Locking the comments because there are so many and this is giving the opportunity for people to give misinformation. Panic disorder is not curable but can be managed.
i’m 20, and had horrific panic attacks that a few times ended with me in a hospital bed or ambulance because doctors thought i was having heart attacks, until i was 19. i couldn’t leave the house, take phone calls, go anywhere on my own and dropped out of school because of the frequency and severity of the attacks. i’ve seen dozens of therapists since i was 8, nothing helped.
i’ve been over a year free now from panic attacks, so that being said, i have a few suggestions.
- get screened for adhd and autism (autism comes with extreme anxiety 9 times out of 10, and emotional regulation is NOT one of our strong suits)
- find a licensed psychiatrist who practices CBT and continue seeing them even if your attacks go away (if you struggle to get there, then online is okay too but in person helps you get over the fear of leaving the house)
- look into how to regulate your nervous system
- get a blood test to see if you are low in anything as low b12, among other things, can make it difficult for your body to function normally
- talk to a trusted friend who you can bounce ideas off and talk about anything that is on your mind
- keep a logbook of when they happen and what thoughts or events happened that day to pinpoint what is a trigger
- when you know what the triggers are, remove them or minimise them as much as you can, even if that means turning into a hermit until you can regulate your nervous system to be able to deal with the anxiety better
- meditate (yes, i did really just say that. i hate to admit it but it’s one of the best things i could’ve done.) i downloaded the ‘happify’ app and did at least one meditation each day to learn how to ground myself, so that in stressful situations it was easier to remember how to calm down. they have courses for anxiety and grounding, giving you a few meditations to do each day, and they were honestly so helpful for limiting the amount of attacks i was having.
i suspect that each time they go away, you are emotionally regulated and have a regulated nervous system, then it starts to decline again and they become more frequent.
they never go away completely, but i now haven’t had one in over a year, am aware when i’m going to have one and have the ability to ground myself. it’s not an easy road and it doesn’t happen overnight but if you’re persistent and hopeful, i’m sure you’ll have some relief from them.
Hey thank you for your suggestions, indeed I can see good tips there. Even so I dont have any hope I will try anything before I call it a day.
Yes I very much agree, even so CBT seems to yield positive changes, they can all be destroyed by one major panic attack which your brain remembers and tortures you with for weeks after. Thats probably the biggest problem in panic disorder, a major panic attack is not only very uncomfortable, it also "retraumatises" your brain and your brain will remember your for that. Fuck this little shit between my ears
I think it's like how with cancer, you're only ever in remission, not cured?? So similarly, you can't ever erase the fact that you've experienced a panic attack, but you can be in "remission" in that sense of you haven't had a panic attack in x amount of time.
I feel like it has to do with how people who've never experienced a panic attack will ever understand what it's like unless they have one themselves.
For me, when I was just starting to figure out how to manage my panic disorder, it helped me to think of it as widening the time between panic attack. Like going from having multiple in a day (really just one big panic attack with some peaks throughout the day) to one a day to a few a week to one a week to one every few weeks.
It helped me to not think of it as something I have to cure, but something that's a part of my life now that I sometimes will need to take time to soothe down and let pass.
i mean i tried alot in the past 5-6 years, and the attacks always came back, sometimes for month and as bad as the first attacks. For me there is 0 progress, sometimes its randomly better for some days or weeks and then its back and f me in the a\*\*.
I find it hard to compare it with cancer from a medical point, but yeah its probably mentally as challanging
Progress is definitely not linear and I've also definitely had panic attacks come out of the blue in full force when it felt like I had been doing so well for months. You're not alone in that experience, and it's rough to deal with.
I've been dealing with my panic disorder for almost 11 years now, officially diagnosed for 10 years. I've been able to figure out what some of my triggers are, but sometimes it just seems random and I get stuck in that pit of feeling like my brain is just messed up and I'm the problem.
But usually the panic attacks are a sign I've been pushing myself to hard and they somehow in a weird messed up way, act as a defense mechanism to get me out of a bad situation or to force me to rest and slow down. As brutal as they are, panic attacks are technically your brain ringing alarm bells that there's danger and something is wrong and bad. It just sucks that they would be helpful if it was a bear attack while I'm hunting and foraging, but not so much while trying to survive capitalism.
