Anyone on here ever suffered them? If so, what were your symptoms? How did you first know that you weren’t having a heart attack?

I get anxiety attacks if I’m in confined spaces is that the same ?,I can feel myself starting to have them,I have to close my eyes and do a breathing exercise if I feel it coming on.

I’ve only started gettin them in my forties ,they’re not nice .. Like you you I think heart attack ..

Anyone on here ever suffered them? If so, what were your symptoms? How did you first know that you weren’t having a heart attack?
POSTED 10 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

I didn’t know I wasn’t having a heart attack and was taken to hospital. I suffered them for years and still have the occasional one, I know the warning signs now as I have had so many and take myself out of the room/area and it passes off. I have asthma so use an inhaler I found this works in calming me dons and my dr is fine with me using it in such a way.

I’m not making out I was worse off than other people and anyone suffering this has my full sympathy and support but friends say that have had ‘panic attacks’ but what I had was worse, sick, fainting heart racing, my chest would be sore for days after a big one as the muscles round the heart contract to protect it. I had counselling as I got scared to leave the house and eventually hypnotherapy which helped but they just seemed to occur less.

Hope your all doing ok and stuff

I’ve never had one but my sister used to get them. She used to get shortness of breath, palpitations, and feel like her clothes were too tight. On one occasion she had to get her tights off at Kings Cross station and once had to get her bra off at work!
She’s tried counselling and hypnotherapy and has it under control now.

I have had mild panic attacks off and on for several years – triggered initially by a very stressful work situation and now probably by a mid-life crisis.

In fact, I had one last week for the first time this year and I had to keep telling myself that it was only psychological and I wasn’t going to die. If you know you are having one its not too bad – a bit like a bad drugs experience where you know you’ve taken it before and you’re going to be fine but it will be a while.

Best not to be in a dark room I find so as they usually occur at night I’ll switch a light on or move to a different room if my wife is asleep. Other people don’t really help for me – the last thing I want is someone asking me whats wrong! I DON’T KNOW DARLING!!!

Reading helps but music doesn’t and drinking anything but water is asking for trouble.

Obviously if you get them often then you’ll need to think about some course of therapy as ocelot did.

You’ll be fine – lots of people get them

Glad to hear it vicky, if you don’t mind me asking was her counselling provided on the nhs or private?

I have suffered/still occasionally get them now.

Panic attacks present so many different symptoms. At work we have to treat patients symptoms as presented. For example, if a PT states they are having chest pains, even though they think it’s a panic attack, we asses the chest pains for potential heart attack.

Yes 99.9999999999% of the time it’s your brain/panic attack, but that one time it might not be

Don’t ever be worried about calling 111/999. You won’t be the first person and you certainly won’t be the last

I’ve had one proper one- I think if I hadn’t known what it was, it’d have been far worse tbh but luckily I knew the drill a bit from an old friend who suffered them. Felt exactly like one of those “going mad” scenes from a film tbh, roll the scary music and the juddering vision and the racing heartbeat and mad breathing. Aware of the irrationality of it all but that didn’t really make any difference, too.

So I went and hid in the woods for a while 😆 Probably sounds daft but it was ideal, felt really safe.

I suppose I’m lucky, that whole anxiety/panic scene was really specific and that episode was what actually convinced me to get things changed and fixed. I mean, I’ve broken serious bones and had some crap things happen in general but it’s one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had so quite a motivator! Had a few minor flappy anxiety episodes which I guess are the same thing but so much less severe that I don’t really count it.

King-ocelot, my sister had counselling on the nhs but she paid for hypnotherapy herself. I just remembered that certain foods also sometimes brought on a panic attack, including cheese and beer so she avoids those too.

i suffered them for years until finding out that they were a symptom of anxiety/depression.

got cbt’d up and now they hardly affect me as i can usually control the triggers.

“certain foods also sometimes brought on a panic attack”
There you go . . . salted peanuts 🙄

Thanks Vicky, I’ve done the whole food diary thing but I honestly don’t know what caused mine. I want more councelling but my dr is reluctant on the nhs and the centre I attended is closed now due to government cuts 🙁

Dark days glad they are almost gone 🙂