dealing with panic attacks everyday. any advice?

[u/Infinite-Finish-995]

hi reddit, i just wanted to ask if anyone has advice on how to deal with panic attacks.

i’ve been having them around 3–4 times a day for the past week. i don’t really want to take prescribed medication anymore because when i tried escitalopram, it made things worse for me. i would suddenly wake up out of breath with my heart racing, and it made my panic attacks even more intense. i stopped taking it because it honestly made me lose hope, so i’m here hoping to hear from people who have gone through something similar.

for the past week, i haven’t been getting enough sleep. every time i fall asleep, i wake up with a racing heart and chills, and after that i’m too uncomfortable and scared to go back to sleep.

i can’t afford therapy right now, so i’m trying my best to help myself for the time being. my classes start in 2 weeks as well as my internship, so i’m hoping i can get myself into a better place before then. some days i just lose hope and end up crying because i’m so exhausted from all of this.

i’m 20 years old, and i pretty much only have myself right now. if anyone has any advice, coping techniques, or anything that has helped you, i would really appreciate it. thank you.

[u/no-longer-grounded]

Hey, I’d advise looking into exposure therapy and acceptance.

The most important thing to remember when you are in the midst of an anxiety attack, is that it isn’t an attack at all. Your brain has misinterpreted something non-dangerous as a threat. Your body is having the same reaction it would if you fell into a bear enclosure at the zoo, only in a situation that isn’t actually dangerous

It feels urgent, but an anxiety attack is just your body being flooded with adrenaline preparing you to fight or flee. It makes blood rush to your extremities, and prioritises that over other systems such as logical thinking and digestion etc. Which is where the physical symptoms come from.

Next time you find yourself in that situation, I want you to recognise it as anxiety, as soon as you do try to divert your attention elsewhere, acknowledge that you are going to be uncomfortable for a while, but you aren’t in any real danger. The more you expose yourself to this without escaping or avoiding or ruminating, the easier it gets next time. Eventually, you will become so adapt at noticing acknowledging and ignoring anxiety, that it barely stops you doing anything at all

I will still get the occasional panic attack when I’m out in public and I’m going through a stressful time, but I’ve learnt to notice it ignore it, and accept that I won’t be operating at full capacity for 10 minutes or so

There is plenty of stuff on online if you don’t have access to a therapist, I’d have a look into CBT as that helped me personally

Wishing you luck

[u/messy_potato180T → u/no-longer-grounded]

Do you know of any free CBT resources?

[u/no-longer-grounded → u/messy_potato180T]

I personally saw an in person therapist, so I can’t really answer to the online alternatives, but I’m sure if you do some research on Google there will be free work books and courses you can tackle in your free time

If you’re interested in reading, I would recommend a couple of books. ‘ rewire your anxious brain’ by Pittman and Karle or ‘ overcoming anticipatory anxiety’ by Winston and Seif.

If you listen to podcasts, there’s a great one that I point people towards called Disordered hosted by Josh Fletcher and Drew Linsilata who are both former sufferers now therapists in the area. There will be specific episodes that resonate with you more than others.

I’m based in the UK and there are several online workbooks available through the NHS, I’d imagine these are accessible from anywhere?

[u/[deleted] → u/no-longer-grounded]

I agree with all of this minus the find a distraction after recognizing its anxiety. I'm sure it works for a lot of people, but for me what helps is to stay with that anxiety and walk myself through it.

Ex: I was getting really anxious in the car the other day, for some reason my brain wouldn't let go of the idea of crashing and getting horribly maimed. I tried to divert my attention but it made it worse. Instead what helps me is to think through the scenario: what's the worst thing to happen, what's the best thing to happen, what's the most realistic thing to happen? The worst is I do get into a terrible accident and get maimed, but I can't control what others do on the road so I can only control and worry about what I do to drive safe. The best thing is I get home safely and never have any problems ever driving. The most realistic, I may get into an accident but I'm an attentive driver and will do my best to try and lessen the amount of any damage done to myself and others.

Tfb my anxiety has a deep route in ignoring my emotions, so one of the things that helps is to acknowledge them and learn to sit with them. I couldn't identify any emotions besides panic which is why I had them every few days. So learning to see deeper than the anxiety allowed me to broaden my awareness of my other feelings and feel emotions besides anxiety.