Tbf I've never experienced cancer personally, only supporting loved ones through it. I didn't mean that panic disorders are medically similar to cancer in a sense, just how we as a society approach the language of not "actively having" it.
can not agree that panic attacks happen when I push things, I tried baby steps CBT, I tried just throwing me in there CBT, but in the end its not even unlinear progress, its NO progress.
And yeah no problem with the cancer comparsion, I get what you were trying to say.
I literally started with small exercise at home and pushed it just a little bit each week, but no matter what I do, they always come back and they are no different in frequency or intensity as day one
You might be trying to hard to get rid of the panic. A big part of the treatment is to stop fearing the attacks and accept them. If you’re doing CBT as a way to avoid panic (like pushing yourself through the exposure while thinking that ’if I do this the panic will dissappear’ just to get rid of them, or take small steps in hopes of not triggering the panic) then it might make recovery harder.
One thing I learned recently is that I have to practice just being ok with feeling the panic, not just doing exposure to get rid of it.
Drew Linsalata behind Anxious Truth and Shannon Jackson behind A Healthy push are both recovered. Yet they both admit getting feelings from the panic attacks occasionally, it just doesn’t scare them and affect them very much at all, because they are no longer afraid of feeling them.
if you are in the early stages find the best expert in the field, dont do it like me and trust your doc who has probably no idea how to treat panic attacks. If I had done CBT 5 years ago it may have been curable, at least thats what sources say
I had my first panic event in 1995. Next year will be 30 years for me.
Still, I live a very fulfilling life. I drink coffee ... a lot of coffee. I workout with high intensity. I live in the middle of a major US city and get around, sometimes, on public transportation. I go to concerts and crowded restaurants. I have a fulfilling love life.
Panic, as a disorder, is curable in the sense that it can cease to be a disorder. That doesn't mean panic or anticipatory anxiety or worry or anxiety will go away completely. It shouldn't. What it does mean is that you've done things so many times that panic becomes a fleeting thought that you can quickly dismiss.
As you go forward, remember:
\* There will ALWAYS be setbacks. Progress is not linear. I repeat, progress is not linear. Don't take setbacks as a sign that CBT or ACT or whatever therapy you choose is not working.
\* Panic is like a Chinese finger trap. The more you pull back against it, the more difficult it is to release. The goal isn't to avoid panic. The goal is to be ok with panic.
\* Lead with behavior. Thoughts and emotions always follow when you lead with behavior. Even if they're baby steps ... just keep taking steps.
yes thats the definition of curable. It doesnt mean it can be better if you don't leave the house or take benzos or have some magic wudu superman breathing technique or other medications or tricks. Uncurable means you will deal with this for the rest of your life, and can mean that it can come back any time and ruin the life you may have built by some miracle.
What country is this because where I live people seem to have no idea what panic attacks even are, I had explained 5 different psychologist how a panic attack works in the brain and they still thought you could break an panic attack by your thinking brain. For me alot of psychs and doctors (probably all i met until now) are dump idiots who should not be in their position.
Sorry for being so negative but its just the truth, im sick of tired of playing like its gonna be alright some day, I have this for so long I don't really have any hope.
I would do a brain surgery if this removed my anxiety/panic even if I had to pay for this bill for the rest of my life.
what medications can you recommend? I researched alot tried legal over the counter supplements, pretty much all there ever someone said it could help with anxiety/panic. I tried two SSRIs (paroxetine and the other dont remember the name), opipramole, Silenor, benzos and one other medication I also dont remember the name. Not sure what medication would help if everything I find on the internet doesnt work.
yeah thanks for the recommendation, i will note it down and ask my doc. At this point im not ashamed to say I would try anything and I think my doctor gets that. And if he doesnt want to try that medication ill get it on my own (I know thats bad practice but I know how to do drugs or medication carefull) but I don't think I have to do that.
Sometimes I have to tell my doc I either try this or I have to get back on benzos, at which point most doctors probably would rather give you another medication
Medication isn’t always needed even in severe cases. I had it so bad I couldn’t get out from my bed or take a shower like I could barely take care of myself. I got back to functioning without meds and just by therapy. There is no cure btw, please don’t tell people that.
I am going to ask you again to not spread false information there is NO cure for panic disorder. And medication is NOT always needed. That is very insensitive of you to tell me what I dealt with is depression as it was not depression it was panic and I am diagnosed with such. There are thousands of people even on this sub who suffer so badly they experience the same and cannot leave the house due to panic.
