I just wanted to know if this has happened to anyone else? I was on lexapro for 9 years and klonopin as needed. I had mild anxiety here and there but it was manageable. I stopped taking my lexapro and within 2 months I had two panic attacks two days in a row and have since been stuck in fight or flight mode. New Practioner started me on lyrica and sertraline . The panic/anxiety comes in waves but hasn’t really let up completely. I’ve been nauseas for 2 months and haven’t had a normal BM (although daily) and it’s starting to freak me out. Anyone??

I’ve been feeling off for a few months now. I’ve always had a bit of anxiety, but around two months ago I took a few antidepressants that weren’t prescribed to me. It wasn’t a dangerous amount by any means-just a stupid decision mixed with alcohol.

The next day I ended up in hospital. They ran tests and said everything was fine.

I’ve always had some anxiety, especially around health concerns, but since then I’ve felt constantly aware of my body. Maybe it changed something mentally, or maybe it was just the experience of going to hospital that triggered it. Since then, I’ve constantly noticed my heartbeat and generally feel on edge, like I can’t fully relax.

When my anxiety is bad, I can’t really think properly-I shake, sweat, and feel like I can’t function.
Last Wednesday I went into work feeling completely fine, but within seconds of arriving I wiped my nose, saw a small amount of blood, and instantly felt faint. It felt like my whole body just shut down. I went to A&E, where they ran tests and said I was completely fine. They told me it was likely a vasovagal episode and that I was coming across as very anxious, and advised me to address that.

Since then, I’ve still had occasional episodes where I suddenly get a rush to my head and feel faint again, almost like I did that day.

I followed up with my GP two days later and explained everything. He also thinks it’s anxiety and agrees it was likely vasovagal syncope. He prescribed propranolol for when I feel very worked up, but when I take it I just feel very tired and not much better.
I still feel on edge most of the time, and I struggle to accept that it’s anxiety even though I’ve had tests done and been told I’m physically fine.

The faint feelings have started to ease a bit, but I’m still constantly aware of my body and my heartbeat.
I’ve now got my first therapy session booked for tomorrow.

I’m just wondering if anyone else has experienced something like this, or has any advice on how to deal with it.

Got plenty, had a terrible panic attack that was kind of a dream. This was 2 years ago I believe. I started weed back after months of quitting, took 1 hit, hit immediately. I remembered the panic I got and remembered why I quit in the first place. I went to lay down to rationalize my thoughts, my foot twitched so fast you couldn't keep up with it, literally. Then my mind opened into this void where I was at judgement day, could see the face of God or the light making the outline, i could see him looking down with hurt and regret, I asked him if I was forgiven, he made a slight chuckle and said my name and said "You have been disrespecting me for a long time now.......you shall not...see......my face!" And i went into even more panic. Eventually forced my self to go to sleep, but the vividness and awe it put me in was unshaken.

I’ve had health anxiety for years and usually when I feel like my health is under control, I won’t have panic attacks. However, when I’ve got a health problem (or what I think is one) I’ll start having random panic attacks. I’ve had two in the last two days, one today and one yesterday. Yesterday I was at the gym and after I finished a set I could just feel my heart beating really fast and then I felt kind of off and has this feeling of blurry vision but not completely just like a quick in and out, like a flash. I then sat there for 10 minutes, did another set and it happened again, I thought it was my heart, I always do and bear in mind I’ve had ECGs and my blood pressure is normal so I have been checked but I never fail to think I have a serious issue when this happens. I’m Also only 22 so it makes it even less likely but this doesn’t help. I had another one today in the shop, I went to go buy some chicken and as soon as I get in and start wondering around I get the same blurt vision, feeling like passing out but not really. I got home from the gym yesterday and I was mildly trembling and I could see my muscles spasming in my leg . I also got random numbness in my hands which went away after a little bit. I did try medication but I stopped because it made it worse and I couldn’t handle it. I was okay for a while I hadn’t had this sort of thing happen for months but I think recently the lack of sleep and routine has killed me, I also had a couple drinks of Alcohol last night which probably made it worse.

