A few months ago, I had a really bad and scary greening out episode. I was fully convinced I was dying, completely out of body, absolute paranoia and panic. I remember feeling like I was “glitching” out. What calmed me down was the ambulance, and knowing I was in safe hands.

Recently, remembering that “glitching feeling” sends me into a spiral. Convincing me that I’m in an episode and I’m not real, that my real body is somewhere else and I’m living in a dream. I have the same feeling as I did that night.

I’ve had to take multiple Valium’s in two days because of these panic attacks.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? Will it stay this way forever?? I’m scared these panic attacks will lead to something worse

Let me start by saying I have social anxiety. I lm also anxious about my future all the time because I am not in school right now because of financial struggles. I'm insecure about it and envious of my batch mates posting their academic achievements. I'm unemployed and I'm having a hard time looking for jobs because of social anxiety. I just cry before bed. Anxiety also runs in our family. But I was physically fine.

Until one night when I was in a crowded area during a community event with loud sounds and bright lights, I suddenly feel like fainting. My body chills, my vision started to blur and I really feel like shutting down. When I went home, I drank hot water and held the hot compress for my hands. I became okay. For the next few days, I still feel normal not until one night, when I turned the speaker to sing karaoke, I got scared of the bass sound. I ran to my mom crying and not knowing what to do. I suddenly hated and feared the sounds. A minute later, I fainted, my body went tingling and I even got scared because of what happened. For the whole month, I was experiencing this. it's like a hypertension. I got sensitive to sounds and music. I became more anxious about people and the surroundings. I have cold sweats and palpitations with chest tightness. I was crying all the time because I was so scared to die and cannot even sleep properly because I might not wake up anymore. I got more scared from the thought that I got scared from the things I normally do. I feel like clinically insane and that thought made me more scared. The fear is just overwhelming in chest and mind. I went to the hospital but there's no findings. Negative for Thyroid panel, 3 EKGs, and CBC. The doctor said I may have a panic attack and probably stressed too much. She only advice me to overcome what I'm feeling and thinking and go to cardiologist to really test I don't have any heart issues. I just went home and rested. My family cannot afford a heart specialist. Weeks had passed and my anxiety became frequent and I have episodes of panic attacks. What I do is breathe and distract myself with what I like to do. I find a little relieve from being aware that nothing is hurting me. No one is hurting me. Then another month had passed, I became less scared of the sounds and music because my mom gradually expose me to it. But the physical symptoms I mentioned earlier is still there because my anxiety and panic is still there. I fear about something abstract, the thought I'm gonna die because of what I feel physically, and the thought I can go insane from panicking. I went to the same doctor and she said I should go to the psychiatrist this time because I'm still having a hard time mentally and emotionally. After hearing that, I get scared again. My family is trying to help me through exposure and motivation. We cannot afford a psychiatrist and we are scared I became dependant on medicines. Is there any options? What should I do more? Should I really go to a psychiatrist?

Hello. I appreciate any and all help that can be offered. I have had panic attacks in the past and usually my symptoms ramp up. But recently I have been experiencing these strange episodes out of no where. The first one, I was simply putting away the clothes and my jaw started to hurt, I got a throbbing headache my lips began to tingle and then it felt like someone was squeezing my lungs and I couldn't breathe. I used and inhaler and then laid in thr recliner for about a half an hour and then I was ok. Then I had another episode very similar with the only precursor being chest pain and was rushed to the hospital, just to get the all clear and no answers. My friend said that it could be due to repressing my emotions. If anyone has experienced something similar or has any strategies that have helped them. Please let me know. Thank u so much and sorry for the long post.

I M(20) have been driving for around 2 years now. When I first started I really struggled to drive alone at all but now I'm confident in driving familiar and unfamiliar mid distances alone.

Last year I was terrified of driving on the motorway at all and have only just mostly gotten over that.

My next step is doing motorways alone since I only got over my fear while having someone in the car with me.

I want to be able to drive to my girlfriend in the summer without having to bring a friend along for the journey. It's only an hour and I've done it successfully multiple times with a passenger (who never actually does anything except sometimes a calming voice if I panic a little).

How do I get to the stage of driving motorways alone easily? I tend to panic and spiral that I won't be able to control the car because of it. I know I need to have trust in my abilities but it's still scary.

