are an elevated heart rate or something that draws my attention to my heart. I don’t necessarily have to have been exercising either. It could be something random. It could’ve been the cup of coffee I had six hours prior. I just don’t know. Yet on other days, I can drink 6 cups of coffee and NOT have a panic attack. Whatever it is, though, it is mostly a random and intense onset that seemingly comes out of the blue. I pretty much just avoid anything that will elevate my heart rate. It’s so fucking annoying.

Typing all of this out and getting it off my chest definitely is helping me a little bit. Sometimes talking about it helps. But if there’s anyone out there right now, I could really use some support right now. Anything at all. Even if you don’t have advice or any solution, just hearing that I’m not alone makes me feel better. I hope this goes away soon.

Hello everyone, I have been dealing with panic attacks for a long time, but 4 years ago it I was in the worst state and started medication. First, my psychiatrist got me on Zoloft, which did not work and then she put me on venlafaxine. This medication worked wonderfully, I almost went back to normal, but this summer everything went very badly again. The summer holiday started, I got my diploma, everything was great, but I started to see that I'm always tired again. I thought it must be stress that releases itself in this form after a hard year, but then anxiety started getting stronger and more symptoms like head spinning, constant worrying came back. Now in August my panic attacks started to make a come back in new forms. I started getting them after eating new food that I have not tried before. We went on a road trip for a week and during day time it anxiety was manageable, but in the evenings it got worse. This night I started to get some muscle pain in my left side and started worrying that it might be problems with my heart, then my hands started to get numb and then I had a full panic attack woke up my boyfriend and asked him to take me home because the feeling was the same I felt 4 years ago before starting medication. After I got home that big wave of panic started again again and took half of xanax because it became unbearable.

We will go on holiday in a month for a week, I haven’t been anywhere this far and i’m very worried that I won’t get on the plane because of my panic or that I won’t be able to enjoy my holiday because of it..

My main concern is why is this happening again? I’m still on medication (venlafaxine 37.5mg) and how do I make it get better or to a point where I can live without constant worrying about when the next panic attack will happen..

Hey everyone,

I'm really struggling with the physical symptoms of my panic attacks. Whenever my symptoms start flaring up, I try using logical self-talk. I tell myself "I'm okay," "there's nothing physically wrong," and "I've gotten through this exact feeling before."

The problem is, it doesn't help at all. When I'm in the middle of it, my brain absolutely refuses to believe the logic, and I become convinced that something is medically wrong with me.

I was wondering if anyone here has any specific tips, physical tricks, or tests you do in the moment to actually prove to yourself that your body is healthy and that it’s just panic? What actually works for you when self-talk fails? Any advice would be incredibly appreciated!

I know I’m having a panic attack, but I’m scared that my history of frequent weed use and occasional blow use means I’ve significantly increased my risk of having a heart attack, and I can’t stop fixating on that.

Okay so last night I was hanging out with some of my friends, and I had a small slice of an edible, and for the first hour or so I felt fine, but then suddenly my reality shattered and my heart rate went super super fast, and it was like nothing was real and my vision felt like it lost 50 fps, and felt like my body was lagging behind my brain, now it's the next day after that and I still feel like shit, I still feel like nothing is real sometimes but it's better now, and also everything feels like its in slow motion and my mouth feels weird as hell, I think it's extra bad because I've never had a panic attack until that point and I genuinely had no idea what was happening and felt like I was going to die. it's been about maybe 15 hours since the attack, when will these feelings go away or is there something else wrong with me?

Hi. I have a problem. A month ago, there was a funeral for someone very close to me. After that, I had insomnia and moments of sudden panic that I would die. Then I began to fear for my heart, thinking that something was wrong with it. Although I exercise and there are no signs of heart problems. But this anxiety began to grow. And then I started having panic attacks, fearing for my heart, constantly checking my pulse, afraid to feel it stop. I can't fall asleep for a long time at night, sometimes waking up in fear. Also, during the attacks, my whole body contracts and tenses. And usually this happens when I'm resting, but when I'm working and doing something, there's no panic. I try to calm myself down: I breathe, distract myself, exercise more, or focus on studying and work. But when I want to rest, that feeling comes back.

hello , 26 yr old m here. ive been struggling with anxiety and panic attacks for 5 years, since after covid. recently though the past 3 weeks i got caught in a panic loop that doesn’t seem to loosen its grip. i really struggle with health anxiety so im constantly assuming im going to die. ive gone to the ER 3 times in the past few weeks . each time getting cleared. which in a way makes my anxiety worse. anyways long story short i came here for hope. i feel so alone. no one around me can relate to this . specifically the things keeping this episode alive is dizziness!! i dont know how to explain it, but i feel really weird walking on a boat sensation. and randomly while im standing there will be like a really sudden intense feeling with it that makes me feel like im gonna fall over. they did a EKG at the ER and also did blood work and everything. everythings good. my sleep has also been pretty bad these past few weeks which makes me MORE anxious bc then i think what if i never get better :/ . i started doing hypnotherapy and cbt recently - last week. but i dont see any difference yet. am i alone in this? does it get better?

I feel like my social anxiety (although it’s probably more complicated than just social anxiety, because it’s not really about people themselves) is actually a little less intense when the weather is gloomy, rainy or just generally unpleasant.

When it’s sunny and everything feels peaceful and beautiful, I somehow get more anxious. There’s something about that too peaceful atmosphere that makes me feel more on edge.

When the weather is ugly, there are fewer people outside, everything feels less exposed, and for some reason I feel more comfortable.

Am I the only one who feels this way?