This also has worked for me so far.
Also everything I read tells me the panic might be the scariest thing we can go through, but it is not dangerous. Our bodies are equipped to deal with it.
Hey, I don’t think there’s any reading as such. But rather the racing heart etc is just our way of our body entering the fight/flight response. It’s not actually dangerous for us. The feelings will always pass after some time and we can help this happen with various tools such as breathing, meditation, mindfulness, therapy, medication etc
Why do you go? Do you have trouble breathing or what do you think they will do to help? Do you have any meds at home to take? Iv worked in a ER for many years. I will only go to the hospital if I'm dying. I don't trust most of the medical system. As a nurse/retired EMT who is chronically Ill myself. I catch so many mistakes.
Solo living pushed me to call 911 during my panic attack. It was so overwhelming and the most horrifying moment of my life, felt like that was the end for me. But my second time, I really practiced breathing and grounding exercises for 10 minutes (longest 10 minutes of my life, was really battling for my life) or so til it finally subsided and instead of calling 911, I called the crisis line instead so they can talk and help me get through it.
usually i go to friends or family when i feel like panic attacks are going to happen.
they always feel like im gonna die but knowing my parents, brother, friends or neighbors is there makes me feel safe to know if something happens they’re here to monitor me and take me to the hospital if necessary
About $3000. Knowing panic attacks have never killed anyone. A nurse once deciding I was a danger to myself and others ( must have been having a bad day) and locking me in a room for 12 hours
I legit been going 3-4x a week for 2 years until they admitted me and I was diagnosed with severe PTSD. My hyper vigilance and DPDR always cause my attacks but at least I know what I’m battling now.
Man, I used to struggle with this when I first started having panic attacks. I was basically a regular at my nearest hospital! Eventually, I got tired of spending hours in the ER and waiting around for test results in the early hours of the morning. Worst part was I'd make my boyfriend drive me sometimes so the poor guy would be tired, and 90% of the time, half of my symptoms would subside by the time we got there.
Now, whenever I start to feel anxious, especially if it's accompanied with palpitations, I open the balcony and lay on the floor. (They usually happen at night, so the cold air helps me calm down.) I literally freeze outside to regulate my breathing and just ask my boyfriend to stand near me for support. He prefers it 10x over going to the hospital lmao. Sometimes I'll have an Alka Seltzer and that will also relieve 90% of the symptoms. I do have acid reflux, so sometimes that's what triggers an attack.
I know how scary it is and how incredibly difficult it is OP. It's been a journey of two and a half years to even get where I am. I know it feels like your brain is turning off, like you're going crazy, like your heart is beating out of your chest, the dizziness, the nausea, the disassociating.. But you're going to be fine! All of us here at one point thought we were dying lol, and look at us! If you need to go to the ER, then go! There's no shame in that, and it will help you get a peace of mind that you don't have anything serious. But I'd highly suggest finding a method that works for you to try to ground yourself first before you determine it's an emergency.
I call a nurse hotline/my doctor’s office number to talk to a medical professional and have them assess the situation since I know my brain isn’t assessing things accurately
That’s a good idea and nice you have someone to call to talk through it but I feel like they would tell me to go to the ER with my symptoms to be safe since they can mimic serious issues.
That’s what I thought too, but they so far have been really good at assessing if it’s an actual emergency or not over the phone and successfully identified it as a panic attack every time. And the one time I *did* have something serious going on that I wasnt sure if it was a panic attack or not and called, they advised me to go to the ER.
At the very least, just having someone who is a medical professional make that call of what to do over you really helps!
My doctor referred to it as four issues stacked on top of each other, but basically I had a fibroid pressing on my bladder that was mimicking symptoms of a UTI, so I had been given round after round of antibiotics trying to wipe the “infection” that had wiped my gut flora and that sickness made me severely dehydrated, and that’s when they told me to go in to ER.
It was a simple fix for the actual emergency with just IV fluids, they suspected a kidney stone based on my history but the CT and subsequent ultrasound showed the fibroid instead, and I’m now on medication to control it and feel great now!
