Panic Attacks - Scotch Plains,NJ

Next time you get an attack drink two glasses of water. Panic can arise easily when you're dehydrated. I have have panic attacks for years. Also, I have learned that a lot of times taking gas pills will ease the anxiety. Don't know why but it does.

I'm sorry you're having these. They are awful and scary. I hope this helps.

I'm so sorry you are having these I hate having them as well!! I had to be put on meds for mine and if there is someone out there that can control them with out drugs I would like to know how. I did find that if I took a warm bath or shower while doing deep breathing it did help I also spray lavender on my pillow to help me out at night. Good Luck and god bless!!

I know how you feel. For a number of years I had these too. I have come to learn, for myself, there is probably some emotion I've suppressed. Increasing the minerals in my diet has really helped - I had no idea our diets were lacking in them.

Drugs can be a great help to get through a period that the attacks are especially bad. You won't always need them, maybe a few months. I usually got settled down and then could stop taking the anxiety meds gradually. Then I might go for years without having a episode. I had a high anxiety level episode last year when a dear friend of mine passed away suddenly and I had just developed asthma. The Doc in the ER gave me a month of valium 3 X's a day. I was happy, oh so happy, all the time, and happy, and fun, and happy, but it was like giving my body a restart button because when I stopped taking them I was refreshed, able to deal with life and the enourmous amount of stress I live with. Not all Doc's would have done this but I had been in the ER every day for nearly 2 weeks with breathing issues and anxiety. I don't have insurance and don't have extra money to spend on doc's. So the ER is the only helath care I have and he decided to fix the issue and I got much better. Med's work with you to help you cope until you can calm down and start working on the real issues and getting better.

Also, when you are NOT having an episode work on deep relaxation and use tapes or cds from book stores that will help you use visualization and relaxation techniques to deeply relax. Your body can go to this level of relaxation quicker and eaisier if your muscles and mind are used to doing it often. It's called muscle memory.

Counseling will help. But Yoga/meditation are what your counselor will tell you to do. Medication will help but won't cure. You need to learn how to relax. Medication will help relax you and calm you down immediately if you are not capable of doing it right now. Then work on meditation and yoga or any form of exercise. Eventually you should come off the meds.
Look for deep breathing exercises to work on now until you can get to a yoga class or counselor/psychiatrist

I think you should, at least initially, follow your instinct which is telling you to learn and practice some relaxation techniques. I have been practicing yoga for over 10 years and know that it can help you become attuned to your center, which knows innately what you need and who you really are. Part of yoga, called pranayama, is breathing consciously. Breath heals our body and quiets and eases our mind. Please give it a try. There are many types of yoga out there, but for you I would suggest Hatha yoga or kundalini yoga as opposed to the more intense and physically challenging styles. When you find a local yoga center, just call and ask which class would best suit you for relaxation.
Also, you can try counseling which takes a holistc approach. A common technique used is called Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). By repeating positive affirmations to yourself while tapping energy nodes on the face helps a great deal to retrain your thought patterns.
You can start tonight by taking long slow inhalation and exhalations as you lay in bed. While breathing, use visualization (imagination) to see yourself as perfect and careless.
The power of the mind is incredible. It can either make you crazy, or you can use it to empower yourself. The key is not to let the mind control you, but to use it as a tool for your benefit.
To sum up, trying these holistic techniques will only make you stronger. So start here first if you can.
Good luck, God bless!

Do you try to do too much for other people and as a result cant do things thoroughly or cant finish because you have something else to do? Do you find it hard to say no and are eager to please others? Are you afraid of disappointing someone? If the answer is yes to any of these you need to STOP worrying about others and take time for YOU. People will like you or not, but NOT because of what you do for them. Its always nice to help others out, but not at the expense of you or your health. If you are over worked and stretched too thin your worries increase as your work load increases and panic results.
This is just a suggestion, since I really dont know anything about your lifestyle. But it is a possibility that I havent seen in other posts

Usually there is some incident in our lives that causes us mental strain or anguish. It could be an accident or the death of a loved one.

Later in life, something in our environment will trigger the memory of that incident (but it does so below our conscious level). Your mind wants to protect you from experiencing that same mental anguish and so you get the feeling that you have to run, or hide, or that you can't do something.

However, the thing that triggered this "panic attack" could be something really harmless, yet your body feels the "fight or flight." And because it's all below your consciousness you don't understand why you're panicking. You just know you're afraid or on edge.

There is something you can do. www.dianetics.org. Just buy the book, read it, and use it. It has helped one person I know get over his panic attacks!

It's just a book. So I would think it's worth a try! If you don't want to get the book you can get the DVD :)

Hope that helps! It's much better than medication! And cheaper too!

Hang in there mama! We’ve all been there. Here are some things that have helped me get through some of the same, icky feelings.
1. Yoga has been an incredible release for me. It is my time to relax and start over. I feel like I get a restart every time I go and I look forward to it.
2. Anti-anxiety medications can help in the short-term to help you get back up on your feet, or long-term if you need them to maintain balance and stability in your life. Millions of people are on medications, so try to have judgment on yourself.
3. An alternative treatment for depression and anxiety is an herbal supplement called Luminex. Do some research and look into it further. I just started taking it this month and could feel a difference within the first couple of days. It had helped my overall mood and give me motivation and energy. It contains natural ingredients including St Johns Wart, griffonia seed, folate, and vitamin B12 that help with depression and anxiety. Let me know if you are interested or have any questions.

Hi A.,

The fact that you "would love to learn to relax, breathe easy", etc. is a sign that you are READY for these techniques to help you. There are so many excellent resources out there...and online. These techniques are the BEST for reducing stress, so you should, indeed, schedule them into your daily routine. You will find more peace than you can currently imagine!

"Grams"
from the Pocono Mts. of PA

My mom had to be put on meds because of these. I have my daughter take deep breaths to get through these. Maybe counseling would help too. I had panic attacks after my sister died from a tragic gun accident. I went to grief counseling and a support group and it helped. I'm thinking that counseling may help even if you don't know what is causing them. Good luck to you!

panic attacks are rough. My daughter has had them for over 12 years. When they first started the therapist she was seeing sent her to a Psychiatrist because at that time they were the only ones that could prescribe the meds needed.
Panic attacks are caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, usually seratonin. Because it took a few weeks to get her an appointment it was suggested that we try chocolate and meditation to help ease the attacks. When she would wake me up in the middle of the night I made sure she got some chocolate, and helped her meditate using a focal point exactly like you would during childbirth. Her favorite was to close her eyes and have me describe a field of flowers with butterflies, hummingbirds and bees all playing. After awhile she could do this without my help. There were times that we walked around our neighborhood for hours in the middle of the night.
Keep in mind the meds can take a couple of weeks to really start working well. Learning to meditate, relax, breathe easier will help. So will learning what triggers your attacks, then you learn to know when one is coming on. You may be able to feel the difference or someone around you might see the indicators, and you can get a headstart using these things to prevent or lessen the severity of the attack.