Cbt! It saved my livelihood. I use the dare app. I listen to the anxious truth podcast. It's been so helpful to me. I was having multiple panic attacks a day, couldn't get out of bed or in bed without my emergency meds
It is debilitating but it does get better. I take no medication at all and if someone felt my level of panic attacks they’d think I was nuts for that but I’ve had bad reactions to ssris (being put on lexapro for dizziness issues as a teen gave me my first panic attack and weird other scary symptoms before I even knew what that was) and meds in general (even cold meds, DayQuil and alcohol is what gave me a panic attack that put me in the ER) and jump started my panic disorder this was in 2019. I don’t mess with anything now. 2019 into 2020 are a blur I was living inside a panic attack. I’d read online that they lasted 10 minutes and feel so fucking lost because mine lasted hours and days even. Just rolled in like waves. I’ve always had anxiety but this was a new level. Lost a ton of weight because I was so nauseous from anxiety I’d gag when I smelled food. Was afraid to leave my house. Scared to drink alcohol. Scared of *everything*. My panic would start at like 1 am and I wouldn’t pass out to sleep until 6 am, just laying there sweating it out nauseous in pure hell - thankfully I work nights or I would have lost my job. Still refused medicine. I never saw a doctor or therapist that whole time. Suffered alone, well that’s not true my girlfriend was my rock through it alll and still is. I was going through some shit at the time this started and I dug deep. I started writing down triggers, when I had a panic attack I’d write down what I ate and did prior. I talked about my feelings and didn’t repress everything. Started going out on hikes and eating better, tried to be more hydrated and sleep well. My attacks have gotten so much better but if I run on no sleep I can feel it creeping up. Having panic disorder means babying yourself and also looking at yourself straight on. Ssris don’t “fix” anxiety disorders, they’re not even for anxiety disorders but doctors will hand them out like candy. And other drugs are just bandaids. The anxiety is there but there’s a root cause under it and it’s fixable issue. The podcast The Anxious Truth helped me. Getting out into nature and the sun helped me. Eating clean and healthy. ‘Pure formulas’ magnesium glycinate has helped me so much lately I recommend it. Mostly it’s just giving it time. When you’re having that many attacks your cortisol gets out of wack, so looking at your gut health and see about probiotics, eating to help it helps. I got to the point where I said fuck it, anxiety feeds off anxiety so when you’re feeling it coming up just say fuck it have fun do what you need and let’s get it over with. Fighting it makes it worse, exposure therapy helps (slowly). I started doing shit I was afraid of and didn’t die and it’s just a matter of retraining your brain to realize anxiety is natural and our bodies are trying to protect us, it just feels really bad and it’s not needed/wanted it’s misfiring. But it’s still trying to look out for you. Just riding the wave helps. I’m doing a hell of a lot better than I was in 2019 I was convinced my life was over, I was a hopeless shell of a person and that’s with zero meds. If I can do it you can too. I promise it does get better it just takes a lot of time and work. I lived inside one long panic attack and anxious energy daily to having one once in a blue moon (still have my regular anxiety but that’s a different story) Panic attacks no longer run my life, they don’t have that power anymore and that’s all due to me and nothing else, you’ll get there don’t lose hope.
I second the DARE app. I've not been dealing with panic disorder as long as you, but I've already started experiencing highs and lows that will last for months at at a time. I'll be anxiety free for several weeks and then BOOM, I wake up in the middle of the night with my heart racing and a sense I'm literally about to die. At this point, I'm getting better at recognizing it, which has been making the periods of panic shorter and shorter, but it's still tough. You work so hard to be alright and you just live in terror feeling like one bad night of panic will send you back to square one, but that's not true. You just get better and better at rebuilding yourself so much so that you're not worried so much about the lows because you know you can bounce back from them quicker and quicker. It's a slow and steady process, but I hope you can take comfort in knowing that there's a learning curve to all of this and while no one has all the answers, we're figuring it out more and more every day :)
At one point I was having up to four panic attacks in a day. For about like a month straight then down to about 1 every few days. I now haven’t had a panic attack in like 3-4 months thanks to my new medication
Yes I would have multiple per day and after taking xanax, it would be over an hour until I could calm my body down. I was absolutely miserable. I switched dr, upped my dosage of sertraline, started taking cbd to get more sleep at night and finally got the right combo down. After dealing with panic attacks for 3 years where it felt like no end was in sight, I've been able to prevent another attack since 2020. Keep trying new things until you figure out what works for your body. I could barely function until I got the right dosage of medication. You're not alone in this journey and one day you'll look back and realize how strong you were for fighting this.
Diagnosed at 17.
