iv recently been to the doctor and descoverd that i suffer from panic attacks i have had them since i was about 10 but didnt kno what they where until now, i have had these attacks in all different situations about 4-8 times a year and they are a real pain. i have only been to 2 concerts and both times i had to leave as i was suffering from panic attacks so now i feel like i cant go to any so i dont spoil other peoples nights.the last time it happend was a few weeks ago when i was out with some work mates in a local pub and they thought i was just drunk (embarasing). anyway to the point i have heard that panic attacks are quite common and i just wanted 2 know if anyone here suffers from them 2 or has ever had one so i dont feel like such a freak or if you know of anything that could help.

I am sorry to hear you have this problem. I would seriously suggest that you go back to your GP who diagnosed this and ask him to refer you to a specialist in case he is wrong and also ask to be referred to see a counsellor if or when you are diagnosed as such.

Good luck!

Panic Attacks: What They Are, Why They Happen and What You Can Do About Them by Christine Ingham (Paperback - 6 Nov 2000)
Buy new: £7.99 £5.99 28 Used & new from £1.96
You save: £2.00 (25%)
Get it by Saturday, Nov 24 if you order in the next 17 hours and choose express delivery.
Eligible for FREE Super Saver Delivery.
(10)

Just copied&pasted this from amazon - its a green and blue book.
A blooming bible for anyone who gets them.

I really do highly recommend it to you.

I have a friend who suffers from panic attacks and I used to have them the main thing is to identify what is triggering them.......

For example: claustrophobic, agoraphobic. Etc.

I went through a stage of being very claustrophobic I couldn't go to packed pubs or concerts from a fear of being squished like a sardine.

Once you identify the cause of the attacks you basicly confront your fears.....Easier said than done but you just have to be brave.

If you cant Identify a cause then I suggest seeing a phyciatrist so that they can Identify the problem with you.

Hope this helps a little.

Noit personally, no, but my elder brother had a breakdown several years ago and one of the side effects were panic attacks. Counselling over several months got to the bottom of it, and the attackes ceased.

Like most things it seems to be a matter of resolving the root cause, and not just viewing the attacks as an entity in their own right - they could be just a symptom of another condition.

tim (who has no real idea what he's talking about)

My daughter who is 18. also suffers with panic attacks..they are usually worse pre-menstrual..They started last year, just after she went to the Download gig, when some dim wits jumped on her tent whilst she was sleeping..anyway took her to see the GP.

Because the heart race increases during an attack, he prescibed her Propanolol, which helps decrease the heart rate..luckily, she's not had an attack since. But because she is now more aware of when the attacks are more prone to happen, she is able to control them.

The GP was very good, and did offer her some counselling, which at that time she declined..

Apparently panic attacks are very common in young women, and again research does show that hormone changes within the body can play a big part of an attack. obviously this doesn't account for all..

So be reassured Katie, that you are definately not a freak, hope the attacks are short lived. if not go seek some further professional help.
_________________

I used to have panic attacks which would consist in being unable to breathe and having this void feeling, like the one you'd get when you're trapped in a small place. I'd get them anywhere, from the subway to parks.
Eventually they went away (I still don't know how)... However, I started having other sorts of panic attacks... Which would consist in heart burn and breathing faster and the pulse running through the ceiling. I managed to calm those by taking control of my breath and playing with pets (i'm not joking about pets, at the moment of one attack I had no idea what I could do... I felt like I should do bungee jumping or something and playing with some pets just took the pulse away, turning it back to normal).
I don't know if this helped and I don't know what your attacks are like. I think that suggested book would be a good start.
All the best to ya!
_________________

Although i don't suffer from panic attacks, i suffer from anxiety attacks which is a mild form of a panic attack.

I know exactly what ur going through though Katie.

I've sufferered from these from about age 12/13 but about 4 years ago they started more frequent and lasting longer. I went to the doctors who said that there was 3 courses of action.

1) Put me on Anti-depressants (this is always the doctors cope out i reckon)

2) Send me to see a specialist counsiler for 1 on 1 counselling

3) Send me to see a specialist counsiler for group counselling

I chose the the 1 on 1 counselling and it has heaped to a certain degree but i'm not totally cured and they only confirmed what i first thought was causing them to begin with.

I'm learning to cope with them and get my social life back on track now.

Best thing to stop them i have found it to regulate your breathing and heartbeat, try to distract ur brain from thinking about what is causing the panic in the first place. It's esier said than done though!!!

Also keeping a diary helps, just note the situations ur in when the attacks happen to find out if there is a certain thing that causes them.

Hope that's helped u out a bit and if u want someone to talk to about it, just let me know.

BTW.... Your not a freak!!!

hello i have suffered with panic attacks now for about 5 years its at the stage now that i dont have anything outside to trigger them, high heart rate feeling im having a heart attack, severe light headedness whole body feels as if its turning to jelly, well thats my symptoms the way i deal now is to slowly breath through my nose in then out through my mouth and think carefully of a moment that made you happy in your life its almost like bypassing the attack by putting your mindset somewhere else probably sounds really strange but it works for me, ypur not a freak your just one of many that have this. take care

thanks for all your help i realy appreciate it and i will take on board all of your advice.

Just wondering how you are these days Katie?

I've not been on for a while so hopefully this isn't too late or anything, hope you're doing better though. These kind of things as people have said are normally linked to other things.

My first proper girlfriend had pretty big panic attacks relating to things that had happened in the past. She was starting to learn to deal with them in her own way. Having someone to just say what's on your mind helps and I guess that's where I came in. I'm a good listener and thinker

Personally, after that relationship I started going downhill. You don't need the details because this isn't about me though About 2 years ago I made the decision to try to recognise why I was starting to get worse and do something about it.

So the main steps to sorting yourself out are:

1) Recognising the problem - you're there
2) Figuring out what's causing it - friends/counselling can help here. I got sent away by more than one counsellor because I couldn't talk to them. Nice.
3) Doing something about it - change takes time and persistence. Take little steps and put yourself in challenging situations. Its amazing the confidence you get from putting yourself in a position you know you'll struggle with and beating it head on. You do have to accept that progress may not happen straight away and not let it give you any more difficulties.

Good luck to you, everyone has things that they struggle with whether they are able to admit it to others or not. Sometimes bouncing ideas off strangers helps (such as this thread hopefully). I'm sure there's plenty of people here that would be willing to talk to you 1 on 1 too even if they haven't said it so let us know if we can help. Helping is good!