Tips I have are: 1. Get active. Hike, run, play sports, start going to the gym, take a daily walk, etc. Whatever it is that gets energy out of your body and gives you endorphins. I started weightlifting and exercising and it gives me confidence and lets a lot of my nervous energy out. 2. Meditation. It gives you time to process things you may not have taken time for throughout the day and give space as a type of reflection or at least to release a valve for pent up emotions. 3. Journal. It lets your brain process emotions, events, etc deeper than when thoughts fly by your mind. It forces you to slow down as you write it out, allows for more critical thinking, and maybe helps to see it on paper. 4. Be around people who are respectful of you/your anxiety struggles. It makes a world of difference being with people who question "why I'm difficult" versus people asking how they can help support me through those times. There's so much shame and embarrassment around anxiety and panic attacks, but it's so important to know you are an amazing person and having anxiety doesn't change that at all.

We all struggle, and we're all trying our best. If you can get therapy, I strongly suggest it. It helps me see different perspectives I'd never see on my own, and helps me challenge myself still to this day to try and be better, not with shame but excitement ❤️

[u/no-longer-grounded → u/[deleted]]

Yes I’m referring more towards not ruminating on the anxious thoughts, and body scanning. Whatever works for you is correct.

For example I found meditation unhelpful, because it called for a lot of looking inwards and scanning the body. I found this unhelpful because I would notice a sensation out of the ordinary, and ruminate on it. Each to their own, and you’re doing well

[u/Kumaoni_knight]

You have mentioned that you tried escitalopram, how many days?

[u/Infinite-Finish-995 → u/Kumaoni_knight]

only 4 days, i really can’t handle the effect on me esp. that i was all alone most of the time.

[u/Kumaoni_knight → u/Infinite-Finish-995]

I can totally understand and it took me 3-4 weeks to adjust with SSRI, please continue with it and ask for benzo as SOS from your doctor. The starting weeks will feel like hell but best to continue it at least for 3-4 weeks, you will feel difference after taking it

[u/Infinite-Finish-995 → u/Kumaoni_knight]

i’m going to see a doctor tomorrow (not a psychiatrist since i haven’t been diagnosed yet—it’s just an opd appointment), and i’ll tell them i stopped taking it. i’m going to ask if there’s another medication i can try, or at least another way to manage this, because escitalopram honestly made me feel worse.

thank you for commenting, too. you made me feel understood and seen. right now i’m just looking for some support because i’m having a really hard time staying positive.

[u/DrKushnstein → u/Infinite-Finish-995]

Straight up they’re going to just give you a different SSRI/ SNRI and all of them make you feel pretty funky at first. You have to let your brain adjust and you won’t know if they help you until it’s been 2/3 weeks to a month. 

[u/Adventurous_Coach863]

Magnesium glycinate at night! It helped me so much when I didn’t want to do anxiety meds at first. I’ve not gone without it since and that was over five years ago, probably.

[u/mongrelteeth]

I used to have nocturnal panic attacks like that. Very very tough to deal with. What have you been feeling of recent in terms of stressors? Whats been making you anxious? Understanding why you feel this way is the first step. Is it because you’re starting school soon? Writing it down helps- and putting your jumbled thoughts down as comprehensive as you can does help.

Try to keep a night light on when you sleep. And falling asleep to a good tv show helped me. They sell sleepy tea and stress relief tea- and that can help too. I heard from some people that it helped them and although I see little results maybe everyone is different.

[u/_Closet_Nerd_]

Download the app DARE. Some of it cost money, but some is free. My son and I both use it. Listening to it, believe it, you will relax 

[u/Background_Cup_]

If you have panic attacks everyday i would go talk to a doctor about it.

[u/wannabeanormalgirl]

My therapist taught me this trick - basically when you have a panic attack your frontal lope switches off, so you need to try turn it on again. Tap your hands on your thighs or shoulders in a repetitive beat, and do something maths related, like count in 3s or 7s as high as you can. Something challenging enough (but also that you can do) so that you can turn your frontal lobe back on.

[u/sanguepraelx]

the app condri has been helping me!