Panic Attacks

[Shadow]

Hey all,

 

I just wanted to ask, I've been experiencing panic attacks lately. They only occur when I'm not doing anything that occupies my mind, eg.: When I'm eating. 90% of the attacks I get is while I eat. If I eat and for example I'm watching a movie at the same time, it's fine. If I'm reading, doing something on the computer, am at school or with someone, it's fine. But when I'm alone, and just waiting, for example when going somewhere in a vehicle with someone else driving, and have nothing to do, I start to experience symptoms that I understand are associated with panic attacks; intensive anxiety, incredible rush of energy, extreme impatience, agressivness (non-phisical, usually manifests itself with me throwing something to the floor, or hitting a pillow etc.)...it's hard to explain. It usually ends with me being provoked by something completely trivial, such as a spoon hitting a plate to loudly. I then just go nuts (as in start yelling at people) and storm out of the room. I then just start hitting a pillow or a bed, sometimes I scream into the pillow, and that helps me to calm down. It's never lasted for more than about 30 minutes. It also sometimes happens when I'm falling asleep; I'm in that sort of half dream state you're in before you fall asleep, suddenly I jerk, wake up, and am furious at nothing in particular. The rest is the same as above.

 

I have only noticed this for the past two week or so. Anybody know what's going on?

 

Cheers,

 

Gabe

 

EDIT: 30 views and nobody knows? I don't want to sound hasty or something like that, but a simple opinion of one of those 30 people would be a lot of help. I just don't know what's going on, what's causing this, how do I evade future attacks etc. I don't care how insignificant the post may be, but please, if you have anything you could say to contribute please do.

Edited November 24, 2008 by Shadow
multiple post merged

[YT2095]

I used to get exactly the same sort of thing (without the anger, just the panic effect) when I was in my early 20`s, get your blood sugar levels checked out as well as Iron and Vit B.

sadly the problem snowballs psychologically, because after it`s happened a few times you associate it with things because the feelings are so intense, and these things can trigger an attack with or without the original cause being present latter.

 

I`d rather not share How I managed to get myself past this condition/cycle as it`s medically ill advisible to do what I did, but I`m sure a trained professional will know exactly how to help you

[Shadow]

Uf...at least I'm not a unique problem. I was in the hospital like three weeks ago (nothing to do with this, my spleen had ruptured) and they did plenty of blood tests, which didn't turn up anything...so I'm guessing it has nothing to do with my blood.

 

Unfortunately, a "trained professional" in the Czech Republic is the equivalent of a three year old in America. The quality of psychologists in this country is appealingly low. I visited one a couple of times, and was, well...disgusted. But I'd be glad to know what helped you get out of it, and if it's something...un-postable, could you please PM me?

 

Cheers,

 

Gabe

[Phi for All]

The quality of psychologists in this country is appealingly low.

*Appallingly* low. *Appealing* is a good thing.

 

I visited one a couple of times, and was, well...disgusted.

You shouldn't judge all Czech psychologists by the quality of one. If you can visit someone else, you should.

 

But I'd be glad to know what helped you get out of it, and if it's something...un-postable, could you please PM me?

YT2095 won't tell you what he did, but I took a picture:

 

 

:D :D

 

30 views and nobody knows?

Sorry, but the only people I've known who had panic attacks were non-violent, unless something got in their way. I've never known them to exhibit aggression except in those instances where someone was trying to stop them from leaving.

 

One guy I knew just needed to get in his car and drive to the nearest fire station, where he knew people with emergency medical training were available. More often than not, he would calm down after 15 minutes or so once he'd gotten to one of his "havens". There were only a few times when he actually had to go inside and ask for help. He had a map of the city in his car with every fire station marked in red.

Edited November 25, 2008 by Phi for All
multiple post merged

[mrsemmapeel]

Yeah I was going to say a similar thing to YT, I've never heard of panic attacks becoming violent. How old are you? As it sounds abit like outbursts I used to have as a teenager, suddenly angry for no reason, usually my brother bore the brunt of my rage! It could be hormonal, and teenagers have lots of hormones whizzing around

[Shadow]

Appallingly* low. *Appealing* is a good thing.