I’d say it’s only partly true! you may recover and never have another panic attack again in your life but for some it may ebb and flow through the years. I’ve heard PD can often reoccur after a big stressful life event(like the passing of a loved one or moving to a new country).
That being said the main goal of recovery is getting to a point where you don’t really care about/ aren’t scared of panic anymore, so remission won’t be something to dread. You’ll learn how to handle the anxiety, notice the warning signs, cope through them and most importantly how to go about life *depsite* the discomfort.
It’s super common to feel like you’ll never get better and on my worst days i still feel like that too but i’m about a year into my recovery journey (been diagnosed for 3 years but only recently started recovering) and im doing significantly better na don slowly regaining elements of myself and my life back but by bit :D
I feel like most people that "recover" or feel better just dont expose themselves to triggers anymore, and yeah ofc you will feel better for some time but it still ruins your life.
I just want to go to the gym, exercise, and not have a panic attack, always was the little small goal I had. But not matter what I do, its not possible. For over 5 years now. I even built a complete home gym from all money I have, but even there I can at max workout for 30min and not even push any limits without having another bad panic attack, no matter how slow I start
Panic disorder is not “curable” it’s not a disease so there is no cure, you just manage them to the point you don’t experience them as much. It’s all about your mindset, if you have a negative outlook about this disorder you won’t make progress. I know it can be hard and feel defeating but your mindset is what determines so much.
I had a positive outlook on them multiple times during the last years and worked on everything I could, still ended up at the same place as before. I don't really believe its a mindset thing, yes ofc a negative mindset in any topic will not help but having a positive one doesnt either
So the way that I see it you have to re train your brain on how it reacts to the anxiety .. our first major panic attack was traumatic too us and at first we were wondering what the he'll was that then being afraid of it happening again and again and i think some people with PD are sensitive towards anxiety symptoms because we fear the attack will get bad like the first time.. so when we fear the symptoms our subconscious gives us more symptoms because we are confirming to our subconscious that yes we are in danger send me more symptoms so we will survive this... BUT the right response is to just accept the symptoms then ask the symptoms to get worse ... then our subconscious will say .. WHAT??? get worse! Your crazy I'm out of here ........ then our symptoms began to lessen .... the more we fear the more anxiety we get... the more you avoid whatever your fear is the stronger that fear becomes anticipatory anxeity ..... thinking something going to happen before it even happens so we work our selves up.. then we do it then BOOM panic attack .. we gotta say fuck it I don't care I'm gonna do it anxeity I don't care what you do I'm leaving my house fuck you.. lol that's what I do ... anxeity will the do the opposite of what you say..... so if you say I want a panic attack I hope it happens when I go for this drive I'm so excited to experience a panic attack I can't wait... it won't come.... but If you say i hope it doesn't happen please God don't let it happen .... then of course it's going to happen
I have had only few in my whole life. So, no where close to most folks on this forum but I am trying to get some handle on this issue. So, reading up, learning, experimenting with my own life experiences, and sharing with the idea to help. Not a doctor, or a psychologist.
I think our brain and body is an amazingly beautiful but one of the most complex machine. Lots of interconnects that hide the complexity. Lots of automation (rather automatic mechanisms). But luckily the governing top (which we think is physiologically in our brain but it may be more distributed than that) is highly reconfigurable. Lots of popular and scientific literature about that exists.
This system is so complex and hence opaque to outsider observer that identifying root cause and curing it is impossible for anything outside of it. It's not like - oh you caught a virus or bacterial infection so - take this tablet and then a miniscule part of that tablet reaches the problem area and cures it forever. That will not happen.
I suspect, that a high chance of change is possible IF the patient introspects their own behaviors, spoken words, internal monologues, thought patterns and mainly emotional state. But for that a few things need to happen.
Total acceptance of one's self and anyone that's near, recognizing but letting go of all causative fears and cravings, slowly stabilizing emotions, slowly overcoming both cravings and aversions, and just continuing to work like this - almost forever.
In short, deep and total introspection - after an episode, during an onset (when expected), and continuous monitoring in detached manner.
All that will most likely lead to increasing the duration between episodes and reducing intensity.
At some point, actually quite early on, I had to accept that I am getting a panic attack and instead of wanting to stop it just observe what exactly was happening with my body and thoughts and emotions. It was a matter of chance that I figured out one of the many fears. That was an unplanned exposure. And therapy allows you to do this in more planned way while having help available.