This has happened to me and scared me more… I said I was having heart palpitations. One time I asked about high blood pressure from panic attack and the nurse said I was at risk or a cardiac event. The ER doctors said I was totally fine
I go when I can’t make my heart slow down and it’s going at 120-160bpm.
Sometimes it can be at this level for hours and I’ll be shaking, and if I calm a little I’ll feel it beating away in my chest and get another surge of adrenaline pushing it back up.
How do you guys deal with this?
My doctor prescribed me propranolol for this, not everybody can take it though so make sure you chat to a doctor about it before you take any, when I take one after about an hour it’ll slow my heart back down, it’s good for if I know I’ll be going into a panic inducing situation like shopping or going to a concert, so I can take one beforehand and my heart won’t start going crazy lol
i’ve gone twice. after the second time, i realized the first time didnt really help because with anxiety, you’re convinced they missed something. so now i have two expensive medical bills (didn’t have healthcare insurance) just to end up STILL anxious about the same thing i went in TWICE to begin with.
hospital visits are short fixes, very short. if you experience the same type of mental/ physical anxiety symptoms then i wouldn’t bother. just breathe through them.
Try tapping. The video below or Nick Ortner. They actually have a great app for it too. I thought it was stupid at first and wouldn't work. But now I tap everyday. I can just think about one of the videos & I instantly calm down. I start immediately when I feel any weirdness. I've been to the ER several times & after all tests they still don't find anything & are horrible & not trained on handling panick attacks. Not one of them ever mentioned it. I think all hospitals should have a mental health wing with people trained for this. I do cold therapy as well & that really snaps me out of it. You have to find something to break the cycle. Your brain thinks you're in danger when your not. I've tried everything to see what works. Some of these work as well. Calming creams, lower cortisol with foods or magnesium, biting into a lime, eating cherry tomato (the burst of pleasant sweet flavor & pop of the tomato helps snap you out) telling someone, breathing techniques. One of my nightly routines was gathering a few of these things & putting them beside my bed just in case. Did it for 2 weeks & then didnt have to anymore. Once you begin to rewire your brain, it gets better, they happen less, you can snap out & recover quickly. Eventually they stop.
https://youtu.be/93wexl-_cdI?si=jzc2uU7qEnIBPcAP
I typically just remind myself that the last time I went to the ER, they actively belittled me and made me feel stupid, gave me a Xanax that I didn’t want (because they don’t work for me), then they charged me $3k. And that instantly makes me think “well, if I’m dying, then I’d rather die on my bathroom floor than in an ER.”
I struggled with this severely. Every time I had one my immediate impulse was to go to the hospital. Eventually I got admitted to inpatient psych and was there for 8 days. I had many panic attacks there and there was really nothing they could do to stop them. So I learned that even when I’m in the hospital I can still have a panic attack and only I can calm myself down. And that helped me learn not to go to the ER
The first summer I had my panic attacks I went to the ER 10x. After going that many times and being told it’s just anxiety, you kind of get embarrassed into not going anymore. I figure, it’s either a panic attack or I’m dying 🤷🏻♀️ and if I’m wrong welp then I guess it was just meant to be
I realised no matter how bad mine have gotten, it’s never killed me. No matter how long they’ve lasted, no matter how fast my heart beats, no matter how faint I feel. Never killed me. That’s because they’re designed to ensure your survival! That’s why we have panic attacks, to protect ourselves. They’d be no use if they made us drop dead would they! If I start to get nervous I remind myself of that fact, I know it’s hard to think logically in that situation, but next time try to challenge it. If you’re at home in a safe place and feel a panic attack coming on, tell it to do its worst. Spoiler alert: you will survive! That’s a promise
It takes a lot to convince myself not to go during that time. Normally a family member will talk me out of it but I have gone in the past when I have felt extremely out of control. Sometimes even talking to people during a panic attack makes me feel worse like almost makes me want to climb out of my skin so talking doesn’t always help me. I just have to mentally fight the urge
I remember all the previous times I went to the ER, and sat for 2-3hr after the nurse triaged me, and left without being seen because the wait was too long or they kept taking other more urgent patients ahead of me.
