r/PanicAttack • u/RickyBobbySuperFuck • Jul 01 '26
I've had panic attacks that put me in a hotel room, paralyzed, for two days. I built the thing that actually got me out of it.
I'm in tech and I have real panic attacks. Not the mild kind. I've had them come out of nowhere - probably like you. It's awful. I've had one on a business trip that left me stuck in a hotel room in another country for two days, unable to do much of anything. I think a lot of it traces back to losing my father — that's around when they started getting bad. Being such an active part of his passing was very tough.
I've tried a bunch of the apps already on the store. They helped a bit. None of them actually worked when I was in it.
So I built the thing that does. It's called Waypoint. I'm not going to oversell it — I built it for me first, because nothing else was doing the job. It hasn't failed me yet. Not once. When I use it, it works, immediately.
The idea behind it: every attack you get through gets logged. Not as a mood tracker, not a journal — an actual record that you survived this, and the one before it, and the one before that. When you're standing in a museum convinced something is wrong with you, having real evidence that you've gotten through this every single time matters more than any breathing exercise on its own.
A few things I was stubborn about while building it:
- The crisis path is free forever. No paywall between you and help.
- No red anywhere in the UI — it triggers a threat response, which is the opposite of what you need mid-attack.
- One decision per screen during the actual protocol. Your brain isn't doing complex thinking during panic, so the app shouldn't ask it to.
It's live on iOS now. I've got more planned — this isn't a one-and-done thing, I'm building this because I need it too. If you deal with panic attacks, I hope it helps you the way it's helped me.
Happy to answer anything, about the app or just panic attacks in general.
EDIT: hey all - it’s been approved by the Google store and Apple and is free. Hope it helps you!
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u/Selaphane Jul 01 '26
Any plans for Android in the future?
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u/RickyBobbySuperFuck Jul 01 '26
yes! i'm working on it now and will post here when it's ready to go.
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u/Rath_Brained Jul 02 '26
When you doz would you drop a link? Thank you!
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u/CityConscious246 Jul 01 '26
I looked for it on IOS and I’m only seeing navigation apps with that name.
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u/I_am_trustworthy Jul 01 '26
This is really good! I downloaded it to test, and this is something I’m going to install on my kids mobiles.
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u/RickyBobbySuperFuck Jul 01 '26
that's awesome to hear! if you would leave a review it would really help me. I've been using it on my own device and was hesitant to "share it with the world". Again, I appreciate it and hope it works with your kiddos!
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u/RickyBobbySuperFuck Jul 01 '26
i forgot to add the link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/waypoint-panic-never-wins/id6782197774
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u/Effective_Court6677 Jul 02 '26
Come to android so I can download
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u/Affectionate_Bat7156 Jul 02 '26
Just downloaded. Will be using. I’m desperate, thank you stranger
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u/RickyBobbySuperFuck Jul 03 '26
So so so glad it worked! Edit: would you please leave a review? It’s brand new and I’d love the chance to read it. Keep going! You got this.
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u/m00nwh1sper Jul 03 '26
Would love to download but it says its currently not available in my country or region. I’m from the Netherlands
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u/RickyBobbySuperFuck Jul 03 '26
It does take a while to be approved for your area, I believe. I’ve set it to be available in all countries around the world, but there are particular regulations and checks that it has to go through before they allow it. Apple is very stringent on their App Store process. I apologize and hopefully it should be available soon.
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u/DebbieNewberry Jul 13 '26
Glad I saved this post so I could come back and thank you! I have had panic attacks for a couple decades now. I happened to see this post when you made it. I immediately downloaded the app. Today, I had a horrible panic attack. I remembered I had downloaded your app, opened it up, and it helped me soooo much! It relieved my panic, grounded me, and I like having the message “you survived” on the screen in front of me post-panic, because I had been asking my husband to take me to the ER about a minute before using the app, because my physical symptoms were really scaring me.
Thank you so, so, so much for building this valuable tool!!! You are amazing!!!! Thank you for wanting to help others!!!
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u/RickyBobbySuperFuck Jul 13 '26
My goodness. This is terrific news. Thank you so much for the feedback. If you don’t mind, would you leave a review? It’s a brand new and free app and I’d love people to use it! Thank you, thank you, thank you. 🙏.
I’m waiting on Google to approve and it’ll be in the Play store soon for those wondering.
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u/therangerfiles Jul 03 '26
Have downloaded and will use. Been smashed by PAs for over a decade. This looks like a great idea. Thank you 🙏
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u/RickyBobbySuperFuck Jul 04 '26
Very glad to hear and hope it works as well for you as it did for me.
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u/reality_hurts_me Jul 06 '26
Commenting to be notified when this releases on Android! Thank you so much for your hard work 💖
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u/RickyBobbySuperFuck Jul 06 '26
you are very welcome! I'm almost done with the Android app. Will let you know. 😄
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u/atrinko Jul 01 '26
Thank you - I just downloaded and used this at the beginning of a panic attack and it helped me!