panic/anxiety attacks

[EmJosephine]

okay so last night i experienced what i assume was a panic attack. it was one of the scariest things i've been through. i could hardly breathe one minute and the next i was hyperventilating. i was shaking and hysterically crying, it was so horrible, i was terrified and i had no idea what was happening.
if i have a panic attack once, does that mean it can progress into a disorder? i'm scared and i don't want that to happen again.

[.Jess.]

Hey Em,

I am really sorry to hear what happened to you last night, that does sound really scary and I really hope you’re okay now. Have you got any idea what triggered your panic attack? If you can identify why it happened it will make it easier for you to avoid them in the future. If you don’t know then maybe you could keep a log? If it happens again maybe you could write down how you were feeling before, what happened during the day, and maybe you’ll be able to spot a pattern? Is this the first one you’ve had? Just because you’ve had one panic attack doesn’t mean you’ll develop a disorder. If you can knock this on the head now, you’re going to be fine

I’ve found this website for you: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/phobias/P...icattacks.aspx It gives you a little bit more information on panic attacks and how to cope with them, I hope it’s useful!

I have panic attacks so I know how horrible they are. If they start to happen regularly there is medication you can go on that really, really helps. If you ever want a chat about this, just let me know Take care!

[EmJosephine]

it was the first one i've had, which is why it was so frightening. i'm pretty sure what caused it was these constant thoughts of death i was having...(probably didn't help that i was looking at this long list of causes of death on google)..and all of that really scared me, and then i kept thinking of it and then like, the realisation hit me that we're all going to die one day and that just terrified me, and i think that's what caused it.

[.Jess.]

It's really good that you have been able to identify what it was that caused you're panic attack, do you think that will help you avoid them in the future? What was it that made you look up the list of causes of death on google? I can imagine that wasn't very nice to read. Is thinking about death something you do regularly?

[Nostalgia]

I get panic attacks, I find drinking some water helps calm me down and just simply removing myself from the situation also helps a-lot.

[PSY]

Your panic attack could have been situational. If that's the case, then it's unlikely you'll develop a panic disorder. Panic disorder develops when the thing a person fears is, literally, more panic attacks. Generally, though, people will have panic attacks because something has triggered them (ex. a stressful situation). If you can identify what that stressor is/was, then you can probably avoid future panic attacks. =)

[Thirteen]

As Psy said, if there is a cause to it (you said you were looking at deaths on Google), it probably won't develop into a disorder.

The nature of an Anxiety/Panic Disorder is that it's either without a trigger, or it happens quite easily. I have Anxiety (no official label, but it might be GAD), and I get anxious in situations that, to "normal" people, aren't a big deal (i.e. grocery shopping, household chores, some social situations, work, etc.). An Anxiety or Panic Disorder is different than a panic/anxiety attack with a reasonable cause.

Don't worry too much about it, but, avoid reading on Google about Death again, since that's obviously a trigger.

[EmJosephine]

Originally Posted by .Jess.

It's really good that you have been able to identify what it was that caused you're panic attack, do you think that will help you avoid them in the future? What was it that made you look up the list of causes of death on google? I can imagine that wasn't very nice to read. Is thinking about death something you do regularly?

i don't know...i was feeling really upset and suicidal, so i just googled it, i dont know.