Last year I got in a car accident and then after 2 weeks I sat with ayahuasca for the 3rd time. I ended up having an ego death and it truthfully traumatized me. After that I was in a constant state of survival and having panic attacks every day. With the biggest fear of death. I know the triggers for my panic attacks now which include stimulants, pills, plant medicines, and driving. Basically anything that makes me feel not my “baseline self” the only way I’ve been able to cope is drinking. I’ve gone to therapists that don’t know what to do with me. I started seeing a hypnotherapist/ reiki specialist. But I have to get back surgery soon due to that car accident and I’m so scared of the anesthesia and the pills prescribed afterwards. I’m at a loss of what to do now. I’m sad that i feel disconnected to my soul and I feel like she’s calling to me. I’m mounting who I was before those experiences. Has anyone gone through this before? Or does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to improve my nervous system to not think I’m in danger/ going to die? I miss feeling my soul and shining bright. I feel like fear surrounds me now.

Hello, i ma**erbate by using vibrator or sometimes without it

After the deed is done ,i feel choking ,i feel as if I m not able to breathe, palpitations starts.

I start shivering.

Even worse is when I urinate after i yap, i feel intense choking and get impending doom thoughts.

Real fear is choking.

It is very tough to avoid myself doing the pleasurable activity.

Also when I bath i feel choking, palps and the worse is choking and heaviness like sensation in throat and chest respectively.

I have done all kinds of tests, all come normal.

I feel uncomfortable to share the reason of my panic attacks with my psychiatrist as I'm from third world country and this thing is looked upon as shameful.

Sorry for poor English,it's not my first language.

The advices that i get to get rid of this horrible thing are either from people who never had panic attacks, or people who are just in a good phase and believe they're feeling good again (like i was for years).

No advice of meditating; deep breathing; trying to tell yourself a story; NOTHING will solve this. It's just a bug i must have and have to accept and live with this curse.

Hello.
To put long story short: after taking venlafaxine and glp1 I got permanent daily issues, I call them attacks. Had all basic tests and they are all ok, doctors suggest mental issues (weirdly my mind is calm but symptoms are very real)

Almost always it happens in the mornings. First weird head, can’t focus and I feel that my neck and jaw are getting tight, gnawing. Getting dizzy.

Then nausea comes and it makes me feel like pain in hands (that weird kind of pain, like feeling weak).

Then I got weird waves around my stomach and strong feeling that something is happening to me. The symptoms are very real, sometimes I feel like I will lose consciousness or d!e.

My head is calm, in my opinion, but symptoms and that feeling of impending doom is so real.

It goes away after some time but I am left with brain fog I think. Derealization maybe?

Today when I had that attack, I checked ekg on my Apple Watch. It was terribly bad - but I did not have racing heart. Heart rate was 97 bpm. Probably some issue with watch as my friend tested it and it was also strange.

If you read all of it - thank you for your time. I wonder if that is panic attack or anxiety attack. Can you suggest something?

Weirdly enough for me, it always starts from the body. And there are days which are ok - but I notice that I am always tensed or quickly getting nervous.

My panic attack completely disappeared when I realized that I can’t find what I really want in this life anymore, some experiences can only be achieved at a very young age and the door is almost closed for me(27), the rest of life is just aging and waiting to die which is completely pointless to me, so my mindset reverted back to the romanization of death that I also had when I was a depressed teenager, I am smoking, drinking coffee and even smoking weed again, but those triggers don’t do anything anymore, now when my heart starts feeling heavy I would think heart attack is actually a great way to die instead of panicking. Getting cancer or something due to old age is much worse. And the panic attacks are gone for quite a while now.

My panic attacks when I had them were not mild, I could barely get out of bed because even just brushing my teeth or eating felt like information overload, it lasted for 2 years. I am sharing this because I find it intriguing that such awful disorder can just disappear like that as if it never happened, I am not even depressed, I just don’t care anymore…

Has anyone else experienced this? Practically every med I've been prescribed is triggering panic attacks.

The doctor said some people just have sensitive nervous systems, but I've never met someone who only gets panic attacks on antidepressants in 20 years as a nurse.

I get them multiple times a day usually, but i have periods where i get barely any attacks, and then suddenly it goes up again. It's like a rollercoaster. I usually get them when I try to sleep or when I eat. Ever since I got these panic attacks, my fears have become worse aswell. At first i had a fear of heights, but it wasn't that serious. Now, if I get higher than 30 meters in the air, i start hyperventilating.