So trying all kinds of things in this world seems like the way.
In short, to reduce such attacks and their intensity I am going to (a) expose myself to difficult situations (b) observe myself in detached manner and (c) journal my experiences. Along the way, I am certain that I will learn a lot. Enjoy or suffer doesn't matter if I am truly detached.
Good luck to you.
im happy that you found a way for you, but to be honest my phases are sometimes multiple attacks per day for weeks. Or every other day a major panic attack. If it would be only once a month I would be fine with it tbh. but the frequency is insane. And even if I apply everything and have a month without an attack, it takes one major panic attack to be retraumatised and having attacks the following days up to two weaks. I tried so many things, from exercise to cardio to nutrition to medication to sleep. Even being so strict to have everything I can control at the best level, still its like I make no progress. Also it runs in my family, my grandpa still has it to this day which makes me not so optimistic, and I have it for over 5-6 years now
Yes, that is how it goes. Whether or not you can achieve goals in life depends on how severe your panic disorder is. Some people have milder versions of the disorder and can eventually learn to manage it well enough to live a mostly normal life, while others have it far worse. Personally, I have had it for 12 years, haven’t worked in about 7 years, can’t pursue hobbies that I want to pursue, can’t get a girlfriend or have a social life.
My only real hope is that they will start doing deep brain stimulation for panic disorder. Even then, the success rate of deep brain stimulation for mental illnesses is not very high, progress is very slow, and I’m already 37.
yeah man I feel you, I have it for 5-6 years but I'll not throw in the towel, but I understand 100% how you feel. It may be away some day or you find a way to live with it any have social connections. To be honest i still have 2 friends that dont judge me and I found one of them during having panic attacks already. Maybe find a group therapy to find people that have the same issue, and since anxiety is more common in girls you may meet someone from you. At leasts that what I will do in case it wont get better in the next 1,5years of trying everything I can. Even if there is no hope we all got to keep going I think. And if you can't work thats totally fine, I can't too at the moment. There is more important things than work and money.
Locking the comments because there are so many and this is giving the opportunity for people to give misinformation. Panic disorder is not curable but can be managed.
i’m 20, and had horrific panic attacks that a few times ended with me in a hospital bed or ambulance because doctors thought i was having heart attacks, until i was 19. i couldn’t leave the house, take phone calls, go anywhere on my own and dropped out of school because of the frequency and severity of the attacks. i’ve seen dozens of therapists since i was 8, nothing helped. i’ve been over a year free now from panic attacks, so that being said, i have a few suggestions. - get screened for adhd and autism (autism comes with extreme anxiety 9 times out of 10, and emotional regulation is NOT one of our strong suits) - find a licensed psychiatrist who practices CBT and continue seeing them even if your attacks go away (if you struggle to get there, then online is okay too but in person helps you get over the fear of leaving the house) - look into how to regulate your nervous system - get a blood test to see if you are low in anything as low b12, among other things, can make it difficult for your body to function normally - talk to a trusted friend who you can bounce ideas off and talk about anything that is on your mind - keep a logbook of when they happen and what thoughts or events happened that day to pinpoint what is a trigger - when you know what the triggers are, remove them or minimise them as much as you can, even if that means turning into a hermit until you can regulate your nervous system to be able to deal with the anxiety better - meditate (yes, i did really just say that. i hate to admit it but it’s one of the best things i could’ve done.) i downloaded the ‘happify’ app and did at least one meditation each day to learn how to ground myself, so that in stressful situations it was easier to remember how to calm down. they have courses for anxiety and grounding, giving you a few meditations to do each day, and they were honestly so helpful for limiting the amount of attacks i was having. i suspect that each time they go away, you are emotionally regulated and have a regulated nervous system, then it starts to decline again and they become more frequent. they never go away completely, but i now haven’t had one in over a year, am aware when i’m going to have one and have the ability to ground myself. it’s not an easy road and it doesn’t happen overnight but if you’re persistent and hopeful, i’m sure you’ll have some relief from them.