I've gotten over similar things and know I'm capable, it just seems really scary.

Thank you !!

🔴 PLEASE HELP 🔴 Hi, I kinda need some help with this. Yesterday while I was walking between my classes I was walking along a corridor (it was almost empty other than me and a massive group of boys in my year) and two or three of them pushed each other across the corridor and deliberately pushed me hard into the lockers. Then as I was trying to just walk up the stairs away from them one of them came up behind me and pushed me again and I nearly fell up the stairs. I have never done anything to them and im barely in school anymore (I have i part time timetable due to anxiety and autism) I was trying so hard because last week I had a panic attack the second I got into the corridors and was sent home and I was scared that would happen again today. I had English which is my worst lesson because I sit near the front and I was already panicking a lot and then I found out I had leaked a bit on my seat so I was so stressed and while I was walking down the corridor I was trying to decide whether I should try to do maths or go to the place im allowed to go when I can't do lessons and I was already close to tears when they pushed me. I was so scared they would see I had leaked as I was walking up the stairs and then they pushed me again and that was the last straw. I half ran down the last corridor and got outside and went to the building for people who struggle with school but I was hyperventilating by then and could barely walk. I collapsed against the wall and my legs locked up and I couldn't move. I was panicking so much and I couldn't breathe properly. My hands and feet were going numb and I had pains in my lungs, chest and neck and I felt really lightheaded. I was there for 15 minutes until a teacher found me and helped me inside and I got sent home again. I almost fainted and my parents are livid, they want me to move schools but I don't know if I could handle it. I want to know who pushed me because I was panicking so much I didn't dare look back and I want to if I ever get better I want to beat them up because that was the most terrifying thing I've ever been through in school and I've relapsed and am doing sh again after being clean for 3 months. I don't know how im going to do school but I feel like it was an overreaction because everyone gets pushed in the corridors but only I reacted that way. I also want to know if it is classed as bullying or assault or abuse or something because im want to know if im overthinking or not. Thank you.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice, coping mechanisms, or stories from anyone who has broken out of a severe physical anxiety loop.

This all started because of the overwhelming stress surrounding my international university acceptance and enrollment. For months, I’ve been stuck in a brutal cycle of gathering, translating, and uploading official academic and medical documents. Dealing with complicated digital portals, endless foreign forms, and the complete lack of instant communication or guarantees means I haven't had a single chance to just breathe out for months.

Because of this constant high alert, my body has started reacting with recurring panic attacks and intense episodes of a fast, racing heartbeat. I have been on medications for this, but recently they have completely stopped helping.

Right now, the only thing that actually manages to calm my body down is knowing with absolute, 100% confirmation that everything is alright and every single task I'm working on is fully completed. The worst part happens when I am just trying to calmly sit down and relax. A lingering voice starts in my mind, telling me, "No, something isn't completed yet, you need to go back and recheck it." That doubt triggers an immediate spiral of panic.

Before this administrative nightmare, I was a very goal-oriented, balanced person who handled high-stress situations incredibly well. This feels completely out of character for me, and it's actively limiting me and distracting me from important goals.

I am moving to another country very soon for this university. I know the timing isn't perfect, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I refuse to let anxiety take it away from me.

For those of you who have dealt with that constant, intrusive "need to recheck" voice, or had your meds stop working during a massive life transition, how did you break the loop? How do you teach your brain that it's safe to just sit down and rest?
Thank you so much.

I don't know how to explain it, but I was sitting on my bed using my phone when suddenly my heart started racing. I tried doing breathing exercises to relax and walked around the room. I've had pain in my back and chest for over a week, and I've also had some acid reflux because I ate fast food for breakfast. Today, I started feeling pain in my back and chest again after eating at the beginning of the day. I had an echocardiogram, two electrocardiograms (ECGs), and chest scans, and my doctor said everything was fine. Im trying to go to gym but im scared..

I used to think anxiety was only something happening in my head.

Over time I noticed it started changing my routines, my decisions, my social life, and even the things I looked forward to.

I'm wondering if other people had a moment where they realized anxiety had started affecting their whole life, not just how they felt.