 

Woops, sorry

 

You shouldn't judge all Czech psychologists by the quality of one. If you can visit someone else, you should.

 

I don't, but my father is very well oriented in this field, and he says the same thing. I'm not saying all of them are bad, I know of some my father visits that are good (although I still have doubts as to how much a complete stranger can help a person...however, my opinions of psychology are another matter entirely), but those would only be accessible through him, and I don't want to alert my family just yet. I hope that this can be solved without them knowing.

 

To comment the picture...."no comment" I hope it doesn't go that far :D

 

As for the aggression part, I'm deducing that from the fact that it always helps when I hit a pillow, or when I flex all of my muscles. I'm pretty sure for example running as fast and as long as I can would help a lot, or start jumping up and down, etc... It's just the way I get rid of the energy that's inside me. And since anger is much the same, I though it was me being furious. Maybe it's not.

 

I almost always calm down withing 5 minutes or so, although the last one I had, it took me over an hour and a LOT of pillow hitting before I calmed down. It was in that time I wrote the OP. I'm still sort of half putting this on the shoulders of the hypochondria that runs in my family from my fathers side. While I managed to "block" what I had inherited from my father at a relatively young age (around 12, and with the help of friends), I'm still suspicious that I'm just having a bad day and imagining things.

 

I used to have a lot of anger outbursts, also inherited from my father, but also learned to control those at a young age, and haven't experienced any problems with them for like half a decade. Excluding my family, which just infuriates me to no end Anyway, I'm turning 17 tomorrow.

 

I just don't know how much of this is normal, how much is just me imagining things, and how much I should be worried about.

 

Cheers,

 

Gabe

[YT2095]

I still suspect it`s a Sugar High/Rush, it gives very disconcerting feelings and physiological as well as psychological changes very quickly, very similar to that of Panic.

 

the use of recreational drugs i/e cannabis can precipitate this condition, and quite profoundly on a psychological level as well (esp, paranoia).

[Shadow]

the use of recreational drugs i/e cannabis can precipitate this condition, and quite profoundly on a psychological level as well (esp, paranoia).

 

This never happened when I was under the influence of grass, although I must admit that two weeks of cannabis smoking did precede the start of the attacks. To be precise, I got the first one about a week and a half/two weeks after I stopped. I did wonder if it had something to do with it, but I convinced myself otherwise on the basis that it took almost half a month for the attacks to appear.

 

If it is for some reason connected to my blood, does this mean I'm in danger of diabetes? Should I cut back on something, or eat more of something else?

 

Also, is this temporary or chronic? I'd say temporary, but I want to be sure.

 

Cheers,

 

Gabe

[YT2095]

all I can tell you is that after months of visits in/out of hospital I was Finally diagnosed as having Hypoglycemia, and my Vit B levels and Iron where extremely low.

and although the tablet supplements offered some relief eventually on the whole it didn`t help at all, and certainly not with my (what had become) Phobia, of going to sleep.

they made it worse by giving me tranquilisers as well, Lorazepam to be exact

 

I got around mine by getting drunk, and staying that way for the best part of a year.

as I said, NOT the best option and certainly a great way to trash your liver!

I was just lucky.

besides, if you`re having anger issues, I would steer well clear of booze!

[DrP]

Yea - I often think of booze as an emotion amplifier.... Happy people get silly and laugh, angry people can get violent after booze, depressed people get teary and so on..... 'In Vino Veritas' as they say!

[Shadow]

To be honest...alcohol makes me calmer. As in, it makes me think everything through. My brain goes "Waaait a second, you're drunk, think again.", so I think through every single action, no matter how trivial they are. And it also doesn't seem to have the debilitating effect it has on most, regardless of the amount. Or at least not as debilitating. It's something I'm known for And I'm never violent when I'm drunk. That's not to say I'm violent when I'm not But staying drunk for a year is out of the question for me, especially considering my age and that I'm still living with my parents. I'll just have to find another solution.