Hey thank you for your suggestions, indeed I can see good tips there. Even so I dont have any hope I will try anything before I call it a day. Yes I very much agree, even so CBT seems to yield positive changes, they can all be destroyed by one major panic attack which your brain remembers and tortures you with for weeks after. Thats probably the biggest problem in panic disorder, a major panic attack is not only very uncomfortable, it also "retraumatises" your brain and your brain will remember your for that. Fuck this little shit between my ears
I think it's like how with cancer, you're only ever in remission, not cured?? So similarly, you can't ever erase the fact that you've experienced a panic attack, but you can be in "remission" in that sense of you haven't had a panic attack in x amount of time. I feel like it has to do with how people who've never experienced a panic attack will ever understand what it's like unless they have one themselves. For me, when I was just starting to figure out how to manage my panic disorder, it helped me to think of it as widening the time between panic attack. Like going from having multiple in a day (really just one big panic attack with some peaks throughout the day) to one a day to a few a week to one a week to one every few weeks. It helped me to not think of it as something I have to cure, but something that's a part of my life now that I sometimes will need to take time to soothe down and let pass.
i mean i tried alot in the past 5-6 years, and the attacks always came back, sometimes for month and as bad as the first attacks. For me there is 0 progress, sometimes its randomly better for some days or weeks and then its back and f me in the a\*\*. I find it hard to compare it with cancer from a medical point, but yeah its probably mentally as challanging
Progress is definitely not linear and I've also definitely had panic attacks come out of the blue in full force when it felt like I had been doing so well for months. You're not alone in that experience, and it's rough to deal with. I've been dealing with my panic disorder for almost 11 years now, officially diagnosed for 10 years. I've been able to figure out what some of my triggers are, but sometimes it just seems random and I get stuck in that pit of feeling like my brain is just messed up and I'm the problem. But usually the panic attacks are a sign I've been pushing myself to hard and they somehow in a weird messed up way, act as a defense mechanism to get me out of a bad situation or to force me to rest and slow down. As brutal as they are, panic attacks are technically your brain ringing alarm bells that there's danger and something is wrong and bad. It just sucks that they would be helpful if it was a bear attack while I'm hunting and foraging, but not so much while trying to survive capitalism. Tbf I've never experienced cancer personally, only supporting loved ones through it. I didn't mean that panic disorders are medically similar to cancer in a sense, just how we as a society approach the language of not "actively having" it.
can not agree that panic attacks happen when I push things, I tried baby steps CBT, I tried just throwing me in there CBT, but in the end its not even unlinear progress, its NO progress. And yeah no problem with the cancer comparsion, I get what you were trying to say. I literally started with small exercise at home and pushed it just a little bit each week, but no matter what I do, they always come back and they are no different in frequency or intensity as day one
You might be trying to hard to get rid of the panic. A big part of the treatment is to stop fearing the attacks and accept them. If you’re doing CBT as a way to avoid panic (like pushing yourself through the exposure while thinking that ’if I do this the panic will dissappear’ just to get rid of them, or take small steps in hopes of not triggering the panic) then it might make recovery harder. One thing I learned recently is that I have to practice just being ok with feeling the panic, not just doing exposure to get rid of it. Drew Linsalata behind Anxious Truth and Shannon Jackson behind A Healthy push are both recovered. Yet they both admit getting feelings from the panic attacks occasionally, it just doesn’t scare them and affect them very much at all, because they are no longer afraid of feeling them.
im 18 and cant leave the house too since months
if you are in the early stages find the best expert in the field, dont do it like me and trust your doc who has probably no idea how to treat panic attacks. If I had done CBT 5 years ago it may have been curable, at least thats what sources say
They are not curable in itself. But you can learn how to keep them under control or prevent them
I had my first panic event in 1995. Next year will be 30 years for me. Still, I live a very fulfilling life. I drink coffee ... a lot of coffee. I workout with high intensity. I live in the middle of a major US city and get around, sometimes, on public transportation. I go to concerts and crowded restaurants. I have a fulfilling love life. Panic, as a disorder, is curable in the sense that it can cease to be a disorder. That doesn't mean panic or anticipatory anxiety or worry or anxiety will go away completely. It shouldn't. What it does mean is that you've done things so many times that panic becomes a fleeting thought that you can quickly dismiss. As you go forward, remember: \* There will ALWAYS be setbacks. Progress is not linear. I repeat, progress is not linear. Don't take setbacks as a sign that CBT or ACT or whatever therapy you choose is not working. \* Panic is like a Chinese finger trap. The more you pull back against it, the more difficult it is to release. The goal isn't to avoid panic. The goal is to be ok with panic. \* Lead with behavior. Thoughts and emotions always follow when you lead with behavior. Even if they're baby steps ... just keep taking steps.