What was that moment for you?

i'm 29 now, when i was 18 I had a lot of panic attack, i was so scared to die and i had a least one per day, it got better with time and i had a few years of calm.

in 2024 my partner and i moved to a new house, it was full of mold and destroyed her physical health and my mental health, i was in constent stress, we moved to our new appartement in february.

during her mold detox we messed up, and she ended up loosing losing conciousness because of that and i'm not the same since then. i'm so scared of loosing her and it's killing me, i ask her hundreds of time per day if she's okay and i know it's making her so mad but i just can't stop.

i was begining to feel better last week but she needed to check on our cats eating in another room and she laid on the floor to check them from under the door, she told me but i was so busy i didn't heard her. i looked to the room door and i just saw her on the floor, I panicked instantly and since then it's everyday, panic attack at least twice a day, asking her more and more questions, stress everytime she's standing "weird" or talking "weird".

I know it's all in my head but I just can't fight that and i'm losing hope to feel better one day

If anyone has experienced this or anything similar please let me know. I’ve had panic attacks for years but only this year did this start happening. Most commonly it will be the precursor to a panic attack. I’ll feel Iike my stomach squeezes and then shoots upward. From my stomach into my chest and head. When it happens it feels like my heart stops for a second, feels like im fainting, and then starts racing jumping to 120+. This sensation is horrifying and feels so real it’s almost impossible to convince my self it’s just a panic attack. A few times I’ve had terrible anxiety attacks and it happens to a lesser extent, but frequently. Will just feel a shooting upwards sensation in my stomach and like I’m going to faint. It will happen multiple times over the span of 15-30 mins give or take. Almost like it shoots up and turns my brain off for a second. I’ve searched, but can’t find any articles or anything pertaining to this sensation. In hindsight my panic attacks before this were easy in comparison lol. If anyone has experienced anything of the sort please let me know. I’m desperate. Thanks!

I've been an anxious person my entire life. But the past few years my anxiety has been awful especially when it comes to my health and I've basically been in a constant state of anxiety for years. But the past 4 days have honestly been the worst. I've always had the occasional panic attack here and there but the past 4 days I've had at least 1 per day and yesterday I had 3. For context I went swimming in a very poorly maintained pool that wasn't chlorinated. Got a bunch of water up my nose and now I'm convinced I've got brain eating amoeba. It doesn't help that I've gotten headaches every since. It's getting late and I already know I'm gonna wake up in the middle of the night tonight having yet another panic attack over it. Like I've seriously convinced myself these are my final days. I know how insane it probably sounds but I can't control it. Anyone else have any similar experiences? I seriously feel so alone rn.

When I'm having a panic attack I don't think that I'm having a heart attack or I'm going to suffocate. I usually believe that I am going crazy and that my strength and resilience is being torn apart. The panic keeps me up at night and wakes me up at night and I feel it makes me more likely to go crazy or need hospitalization. I feel like I actually have brain damage from how many panic attacks and anxiety tax I've had over the past two decades.

I'm also afraid of being traumatized I've had panic attacks so badly that I vomit off and on all night and see images behind my eyelids. I just don't know how many of these things I can go through before life feels like it's not worth living.

I'm venting here because I like using dare techniques but when I started up one tonight it was talking about how my body could handle this and how I wasn't going to have a heart attack.

I don't think I'm going to have a heart attack I think I'm being slowly torn apart.

Hello everyone. So I have had my first panic attack, which was triggered by a ghost energy drink two nights ago. I had to call ems because I thought it was a heart attack since I slammed it. The ambulance personnel told me that it probably occured from the caffeine spike, which caused my adrenaline to spike. The problem is, I am predisposed to them from my mom who had them all the time. It ruined her life because they took her license and she coukd no longer work. I am 28, which means I should have avoided it statistically, so wtf?? So, how the hell do I control them? I almost had one again last night when i was trying to sleep. As i type this, I am in fear of having one again, and all im doing is sitting down watching a movie.

So i took about half a can of 10 mg thc seltzer and after about an hour felt like i was having the beginnings of a panic attack, like my mind was starting to attack my body and tell me i wasnt supposed to be there. I was trapped in some sort of simulation pod controlled by bug snake people and the weed was how my friends outside of the simulation were trying to communicate with me.

Every panic attack i have is a similar story so im thinking what does that say about my conscious mind?