 

I was thinking about grass, and maybe even trying out meditation. The former I'm pretty sure would work, although if it is the cause of my problems it would ultimately just make it worse. The latter...I don't know, that's sort of a wild guess. What do you (guys) think?

 

I'm not sure, but are sedatives the same as tranquilizers? Because if yes, which I'm pretty sure is the case, I would doubly avoid seeing a professional, because that's probably what he/she would prescribe. This is what every single person I talked with said.

 

Cheers,

 

Gabe

[YT2095]

I think a nice experiment to try that may just work (and won`t hurt anything if it doesn`t) is to eat little and often rather than 2 or 3 big meals a day, don`t ever let yourself get to the stage of feeling hungry, and perhaps take a good multi-vit once a day, this is what I do and I`m in my 40`s now and have no problems.

try that for a few weeks and see what happens, stay away from any drugs that aren`t given by a doctor.

 

if it is sugar related, then keeping an even sugar level without significant highs or lows should get you an improvement fairly quickly.

I still think you should get it checked out tho!

[Shadow]

Erm...remember, I'm seventeen. I eat like 20 times a day, something like 450 grams (in yogurts ) every time, +2 big meals (I've been skipping breakfast for quite some time now). And before you ask, I'm not overweight. Anyway, I will try to get my hands on some multivitamins, see what that does. As for the sugar part, I'm not sure how much sugar I ingest daily...

 

I guess only time will tell. But thanks a million for sharing your opinions, they really helped a lot, if only to alleviate the uncertainty I was experiencing

 

Cheers,

 

Gabe

[Phi for All]

If you're really eating that much yogurt you should try more variety. Too much of anything can have deleterious effects on all your systems.

[Shadow]

I do have variety. It's just that yogurt is the thing I focus on. I eat anything that's in or near the fridge; be it spaghetti, bread, pasta, anything. But I always remember the yogurt part. I guess I focus on yogurt that much because a) a long time ago a read yogurt was hackers food, and I was all into being a hacker back then, and b), when ever I'm stuffed with something, I use yogurt to "push things down a little" in my stomach. But it's not like I eat only yogurt.

 

Cheers,

 

Gabe

[Phi for All]

I do have variety.

I eat like 20 times a day, something like 450 grams (in yogurts ) every time

Your average fruit flavored yogurt has just over 20 grams of sugar per 112 gram serving. You're either exaggerating a bit or you're eating 9000 grams of yogurt and over 1500 grams of sugar every day. Sugar isn't a dietary requirement so there's no real min/max numbers, but I believe you're like a whole order of magnitude overboard on your sugar intake.

 

Now you're making *me* feel panicky.

[Shadow]

9000 grams? I don't know how they package yogurts in the USA, but here 1 yogurt = 150 grams. So that's about 3 yogurts on average. Of course, I sometimes ear more, sometimes less, sometimes vary it more, sometimes less. It depends on the day. There are days where yogurt is practically my only sustenance, and there are days, even a couple in row, where I don't even touch a yogurt. So it depends on the day. But this means I've got 60 grams of "yogurt sugar" on average per day. That's not so horrible, is it?

 

Cheers,

 

Gabe

 

 

EDIT: Ah, I see your point. My mistake, I meant 450 gram/DAY, not every time :D

[timetes]

be carefull of wine with sulfates, have caused panic attacks or heart palpatations. At 17 go run....join a sport....maybe too much energy. Play basketball....see if it happens after that.

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i though about you last night and remembered something. You eat alot of yogert. Make sure the yogert is organic.....that the milk or cream is from a milking cow that has no steroids . Anger was the key for me....... steroids in milk. Alot of athletes years back used steroids in sports....anger or edgyness is a side effect....also growth issues as teens....could be small or too tall.

When I grew up in the 60's and 70's I knew no girls with hair on there necks or face....very few heavy. But as my children grew up I noticed alot of young girls heaver and with alot of hair on them. Only in the last few years have I really thought that it could be from the milk or dairy.

 

Dont go with what I say, but just check this out, it could be a factor.