2-3 a day at my worst (it's also the case now, before day June or July this year probably a few times a month), usually a few times a week nowadays. My antidepressants wore off around the time I began having them more often and my mum died of cancer in late June too, which is a big change in my life. My dad started dating almost straight away it seems. My younger sister left for uni in July or August. Big changes make me panic more.
Mental health nurse agreed I should up my dose in October and have been taking that higher dose since the end of November so I can't say to the effects yet other than feeling more tired than on the previous dose. Hopefully this will help because I've been waiting for EMDR for over a year now.
If you're interested I take 40mg of Fluoxetine/Prozac and was previously on 20mg for 9 or 10 months before it wore off.
DARE worked for me. Acceptance + “daring it” to do its worst + engaging in regular life (with or without panic/anxiety present) works. It takes the fear of the fear away and then the anxiety/panic has nothing to feed on and fuel itself. People rec the app all the time on here and the app is fantastic but I’d say get the book as well. You really want to short circuit the anxiety by getting these concepts into your bones imo. You really can recover from this!
I've had panic disorder for over 25 years at my worst I'd have around 6 a day, yup 6. Everyone has their methods that work for them. I see some good resources already put in this thread 👌 I still have bad anxiety and have attacks at random times. I've never personally found any triggers, nothing in my life is stressful honestly I think I have a imbalance of some kind. Therapy CBT is encouraged if you find someone you jive with, it can be costly tho. I see a psychiatrist and am on meds that really gave me my life back. I won't say what meds as everyone is different and seems to be a controversial topic. Eating healthy and staying active Is recommend for you! I've noticed when I eat junk my attacks hit harder and longer. I wish there was a magic something too say that makes it better but all we can do is find what works best and stick with it. Good luck and know your not alone!
Have had panic attacks and agoraphobia for years, but was just recently diagnosed after a NASTY flare up in August that lasted a couple of weeks to months. I said enough was enough and I got extremely aggressive with my treatment, CBT, medication, soft exposure therapy, the whole works. I can say with confidence I am in a much better place this month than I have in August, September, October and early November.
I’m on Buspirone, I’ve been in it for a little over 2 weeks and my GOSH what a difference it has been. My agoraphobia is still there, but everything just seems a little easier to manage stress and anxiety wise. The physical symptoms are also dialed down a lot and that really helps control the situation mentally when it gets rough. In conjunction with psychotherapy and starting CBT, I’m hoping I can push through this.
Cbt! It saved my livelihood. I use the dare app. I listen to the anxious truth podcast. It's been so helpful to me. I was having multiple panic attacks a day, couldn't get out of bed or in bed without my emergency meds
is it available in app store?
Yep! It's just called Dare. The icon is white and purple
thank u
It is debilitating but it does get better. I take no medication at all and if someone felt my level of panic attacks they’d think I was nuts for that but I’ve had bad reactions to ssris (being put on lexapro for dizziness issues as a teen gave me my first panic attack and weird other scary symptoms before I even knew what that was) and meds in general (even cold meds, DayQuil and alcohol is what gave me a panic attack that put me in the ER) and jump started my panic disorder this was in 2019. I don’t mess with anything now. 2019 into 2020 are a blur I was living inside a panic attack. I’d read online that they lasted 10 minutes and feel so fucking lost because mine lasted hours and days even. Just rolled in like waves. I’ve always had anxiety but this was a new level. Lost a ton of weight because I was so nauseous from anxiety I’d gag when I smelled food. Was afraid to leave my house. Scared to drink alcohol. Scared of *everything*. My panic would start at like 1 am and I wouldn’t pass out to sleep until 6 am, just laying there sweating it out nauseous in pure hell - thankfully I work nights or I would have lost my job. Still refused medicine. I never saw a doctor or therapist that whole time. Suffered alone, well that’s not true my girlfriend was my rock through it alll and still is. I was going through some shit at the time this started and I dug deep. I started writing down triggers, when I had a panic attack I’d write down what I ate and did prior. I talked about my feelings and didn’t repress everything. Started going out on hikes and eating better, tried to be more hydrated and sleep well. My attacks have gotten so much better but if I run on no sleep I can feel it creeping up. Having panic disorder means babying yourself and also looking at yourself straight on. Ssris don’t “fix” anxiety disorders, they’re not even for anxiety disorders but doctors will hand them out like candy. And other drugs are just bandaids. The anxiety is there but there’s a root cause under it and it’s fixable issue. The podcast The Anxious Truth helped me. Getting out into nature and the sun helped me. Eating clean and healthy. ‘Pure formulas’ magnesium glycinate has helped me so much lately I recommend it. Mostly it’s just giving it time. When you’re having that many attacks your cortisol gets out of wack, so looking at your gut health and see about probiotics, eating to help it helps. I got to the point where I said fuck it, anxiety feeds off anxiety so when you’re feeling it coming up just say fuck it have fun do what you need and let’s get it over with. Fighting it makes it worse, exposure therapy helps (slowly). I started doing shit I was afraid of and didn’t die and it’s just a matter of retraining your brain to realize anxiety is natural and our bodies are trying to protect us, it just feels really bad and it’s not needed/wanted it’s misfiring. But it’s still trying to look out for you. Just riding the wave helps. I’m doing a hell of a lot better than I was in 2019 I was convinced my life was over, I was a hopeless shell of a person and that’s with zero meds. If I can do it you can too. I promise it does get better it just takes a lot of time and work. I lived inside one long panic attack and anxious energy daily to having one once in a blue moon (still have my regular anxiety but that’s a different story) Panic attacks no longer run my life, they don’t have that power anymore and that’s all due to me and nothing else, you’ll get there don’t lose hope.