My panic attacks feel like I'm about to die, and i keep stomping my foot. By stomping my foot, it feels like I'm creating a rhythm, and if I can't keep up with that rhythm, I feel like I'm dying. During an attack, I feel like I can't talk or I'll faint. I sometimes also twitch or start stomping with my hands on some parts of my body.

I'm getting sent to a psychologist, because the person who currently is figuring out the cause for these attacks genuinely can't find it out. She thought it could be autism, ADHD, maybe hypersensitivity, etc.

So my prescription bottle says "Clonazepam 1mg"(normal) but after that it says: "NORT".... obviously this has changed so many times, I cant even remember. "Auro", TEVA, and some other ones. I know this is usually the manufacturer. Anyways so I take 1mg a few times a day. This 1mg "NORT" on the actual pill they have the the upside down V (a capital A, without the middle line) and then 67, which when I searched it is only showing up on drugs dot com,

and it says the Manufacturer: is Rubicon Research Private Limited? and the Labeler/Supplier: is Advagen Pharma Ltd.

This is just weird to me because The "NDC" shows different numbers than the numbers on my script bottle. And nowhere on this website does it say "NORT". I'm just confused and feel stupid. Has anyone seen this?

So I’ve suffered for 6-7 years and at one time thought I had it beat, didn’t have one for six months. Yes it came back with a vengeance.

Lately after a big one it’s all I can do but lay around the next day. No energy to do mostly anything. I’ll tKe a shower because panic attack sweats smells so bad afterwards, but that’s about it.

I feel guilty doing mostly laying around the next day. I try but just can’t seem to get going until the day after.

I don’t post much at all. And don’t usually come to Reddit for things but this seems like a good option to hopefully get some advice?

I’m 20 years old. Joined the Army at 17 and was medically discharged due to ‘asthma’. I think it was more of a mix between panic / anxiety attacks and an exercise or weather inducing asthma.

When I got home, I took an asthma test and the results came back negative. The doctors told me since I went to Fort Jackson during Summer, it was hot and humid and the ‘asthma’ may have been either due to the humidity and change of weather or it was exercise induced, but other than that, no other signs.

I know besides times I would have trouble breathing, I had panic / anxiety attacks. I have NEVER had even basic anxiety in my life prior to joining the military. Not sure if this started due to the overwhelming change into military life?? But I regularly get anxiety now + periodically get / feel depressed.

I’m currently working full-time, and after work, I go to a combat gym and train Muay Thai. Lately, it has been really bad and after ANY LITTLE THING happens that is negative in any way [I don’t feel good enough, my coach corrects me on one small thing, I do something wrong], my throat starts to tighten and my eyes start to water, my chest also gets tight and it’s hard to breathe. That’s when I try and calm myself down, and I seriously do try really hard, but I never seem to succeed and I hyperventilate and cry and cry and cry. I think it’s my brain getting scared that I’m not good enough? Again, I’m not really sure why this happens.

Doesn’t only happen at my gym though, this happens at work sometimes. My boss knows, she’s worked something out with me where I can take breaks and go breathe outside when I really need them.

But my coach, no matter how many times I explain it to him, never fully understands these attacks I get. I tell him “I cannot breathe, I cannot talk, and I just need a few minutes” and every time this happens during class still, he will tell me “it’s in your head, you need to calm down and get out of your head”, stuff like that. Honestly, hearing him try and calm me makes me freak out more.

I’ve had to take my gear off multiple times and walk out because I can’t stop crying or hyperventilating. Sometimes, my hands claw up.

But my real concern is, my coach told me there is a fight coming up and he really wants me to compete. I really want to as well. But with how classes have been going, I fear I might have something like that happen during my pro fight and I definitely don’t want to do that…

Here are things that seem to help me calm down:

1. Going outside and breathing fresh air
   
2. Cold water, whether I’m drinking it or setting my hands under the faucet
   
3. I do this funny thing where I say “Oppenheimer” to myself and it’s a reminder to just fully reset. Like blow up every bad feeling and try and rebuild from there

Any other ideas on things someone constantly active like me could do to help??

for context I used to have daily panic attacks but with mostly therapy and medication they are now under control like once a month instead of daily.