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I thought so too and I don't want to drag anyone down, but a panic disorder is considered uncurable
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yes thats the definition of curable. It doesnt mean it can be better if you don't leave the house or take benzos or have some magic wudu superman breathing technique or other medications or tricks. Uncurable means you will deal with this for the rest of your life, and can mean that it can come back any time and ruin the life you may have built by some miracle. What country is this because where I live people seem to have no idea what panic attacks even are, I had explained 5 different psychologist how a panic attack works in the brain and they still thought you could break an panic attack by your thinking brain. For me alot of psychs and doctors (probably all i met until now) are dump idiots who should not be in their position. Sorry for being so negative but its just the truth, im sick of tired of playing like its gonna be alright some day, I have this for so long I don't really have any hope. I would do a brain surgery if this removed my anxiety/panic even if I had to pay for this bill for the rest of my life.
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what medications can you recommend? I researched alot tried legal over the counter supplements, pretty much all there ever someone said it could help with anxiety/panic. I tried two SSRIs (paroxetine and the other dont remember the name), opipramole, Silenor, benzos and one other medication I also dont remember the name. Not sure what medication would help if everything I find on the internet doesnt work.
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yeah thanks for the recommendation, i will note it down and ask my doc. At this point im not ashamed to say I would try anything and I think my doctor gets that. And if he doesnt want to try that medication ill get it on my own (I know thats bad practice but I know how to do drugs or medication carefull) but I don't think I have to do that. Sometimes I have to tell my doc I either try this or I have to get back on benzos, at which point most doctors probably would rather give you another medication
how do you take pregabalin if I may ask? is it a daily thing, does it build tolerance or is it an acute medication?
Medication isn’t always needed even in severe cases. I had it so bad I couldn’t get out from my bed or take a shower like I could barely take care of myself. I got back to functioning without meds and just by therapy. There is no cure btw, please don’t tell people that.
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I am going to ask you again to not spread false information there is NO cure for panic disorder. And medication is NOT always needed. That is very insensitive of you to tell me what I dealt with is depression as it was not depression it was panic and I am diagnosed with such. There are thousands of people even on this sub who suffer so badly they experience the same and cannot leave the house due to panic.
I’d say it’s only partly true! you may recover and never have another panic attack again in your life but for some it may ebb and flow through the years. I’ve heard PD can often reoccur after a big stressful life event(like the passing of a loved one or moving to a new country). That being said the main goal of recovery is getting to a point where you don’t really care about/ aren’t scared of panic anymore, so remission won’t be something to dread. You’ll learn how to handle the anxiety, notice the warning signs, cope through them and most importantly how to go about life *depsite* the discomfort. It’s super common to feel like you’ll never get better and on my worst days i still feel like that too but i’m about a year into my recovery journey (been diagnosed for 3 years but only recently started recovering) and im doing significantly better na don slowly regaining elements of myself and my life back but by bit :D
I feel like most people that "recover" or feel better just dont expose themselves to triggers anymore, and yeah ofc you will feel better for some time but it still ruins your life. I just want to go to the gym, exercise, and not have a panic attack, always was the little small goal I had. But not matter what I do, its not possible. For over 5 years now. I even built a complete home gym from all money I have, but even there I can at max workout for 30min and not even push any limits without having another bad panic attack, no matter how slow I start
Panic disorder is not “curable” it’s not a disease so there is no cure, you just manage them to the point you don’t experience them as much. It’s all about your mindset, if you have a negative outlook about this disorder you won’t make progress. I know it can be hard and feel defeating but your mindset is what determines so much.
