panic attack question?
im 16.
when i was 13-14 i saw a therapist for depression. my parents just got a divorce and im worried its comming back. well actually im positive im depressed. i dont like hanging out with any of my friends except for my best friend. im moody. i cry all of the time. i feel like im completely numb inside. i feel like im not really here, like everything around me is fake. i also am pretty sure i get panic attacks. i started getting them a few months ago. i didnt know what it was so i thought there was something wrong with my heart. once i had an episode so bad i went to the ER. i had all kinds of tests done and everything came back fine. i went to see a cardiologist and he said everything was fine. i always feel like im about to die and then i stress more because of that. im so worried about my heart. i get sweaty and clammy and i start to shake. i feel like im trapped in a dream and i get lightheaded (almost like vertigo) and dizzy.
does this sound like a panic attack?
my mom wants me to start taking medication (if the doctor prescribes it) but because of my attacks im TERRIFIED of medicine. im worried its going to stop my heart. i know it wont but for some reason i cant get it out of my head that it will. what do i do?
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yep sounds like panic attacks. i used to get panic attacks starting around age 12, but age doesn’t really matter, it has to do with stress. panic attacks are a real fright because you’re body actually feels like you’re about to die, but you’re not. so that has to be some comfort. i never took medicine for it because like you i was scared to alter my body with pills. you have to learn to manage your stress and depression. its very hard, especially in the teen years when EVERYTHING feels incredibly intense and important. realize that these years go by quickly so just enjoy them and save the stress for college
my panic attacks subsided after a few years, but will come back when i get overly stressed (i’m a mom, it happens) hope you feel better
I had some of the same issues when I was sixteen (I’m now 24). I had extreme anxiety and was prone to panic attacks. My advice to you is to start seeing a therapist again. That’s one of the first steps…you wouldn’t believe how much talking about your feelings and just clearing the air can make you feel like you’re not alone and there will be someone there to help you find your way out of this confounded maze we call depression (or anxiety…for some people, it’s both). Also, I know you are terrified of taking any medication…I was too. After I turned 16, I cried for 3 days straight for no reason and that’s when I knew I had to do something. So, I did get on medication…and I have to be honest, it absolutely turned my life around. I feel so much better, happier, and healthier. I’m not saying that I don’t still have those obsessive thoughts now and then, but I’ve learned to let them pass and move on. I still get the occasional panic attack, but I know what it is and I know how to deal with it. I have to strongly recommend a combination of therapy and medication. I promise that it can only get better from here. Good luck with everything! I truly wish you the best!
The only thing you can tell yourself is you are going to be okay, and much as it feels like you are going to die right then and there your not. I get them almost everyday of my life, and its awful, but you need to focus on what you are doing, and repeat in your head I am going to be fine! I don’t like taking medication either, because its not good to have to depend on something, you will feel much better if you overcome this without drugs, which you will!
Hey,
You are having panic attacks.
Use these simple steps over and over again until you become the master of your thoughts and emotions.You create your panic attacks not your environment .
Take full responsibility.
I was suffering from panic attacks for 14 years.
I did a lots of research and reading on the subject.
Here is a six-step approach to self-control when dealing with an anxiety attack:
1.ACCEPT–Recognize that you are feeling anxious.Accept your body feelings as a symptom of your anxiety and a sign that something is bothering you.
2.PERMISSION–Give yourself permission to feel anxious about whatever it is that is bothering you.”Of course I feel anxious because…. and it is okay to have anxiety.I know what this is and why I feel this way.”
3.BREATHE– First, inhale through your nose slowly for two-seconds,mentally counting one, one-thousand, two ,one- thousand.then exhale through your mouth to mental count of four-second-again by one-thousands.Do this for at least 60-seconds.
4.INNER DIALOGUE–Use truthful, positive dialogue to talk yourself through the anxious time.It WILL pass. Examples of dialogue might be,”It’s just anxiety.It will go away. I will not lose control.
I can still go about my business feeling spaced-out.It won’t hurt me.”
5.DISTRACT–Get busy.Do something to release some of this self-induced stimulation.Your body is like a car in high gear with the brakes on .Don’t just sit there! Walk,jog, clean closets -but do something.Distract yourself from the way you are feeling.
6.LET TIME PASS– and try to see a little humor in the way you feel.You may feel weird ,you don’t look weird.Give yourself permission to feel weird for a little while. It is no big deal.Try to figure out what is really bothering you. Is it some type of conflict that you don’t want to deal with?Is it a scary thought? Is it a ridiculous expectation you have about yourself? How about the television program you watched last night?What is bothering you?
It takes time and lots and lots of practice.But the only way to stop fearing panic and anxiety attacks is to experience them .Then, work your way through them and begin to see that they won’t hurt you.
There is no need to avoid or fight .
YOU are your safe place and your safe person .
YOU can make yourself feel better.
Feel good!
Praise to Lucinda Bassett !
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