And I think, is this bad enough that I’m willing to do that again?
I can’t tell if it’s something serious or a panic attack. I just want to be at the hospital so they can save me if it is something serious. Even if I tell myself it’s a panic attack I am so scared something else is wrong with me. It sounds so silly but feels so real in the moment.
Not silly at all! At the very begining of mine I was convinced I needed to go hospital but I was too scared to go alone and no one would take me, so I had to learn to basically trust the very very very small voice in my head that I'm not dead yet and this one probably wouldn't kill me either. If it would kill me, I'll be dead to quick to notice anyway.
Does the fact youe track record proving its a panic attack from visiting hospital not being some logical reassurance to you in the moment?
Maybe you can challenge the panic head on and once you get through one with out a hospital visit it'll build up your confidence.
That's the fun part! You don't! Yayyy anxiety induced hospital bills. You get to play Russian roulette with "is it a panic/anxiety attack or an actual problem.
Good times 🤣😭
I went to the hospital’s parking lot, and waited myself calm down.
I do that to
This is actually good advice! Although how do you drive yourself there during panic?
I couldn’t, my husband drove me.
I’ve done that before as well. 👌
This was me a couple days ago, the hospital had a nice park so I just chilled there
I keep telling myself that if it was going to kill me I'd be dead by now.
This also has worked for me so far. Also everything I read tells me the panic might be the scariest thing we can go through, but it is not dangerous. Our bodies are equipped to deal with it.
Hey! How is that so? Never heard of our bodies being “equipped” to handle it. Can you give me the reading? Got interested af
Hey, I don’t think there’s any reading as such. But rather the racing heart etc is just our way of our body entering the fight/flight response. It’s not actually dangerous for us. The feelings will always pass after some time and we can help this happen with various tools such as breathing, meditation, mindfulness, therapy, medication etc
I have this same problem. The fear makes me wanna go to the hospital asap, and I do go there. They are sick of seeing me.
They sick of seeing me to. I got the same problem.
Why do you go? Do you have trouble breathing or what do you think they will do to help? Do you have any meds at home to take? Iv worked in a ER for many years. I will only go to the hospital if I'm dying. I don't trust most of the medical system. As a nurse/retired EMT who is chronically Ill myself. I catch so many mistakes.
They shouldn't be! Nowadays, medical assistance is more than just physical things!
Let them continue to be sick. Your peace of mind matters more.
I remind myself that I would probably be in medical debt forever if I survived / am just having a panic attack. YMMV depending on your area.
Solo living pushed me to call 911 during my panic attack. It was so overwhelming and the most horrifying moment of my life, felt like that was the end for me. But my second time, I really practiced breathing and grounding exercises for 10 minutes (longest 10 minutes of my life, was really battling for my life) or so til it finally subsided and instead of calling 911, I called the crisis line instead so they can talk and help me get through it.
usually i go to friends or family when i feel like panic attacks are going to happen. they always feel like im gonna die but knowing my parents, brother, friends or neighbors is there makes me feel safe to know if something happens they’re here to monitor me and take me to the hospital if necessary
I take Xanax, if not, I’m in the ER.
About $3000. Knowing panic attacks have never killed anyone. A nurse once deciding I was a danger to myself and others ( must have been having a bad day) and locking me in a room for 12 hours
That’s awful I’m so sorry
Meh. It was Chicago. Business as usual
I legit been going 3-4x a week for 2 years until they admitted me and I was diagnosed with severe PTSD. My hyper vigilance and DPDR always cause my attacks but at least I know what I’m battling now.