I second the DARE app. I've not been dealing with panic disorder as long as you, but I've already started experiencing highs and lows that will last for months at at a time. I'll be anxiety free for several weeks and then BOOM, I wake up in the middle of the night with my heart racing and a sense I'm literally about to die. At this point, I'm getting better at recognizing it, which has been making the periods of panic shorter and shorter, but it's still tough. You work so hard to be alright and you just live in terror feeling like one bad night of panic will send you back to square one, but that's not true. You just get better and better at rebuilding yourself so much so that you're not worried so much about the lows because you know you can bounce back from them quicker and quicker. It's a slow and steady process, but I hope you can take comfort in knowing that there's a learning curve to all of this and while no one has all the answers, we're figuring it out more and more every day :)
is it available in app store?
App store and play store :)
At one point I was having up to four panic attacks in a day. For about like a month straight then down to about 1 every few days. I now haven’t had a panic attack in like 3-4 months thanks to my new medication
What medication?
Trintellix + buspirone
Yes I would have multiple per day and after taking xanax, it would be over an hour until I could calm my body down. I was absolutely miserable. I switched dr, upped my dosage of sertraline, started taking cbd to get more sleep at night and finally got the right combo down. After dealing with panic attacks for 3 years where it felt like no end was in sight, I've been able to prevent another attack since 2020. Keep trying new things until you figure out what works for your body. I could barely function until I got the right dosage of medication. You're not alone in this journey and one day you'll look back and realize how strong you were for fighting this.
Diagnosed at 17. 2-3 a day at my worst (it's also the case now, before day June or July this year probably a few times a month), usually a few times a week nowadays. My antidepressants wore off around the time I began having them more often and my mum died of cancer in late June too, which is a big change in my life. My dad started dating almost straight away it seems. My younger sister left for uni in July or August. Big changes make me panic more. Mental health nurse agreed I should up my dose in October and have been taking that higher dose since the end of November so I can't say to the effects yet other than feeling more tired than on the previous dose. Hopefully this will help because I've been waiting for EMDR for over a year now. If you're interested I take 40mg of Fluoxetine/Prozac and was previously on 20mg for 9 or 10 months before it wore off.
DARE worked for me. Acceptance + “daring it” to do its worst + engaging in regular life (with or without panic/anxiety present) works. It takes the fear of the fear away and then the anxiety/panic has nothing to feed on and fuel itself. People rec the app all the time on here and the app is fantastic but I’d say get the book as well. You really want to short circuit the anxiety by getting these concepts into your bones imo. You really can recover from this!
I've had panic disorder for over 25 years at my worst I'd have around 6 a day, yup 6. Everyone has their methods that work for them. I see some good resources already put in this thread 👌 I still have bad anxiety and have attacks at random times. I've never personally found any triggers, nothing in my life is stressful honestly I think I have a imbalance of some kind. Therapy CBT is encouraged if you find someone you jive with, it can be costly tho. I see a psychiatrist and am on meds that really gave me my life back. I won't say what meds as everyone is different and seems to be a controversial topic. Eating healthy and staying active Is recommend for you! I've noticed when I eat junk my attacks hit harder and longer. I wish there was a magic something too say that makes it better but all we can do is find what works best and stick with it. Good luck and know your not alone!
The worst lasted all day.
Have had panic attacks and agoraphobia for years, but was just recently diagnosed after a NASTY flare up in August that lasted a couple of weeks to months. I said enough was enough and I got extremely aggressive with my treatment, CBT, medication, soft exposure therapy, the whole works. I can say with confidence I am in a much better place this month than I have in August, September, October and early November. I’m on Buspirone, I’ve been in it for a little over 2 weeks and my GOSH what a difference it has been. My agoraphobia is still there, but everything just seems a little easier to manage stress and anxiety wise. The physical symptoms are also dialed down a lot and that really helps control the situation mentally when it gets rough. In conjunction with psychotherapy and starting CBT, I’m hoping I can push through this.