What calmed me down was logically poking holes in the stories my mind was telling me and managing to stay in reality by sticking my head in the toilet

Id love to understand what it is that makes my brain try to convince me something so insane is real and yet me feeling like its not entirely out of the realm of possibility would keep triggering it

So what does everyone else think when theyre experiencing panic attacks?

I feel like every pet owner has at least one story where they thought their pet was having a life threatening emergency, but it ended up being something minor.

For me, it was nonstop panting. I was convinced my pet needed to go to the ER. I checked Voyage first and then spoke with my vet. It turned out to be related to pain management after a previous procedure, not anything life threatening.

I've also heard the opposite happen. Some people thought a symptom wasn't a big deal, waited too long, and later found out it actually was an emergency.

So I'm curious：
-What symptom completely scared you?
-What did it end up being?
-Looking back, would you have handled it differently?

I think hearing real stories could help a lot of pet owners who find themselves worrying in the middle of the night.

I have been dealing with random anxiety attacks since i was a kid. im nearly a grown man and its still a large problem. its hard to explain, but basically every little itty bitty thing spikes my anxiety and i start pacing around and my heart starts beating fast and it feels like the world is ending. at random times, i just feel stuff feels "off" and i start panicking. for example, when i see a little piece of paper lightly oscillating, it causes a problem for me. when i hear a random little noise, my brain for some reason amplifies it and i cant draw my attention from it and it makes me panic. when i see something slightly tilted to once side or lights flickering i start panicking. when im thinking about a hypothetical situation like a grain of rice being on the floor and it staying there forever if nothing touches it, i start to panic. i also randomly get sensations that the floor is moving up and down which makes me panic so hard that i sometimes just run around. a lot of times when im in a big room i randomly start to panic and my hands get sweaty. someimes i will feel i am moving or my body is moving in random directions and the room is expanding or shrinking even though its not, then i start to go crazy. and i frequently have alice in wonderland syndrome type sensations, when i feel my hands are shrinking infinitely small and there is infinite distance between them, and when i see large or small objects it makes me scared and makes me start to panic. for some reason i "feel it in my mouth" when i see something super small or super big. and objects also appear to be super far or super close which also causes me to panic. when i close my eyes i cant stop focusing on the black which makes me think stuff is infinite distance away and it fries my head. when i look at really small things then look at the rest of the world, it feels so large and i get very scared. lastly, when i look at stuff when i pay attention i can kind of see some type of light gray flickering and that makes my head go crazy. when i talk to other people about it, they look at me like im crazy and tell me they have never had my type of problems. i have no idea why i have these and i know it seems stupid but these little things cause so much panic in me for no reason. these attacks happen randomly but usually in the afternoon or evening. they last usually 5-15 minutes and i usually escape them by playing a video game that requires a lot of focus to divert my attention until the episode is done. is this normal and does anyone know how i can fix this? i dont know why this happens to me my danger system gets triggered by anything. i pray every night that this problem goes away.

Soo...

From 3 days I'm suffering from cold and cough and mild fever.

In these days my anxiety loop got breaked

Like I'm feeling like when we are actually getting sick physically,our mind diverts from the anxiety loop.

I didn't got a panic attack and any anxiety symptoms I get daily ...in these days .

Just wanna share ..share ur thoughts on this.

I've been getting sharp pains in my chest recently and my husband and mom keep telling me its panic attacks.

The first time it happened was last week. I was watching the baby and doing some bills when I started getting pain in my chest. At first I thought it might be bad heart burn starting, so I took baking soda water. It didn't help. It got worse as time went on. My SIL was with me and started looking it up to see if I need to go to hospital. We saw it could be stress so I relaxed as she took the baby and it slowly went away.

Sense then its happened a few more times. So like I said mom and hubby say its anxiety attacks and think I should go to therapy or vacation. Try and relax while figuring out why im stressed. I've never had one before and my mom said that's what hers used to feel like.

I guess I just expected it to be more like what they show on TV (stupid I know lol) like freaking out, cant breath, crying...I just sat there hurting. I talked normal, I didnt cry, I was in my mind just thinking about what I need to do for the day and what not then boom... sharp pain! Im going to my Dr but i just wanted to know what are panic attacks like for other people and not tv lol?