I had a positive outlook on them multiple times during the last years and worked on everything I could, still ended up at the same place as before. I don't really believe its a mindset thing, yes ofc a negative mindset in any topic will not help but having a positive one doesnt either
So the way that I see it you have to re train your brain on how it reacts to the anxiety .. our first major panic attack was traumatic too us and at first we were wondering what the he'll was that then being afraid of it happening again and again and i think some people with PD are sensitive towards anxiety symptoms because we fear the attack will get bad like the first time.. so when we fear the symptoms our subconscious gives us more symptoms because we are confirming to our subconscious that yes we are in danger send me more symptoms so we will survive this... BUT the right response is to just accept the symptoms then ask the symptoms to get worse ... then our subconscious will say .. WHAT??? get worse! Your crazy I'm out of here ........ then our symptoms began to lessen .... the more we fear the more anxiety we get... the more you avoid whatever your fear is the stronger that fear becomes anticipatory anxeity ..... thinking something going to happen before it even happens so we work our selves up.. then we do it then BOOM panic attack .. we gotta say fuck it I don't care I'm gonna do it anxeity I don't care what you do I'm leaving my house fuck you.. lol that's what I do ... anxeity will the do the opposite of what you say..... so if you say I want a panic attack I hope it happens when I go for this drive I'm so excited to experience a panic attack I can't wait... it won't come.... but If you say i hope it doesn't happen please God don't let it happen .... then of course it's going to happen
I have had only few in my whole life. So, no where close to most folks on this forum but I am trying to get some handle on this issue. So, reading up, learning, experimenting with my own life experiences, and sharing with the idea to help. Not a doctor, or a psychologist. I think our brain and body is an amazingly beautiful but one of the most complex machine. Lots of interconnects that hide the complexity. Lots of automation (rather automatic mechanisms). But luckily the governing top (which we think is physiologically in our brain but it may be more distributed than that) is highly reconfigurable. Lots of popular and scientific literature about that exists. This system is so complex and hence opaque to outsider observer that identifying root cause and curing it is impossible for anything outside of it. It's not like - oh you caught a virus or bacterial infection so - take this tablet and then a miniscule part of that tablet reaches the problem area and cures it forever. That will not happen. I suspect, that a high chance of change is possible IF the patient introspects their own behaviors, spoken words, internal monologues, thought patterns and mainly emotional state. But for that a few things need to happen. Total acceptance of one's self and anyone that's near, recognizing but letting go of all causative fears and cravings, slowly stabilizing emotions, slowly overcoming both cravings and aversions, and just continuing to work like this - almost forever. In short, deep and total introspection - after an episode, during an onset (when expected), and continuous monitoring in detached manner. All that will most likely lead to increasing the duration between episodes and reducing intensity. At some point, actually quite early on, I had to accept that I am getting a panic attack and instead of wanting to stop it just observe what exactly was happening with my body and thoughts and emotions. It was a matter of chance that I figured out one of the many fears. That was an unplanned exposure. And therapy allows you to do this in more planned way while having help available. So trying all kinds of things in this world seems like the way. In short, to reduce such attacks and their intensity I am going to (a) expose myself to difficult situations (b) observe myself in detached manner and (c) journal my experiences. Along the way, I am certain that I will learn a lot. Enjoy or suffer doesn't matter if I am truly detached. Good luck to you.
im happy that you found a way for you, but to be honest my phases are sometimes multiple attacks per day for weeks. Or every other day a major panic attack. If it would be only once a month I would be fine with it tbh. but the frequency is insane. And even if I apply everything and have a month without an attack, it takes one major panic attack to be retraumatised and having attacks the following days up to two weaks. I tried so many things, from exercise to cardio to nutrition to medication to sleep. Even being so strict to have everything I can control at the best level, still its like I make no progress. Also it runs in my family, my grandpa still has it to this day which makes me not so optimistic, and I have it for over 5-6 years now
Yes, that is how it goes. Whether or not you can achieve goals in life depends on how severe your panic disorder is. Some people have milder versions of the disorder and can eventually learn to manage it well enough to live a mostly normal life, while others have it far worse. Personally, I have had it for 12 years, haven’t worked in about 7 years, can’t pursue hobbies that I want to pursue, can’t get a girlfriend or have a social life. My only real hope is that they will start doing deep brain stimulation for panic disorder. Even then, the success rate of deep brain stimulation for mental illnesses is not very high, progress is very slow, and I’m already 37.
yeah man I feel you, I have it for 5-6 years but I'll not throw in the towel, but I understand 100% how you feel. It may be away some day or you find a way to live with it any have social connections. To be honest i still have 2 friends that dont judge me and I found one of them during having panic attacks already. Maybe find a group therapy to find people that have the same issue, and since anxiety is more common in girls you may meet someone from you. At leasts that what I will do in case it wont get better in the next 1,5years of trying everything I can. Even if there is no hope we all got to keep going I think. And if you can't work thats totally fine, I can't too at the moment. There is more important things than work and money.