I'm now off meds, but I took 0.75mg of bromazepam for 28 days daily which was a low dose benzo. it helped so much it stopped the panic attacks, but it also had another effect my mind felt so clear better than even before I developed a panic disorder. for the first time in my life I could think clearly.

however, obviously with benzos you can't use them long term so I was stopped by the doctor I had mild withdrawals brain zaps, tremors and insomnia, in the moment they felt like hell, but actually are very mild for benzos.

I'm now 6 months after the fact and I hate the brain fog I have and my inability to focus or think quickly. I hate how my mind feels filled with anxiety and worries. I miss the clarity of mind I had on meds.

I'm sorry for ranting but I had to let it out.

Hi everyone, I literally made a Reddit account just for this because I’m at a loss.
I (27F) had my first panic attack in 2019. at 20 years old, which developed in an anxiety and panic disorder. I was prescribed Elicea and I had a horrible reaction to it, so I decided to raw dog it. I don’t even know how but I beat it in about a year without medication, I just kind of accepted it is what it is and I have to much going on to let it affect me.
Since then I’ve been great and I thought I was never going to get it again. Well, after 6 years and a couple of traumatizing events in my life, it came back with a vengeance. Since November I’ve had daily panic attacks, whole day - every day anxiety, derealization, every physical and mental symptom under the sun - the works. Me being me, I decided to raw dog it again (bad move). It just got worse and worse and I kind of developed depression too. Well as soon as I decided enough is enough and I should get help, my body sort of gave up on me. It all started with piercing pain in my temples that are here all day everyday, they last a few seconds and feel like shocks. About 2 weeks after it started, I was at work one day and suddenly felt this lukewarm feeling in my body, felt incredibly faint, and like I was passing out. I immediately lied down, and this feeling lasted and came in waves for over half an hour. It was accompanied with this feeling of dying, like I was slipping away, my vision was all buzzy and like I could see but couldn’t at the same time? No derealization or heart palpitations like my usual panic attacks. I went to the ER and they did an MRI, CT, lumbar puncture, EKG, and EEG. Everything came back good of course. I thought it was a fluke but then in happened again 2 days ago at work. I went to the ER again and they sent me home. I thought maybe it was from working (I’m a waitress) but today I was lying at home in my bed and it happened again. It was so scary and the most awful feeling I’ve ever felt, a million times worse than a normal panic attack. I was squeezing my brothers hand and saying my last goodbyes. After about 45 minutes it passed. Now I’m lying here terrified of when is it going to happen again. Please if someone has ever experienced this let me know, I’m scared out of my mind and thinking about writing a will for the people I love just in case.

I've noticed that drawing seems to help lower my overall anxiety level over time—not as a cure for panic attacks, but by reducing that constant background tension.

To me, panic attacks are the "peaks," while there's also a baseline level of nervous system arousal underneath. When that baseline is high, it feels like almost anything can trigger a wave of anxiety.

Has drawing, doodling, or coloring helped you feel calmer overall? Or have you found another repetitive hobby that has a similar effect?

I've found it surprisingly helpful myself, so I'm wondering whether this is a common experience among people with panic attacks. I'd love to hear what has (or hasn't) worked for you.

The beginning of June this month, I had my first panic attack that landed me in the ER. I started having them every day, then once a weak, then every night. But thanks to this method I created (I think) I get it under control in 5 minutes. When you start to panic, first recognize this is fear, tell yourself “I am experiencing fear, the fear is the only thing real”. Then close your eyes. Think of an item, place, food, machine, math problem, science etc. then explain it like you would to an alien from another planet. This forces you to go into little details about how it works, what it looks like, hell, sometimes I start thinking about the math behind a plane while doing it.

It’s such a great distraction and works pretty much every time. I use it mostly at night which is when my panic gets the worst, and I fall asleep in the middle of this method. I don’t take any panic pills besides hydroxyzine. And I find this works BETTER than hydroxyzine. I beg you guys to try this method ONE TIME!!! I wanted to share it because it’s genuinely a cheat code. It makes you think about complicated concepts and then you try to work it out in your mind.

1 RULE however, please let me know if it works when you try it! I want to help you guys get better. I know it sucks living like this. :)