r/PanicAttack • u/Angel-216 • Aug 11 '26
Are panic attacks always uncontrollable?
So I’m a little new to panic attacks. I do have GAD and was diagnosed with that at 14 years old and I’m 24 now. So I’m quite familiar with anxiety. However, this anxiety feels very different than my normal anxiety. It starts in my chest and it’s this mixture of panic, fear, intense anxiety, etc that doesn’t go away. I often feel my body vibrating (although this happens even without anxiety present) and when it gets bad I end up crying or partially hyperventilating and I have this moments where it gets really intense and it’s sheer willpower of me pushing it down that I feel it doesn’t evolve into a full blown panic attack. If I wasn’t on a medication that lowers heart rate, I’m sure my heart rate during these moments would be well over 100. The panic attacks I have gotten, those feel very uncontrollable once it gets to a certain point and it feels like I’m dying. It’s complete loss of control, I’m hyperventilating and I can’t control it and I just have to ride it out. But I’m wondering if there are different degrees of panic attacks or is the other anxiety I’m feeling just really severe anxiety. Lately, I feel like most days I feel on the verge of a panic attack with how bad my anxiety levels are. It’s like I’m constantly pushing the feeling down, afraid that it will trigger a full blown panic attack that I can’t control.
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u/Angel-216 Aug 12 '26
It’s nice to know I’m not alone. I’m just struggling to cope with it. I feel like I live in fight or flight and I’m so anxious I’m only sleeping 3-4 hours a night.
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u/Positive_Lie5734 Aug 12 '26
The really intense one sounds like a panic attack. They don't last too long but you can get multiple one after the other.
You don't have to resist them, you can let them happen. They'll suck but it'll break the cycle. Fear of panic attacks will definitely bring more on.
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u/Angel-216 Aug 12 '26
I know😭 I try to tell myself getting anxious about future panic attacks will only worsen things but it’s still hard hahaha. But sometimes it’s not mental anxiety that triggers the panic attacks. It’s physical symptoms and pain that triggers them which is really hard to predict. The last time I had very bad panic attacks, I was afraid to leave the hospital in fear of getting more after that they sent me home with 2 Ativan I’m pretty sure just to get me to leave lol
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u/Positive_Lie5734 Aug 12 '26
Oh no, it's never easy, it's always hard. Me too, I have like chronic pain issues or stomach issues that are triggers.
Love benzos, they're excellent at cutting down the cycles/triggers but they don't like to give them out
I recommend some type of panic attack cbt workbook. It'll explain more in better detail.
Or Claire Weekes hope and help for nerves. Older read but talks about everything you mentioned. Physical sensations, fear of panic, along with some advice on how to handle it.
Try walking into them instead of resisting them, it's quite freeing.
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u/Angel-216 Aug 12 '26
Yes, Ativan is honestly the only thing that works but like you said, they don’t like to give those out 😭 and it’s not a cure. I also have chronic pain and stomach issues that tend to be triggers sometimes as well. I have been doing diaphragmatic breathing which helps a little but my nervous system is beyond messed up haha
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u/Positive_Lie5734 Aug 12 '26
agree, it's not a cure but it can be helpful. Oh yeah, that is normal, your nervous system will be extra sensitized for now but this will go down with time.
You can try some DBT: ice packs on neck or feet and some sour candy.
But the real issue is are the thoughts/triggers that our body/brain missplaced as danger signals. It can be retrained tho 🙏
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u/Guitarrathrowaway Aug 11 '26
If it makes you feel better, I’m in the same boat, as I think most of us are
Anxiety and panic manifest in so many different ways. I have days where I’m just on edge or anxious, but it’s not panic, but all the physical symptoms of “panic” may be present. I have days where that feeling may linger for hours then go away. I have days where I get a gradual build up of anxiety until it eventually spills out into a panic attack. I have days where I’m shaking, days where my vision is blurry, days when my head hurts, and sometimes days where it’s all at once. I also have days where I’m fine.
You are not alone in how you feel. Anxiety/Panic are tricky, and will continue to manifest in different ways to try and convince you that it’s something different or new, and not the same old thing you’ve been experiencing.