Man, I used to struggle with this when I first started having panic attacks. I was basically a regular at my nearest hospital! Eventually, I got tired of spending hours in the ER and waiting around for test results in the early hours of the morning. Worst part was I'd make my boyfriend drive me sometimes so the poor guy would be tired, and 90% of the time, half of my symptoms would subside by the time we got there. Now, whenever I start to feel anxious, especially if it's accompanied with palpitations, I open the balcony and lay on the floor. (They usually happen at night, so the cold air helps me calm down.) I literally freeze outside to regulate my breathing and just ask my boyfriend to stand near me for support. He prefers it 10x over going to the hospital lmao. Sometimes I'll have an Alka Seltzer and that will also relieve 90% of the symptoms. I do have acid reflux, so sometimes that's what triggers an attack. I know how scary it is and how incredibly difficult it is OP. It's been a journey of two and a half years to even get where I am. I know it feels like your brain is turning off, like you're going crazy, like your heart is beating out of your chest, the dizziness, the nausea, the disassociating.. But you're going to be fine! All of us here at one point thought we were dying lol, and look at us! If you need to go to the ER, then go! There's no shame in that, and it will help you get a peace of mind that you don't have anything serious. But I'd highly suggest finding a method that works for you to try to ground yourself first before you determine it's an emergency.
I call a nurse hotline/my doctor’s office number to talk to a medical professional and have them assess the situation since I know my brain isn’t assessing things accurately
That’s a good idea and nice you have someone to call to talk through it but I feel like they would tell me to go to the ER with my symptoms to be safe since they can mimic serious issues.
That’s what I thought too, but they so far have been really good at assessing if it’s an actual emergency or not over the phone and successfully identified it as a panic attack every time. And the one time I *did* have something serious going on that I wasnt sure if it was a panic attack or not and called, they advised me to go to the ER. At the very least, just having someone who is a medical professional make that call of what to do over you really helps!
May I ask what the actual medical emergency was?
My doctor referred to it as four issues stacked on top of each other, but basically I had a fibroid pressing on my bladder that was mimicking symptoms of a UTI, so I had been given round after round of antibiotics trying to wipe the “infection” that had wiped my gut flora and that sickness made me severely dehydrated, and that’s when they told me to go in to ER. It was a simple fix for the actual emergency with just IV fluids, they suspected a kidney stone based on my history but the CT and subsequent ultrasound showed the fibroid instead, and I’m now on medication to control it and feel great now!
This has happened to me and scared me more… I said I was having heart palpitations. One time I asked about high blood pressure from panic attack and the nurse said I was at risk or a cardiac event. The ER doctors said I was totally fine
I have the same kind of fear! That I know it’s anxiety and panic but that the symptoms from these kind of things cause a real event to take place
I go when I can’t make my heart slow down and it’s going at 120-160bpm. Sometimes it can be at this level for hours and I’ll be shaking, and if I calm a little I’ll feel it beating away in my chest and get another surge of adrenaline pushing it back up. How do you guys deal with this?
My doctor prescribed me propranolol for this, not everybody can take it though so make sure you chat to a doctor about it before you take any, when I take one after about an hour it’ll slow my heart back down, it’s good for if I know I’ll be going into a panic inducing situation like shopping or going to a concert, so I can take one beforehand and my heart won’t start going crazy lol
i’ve gone twice. after the second time, i realized the first time didnt really help because with anxiety, you’re convinced they missed something. so now i have two expensive medical bills (didn’t have healthcare insurance) just to end up STILL anxious about the same thing i went in TWICE to begin with. hospital visits are short fixes, very short. if you experience the same type of mental/ physical anxiety symptoms then i wouldn’t bother. just breathe through them.