[tomgwyther]

Here's a very helpful link to 'MIND' it's a charity for mental health. It also mentions specifically that panic attacks can be triggered by certain foods or intolerance thereof. thus causing an excess of adrenaline (A main contributor to an attack) in the bloodstream.

 

http://www.mind.org.uk/Information/Booklets/How+to/How+to+cope+with+panic+attacks.htm

[Glider]

As for the aggression part, I'm deducing that from the fact that it always helps when I hit a pillow, or when I flex all of my muscles. I'm pretty sure for example running as fast and as long as I can would help a lot, or start jumping up and down, etc... It's just the way I get rid of the energy that's inside me. And since anger is much the same, I though it was me being furious. Maybe it's not.

It has little to do with aggression and more to do with the physical exertion. When you flex (work) all your muscles or beat up your pillow, you are increasing the amount of CO2 in your blood. This tends to help with the symptoms of panic attacks.

 

Panic attacks are often accompanied by hyperventilation, which reduces the amount of CO2 in your blood. For O2 to be extraced from your blood effectively, there needs to be a certain level of CO2 and if you reduce the level of CO2 too much by hyperventilating, O2 can't be used properly, which leads to the feeling of being short of air and that you can't catch your breath. This feeling is a significant symptom of a panic attack and just makes things worse.

 

Through physical exertion you are increasing the amount of CO2 in your blood, which helps. Re-breathing exhaled air by breathing into a bag for a few minutes also helps with this aspect.

 

I almost always calm down withing 5 minutes or so, although the last one I had, it took me over an hour and a LOT of pillow hitting before I calmed down. It was in that time I wrote the OP. I'm still sort of half putting this on the shoulders of the hypochondria that runs in my family from my fathers side. While I managed to "block" what I had inherited from my father at a relatively young age (around 12, and with the help of friends), I'm still suspicious that I'm just having a bad day and imagining things.

Hypochondriasis is not an hereditory condition or trait. It doesn't run in families and it can't be contracted, transmitted or passed on to your children. Hypochondriasis can be reinforced by those around you, but anybody could do that, not just members of your family.

 

I used to have a lot of anger outbursts, also inherited from my father, but also learned to control those at a young age, and haven't experienced any problems with them for like half a decade. Excluding my family, which just infuriates me to no end Anyway, I'm turning 17 tomorrow.

Anger is not hereditable either, but if you are prone to anger, or have a lot of anger that you are just supressing rather then actually dealing with, that is likely to be a factor in your panic attacks.

 

A good Psychologist could help you. Or, more accurately, guide through the process of helping yourself. If you were to look for a Psychologist, I would recommend you look for a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist.

[Psycho]

be carefull of wine with sulfates, have caused panic attacks or heart palpatations. At 17 go run....join a sport....maybe too much energy. Play basketball....see if it happens after that.

 

To be fair if you drink excessive amounts of any alcohol it can cause heart palpitations, which I can tell you isn't that fun, it isn't just wine.

 

I would say it is most likely hormonal at your age, most likely enhanced by other factors, be it drugs, stress, lack of sleep, too much energy, or a list of other things, but it would be very hard to pin point.

 

My advise would be to do more exercise, doesn't have to be anything excessive, you can just buy weights and make yourself a training regime in your rooms, out do exercises that use your own body against itself such as press ups and crunches.

 

This will most likely help the symptoms such as anger and anxiety, due to it putting energy into another task also maybe it is a psychological issue you haven't even thought of such as a mild phobia of something mundane (it happens) which most people won't even realise they suffer from.

 

Either way doing exercise can only help you relax and relive stress, another idea to manage the symptoms is to occupy yourself with something as the simplest task can distract your mind quite easily such as passing coins between your fingers or a pen, anything that seems appropriate at the time.

 

On the idea of psychological phobias, it could be food, watching too many programs about getting fat, dieting and the general calories in food will have an effect on any ones mind too what extent in each person can't really be known, however if you are having it at other times you can presume that the idea of eating isn't the cause, unless of course the other times are related too it, such as driving to a restaurant or similar place.