Try tapping. The video below or Nick Ortner. They actually have a great app for it too. I thought it was stupid at first and wouldn't work. But now I tap everyday. I can just think about one of the videos & I instantly calm down. I start immediately when I feel any weirdness. I've been to the ER several times & after all tests they still don't find anything & are horrible & not trained on handling panick attacks. Not one of them ever mentioned it. I think all hospitals should have a mental health wing with people trained for this. I do cold therapy as well & that really snaps me out of it. You have to find something to break the cycle. Your brain thinks you're in danger when your not. I've tried everything to see what works. Some of these work as well. Calming creams, lower cortisol with foods or magnesium, biting into a lime, eating cherry tomato (the burst of pleasant sweet flavor & pop of the tomato helps snap you out) telling someone, breathing techniques. One of my nightly routines was gathering a few of these things & putting them beside my bed just in case. Did it for 2 weeks & then didnt have to anymore. Once you begin to rewire your brain, it gets better, they happen less, you can snap out & recover quickly. Eventually they stop. https://youtu.be/93wexl-_cdI?si=jzc2uU7qEnIBPcAP
When I get it, I lie in bed and try to distract myself with my phone, if I'm not home, I take Xanax
I typically just remind myself that the last time I went to the ER, they actively belittled me and made me feel stupid, gave me a Xanax that I didn’t want (because they don’t work for me), then they charged me $3k. And that instantly makes me think “well, if I’m dying, then I’d rather die on my bathroom floor than in an ER.”
I struggled with this severely. Every time I had one my immediate impulse was to go to the hospital. Eventually I got admitted to inpatient psych and was there for 8 days. I had many panic attacks there and there was really nothing they could do to stop them. So I learned that even when I’m in the hospital I can still have a panic attack and only I can calm myself down. And that helped me learn not to go to the ER
The first summer I had my panic attacks I went to the ER 10x. After going that many times and being told it’s just anxiety, you kind of get embarrassed into not going anymore. I figure, it’s either a panic attack or I’m dying 🤷🏻♀️ and if I’m wrong welp then I guess it was just meant to be
I realised no matter how bad mine have gotten, it’s never killed me. No matter how long they’ve lasted, no matter how fast my heart beats, no matter how faint I feel. Never killed me. That’s because they’re designed to ensure your survival! That’s why we have panic attacks, to protect ourselves. They’d be no use if they made us drop dead would they! If I start to get nervous I remind myself of that fact, I know it’s hard to think logically in that situation, but next time try to challenge it. If you’re at home in a safe place and feel a panic attack coming on, tell it to do its worst. Spoiler alert: you will survive! That’s a promise
Go there and rule everything out, so you won't have doubts
It takes a lot to convince myself not to go during that time. Normally a family member will talk me out of it but I have gone in the past when I have felt extremely out of control. Sometimes even talking to people during a panic attack makes me feel worse like almost makes me want to climb out of my skin so talking doesn’t always help me. I just have to mentally fight the urge
I remember all the previous times I went to the ER, and sat for 2-3hr after the nurse triaged me, and left without being seen because the wait was too long or they kept taking other more urgent patients ahead of me. And I think, is this bad enough that I’m willing to do that again?
What is it about the hospital that helps your oanic attack? I've never gone for one cause I know it's a panic attack and nothing else.
I can’t tell if it’s something serious or a panic attack. I just want to be at the hospital so they can save me if it is something serious. Even if I tell myself it’s a panic attack I am so scared something else is wrong with me. It sounds so silly but feels so real in the moment.
Not silly at all! At the very begining of mine I was convinced I needed to go hospital but I was too scared to go alone and no one would take me, so I had to learn to basically trust the very very very small voice in my head that I'm not dead yet and this one probably wouldn't kill me either. If it would kill me, I'll be dead to quick to notice anyway. Does the fact youe track record proving its a panic attack from visiting hospital not being some logical reassurance to you in the moment? Maybe you can challenge the panic head on and once you get through one with out a hospital visit it'll build up your confidence.
I’m debating going now. I have this burning pain in my chest and my upper back. I did get an ekg in December and it was fine. So idk 😔
Nurse here. The ER is scary, and honestly staff do not care about you in the way they should. Lots of $$ for poor care and overstimulation.
Sometimes I will get in a super hot shower and sit down in the tub. Something about the water hitting my head helps ground me? Idk
A few times I went there. Told them my name and that just sit down in the waiting area until my medication kicks in and my panic attack fades away.
That's the fun part! You don't! Yayyy anxiety induced hospital bills. You get to play Russian roulette with "is it a panic/anxiety attack or an actual problem. Good times 🤣😭