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Have you ever had a panic attack in public?

What triggered it? Did you need help or were you able to recover without it? How long did it last?

by Anonymousreply 30February 19, 2020 1:09 AM

I wouldn't say full-on panic attack, but I've certainly been in weird situations where I've gotten quite flustered - I was on my way to attend a close relative's funeral, and my flight got cancelled - so I was freaking out a bit. That's the last one I can remember.

by Anonymousreply 1February 16, 2020 2:58 PM

I don't think it was a panic attack. But I was once in the back corner seat of a city bus and people kept piling on with their winter coats and I had no space to move. I started to experience a suffocation feeling. I finally sprang up and started shoving startled people out of the way. I got off at a stop and caught another bus.

by Anonymousreply 2February 16, 2020 3:09 PM

I have a fear of heights and get vertigo attacks

by Anonymousreply 3February 16, 2020 3:16 PM

And then, R3?

by Anonymousreply 4February 16, 2020 3:31 PM

Yes. I was a substitute teacher at a high school for one day. Those hundreds of teenagers walking down the hallways reminded me of unpleasant memories. I didn't want to be a teacher anymore. It wasn't as rewarding as I thought it would be. I don't know why anyone would choose to go to an overcrowded high school if they didn't have to. There were campus police cars present and it literally felt like a prison.

by Anonymousreply 5February 16, 2020 4:34 PM

Perhaps, 5 or more times. 2 of them in the cinema. It's always the thought that provoce an attack. In my cases it was a thought: " I'm not feeling well, gosh, If i need too live my seat - which is right in the centre of the cinema hall - I'll disturb other people". And further down the road with the thought "What if?"

by Anonymousreply 6February 16, 2020 5:44 PM

I guess this counts as one. One of my best friends asked me to join him and his family for a baseball game out our (relatively) new stadium. We got a bit lost on the way, parking was a bear, and it was drizzling the whole time. We presented our tickets, and the ushers kept showing us the way. At one point, we were directed to the longest escalator I had ever seen. I balked at that, and told my friends I'd meet them, and was able to locate an elevator that took me up to the next level. As soon as the door opened, and I saw how far up I was, my stomach dropped through the floor. I was still forcing myself forward, and turned a bend, ending up at the stairs to our seats: the last (highest) row in the stadium. My knees actually buckled, and I was kneeling in the middle of the staircase, frozen. My friend came down the stairs, and said he was driving me home, but I just asked him to get me to the elevator, and I'd be able to handled things from there.

It took me a while to figure out how to get out of the stadium (I'm not smart), but I got out, and made my way into the city and located a cab stand, and made my way home. The poor African cabbie asked me if I needed to go to the hospital. I just asked him to be sure I made it into my house, and I gave him a huge tip for being so kind and patient with me.

by Anonymousreply 7February 16, 2020 7:55 PM

I don’t have panic attacks but I get super angry & confused when I get lost driving somewhere. It’s like once I get lost, I’m going to make 500 mistakes trying to get to where I need to be. Even if I just pass an exit and get off the next exit, everything is going to go wrong. A truck will zoom up beside me & won’t let me turn to get on the overpass, there will be a detour forcing me to go in the wrong direction, I’ll be diverted back onto the expressway because of a car accident, etc. I lose my mind with anger.

by Anonymousreply 8February 16, 2020 8:11 PM

I like R7. He’s one of the few DL posters I’ve seen admit to not being smart.

by Anonymousreply 9February 16, 2020 11:49 PM

I've had a few panic attacks. The worst occurred during a very stressful time in my life. My ex and I were in the throes of breaking up and I thought my job was in jeopardy after I reported some shady dealings by a higher-up. I was on late night flight, a hot full plane, in a window seat at the rear of the plane. The attack came on halfway through the 4 hour flight. There were people in the aisle next to my row waiting for the lavatory so there was no way to get out of my seat and stand up. I thought I was suffocating. My heart was beating wildly. I just closed my eyes and kept my head down, telling myself over and over to stay calm. Ten years later, I can still remember the experience vividly. My doctor prescribed meds but I've only had to use them a few times since.

by Anonymousreply 10February 17, 2020 12:11 AM

Yes. The first and one of the only times I’ve ever had n anxiety attack. I was with my partner in Boston harbor waiting for the fast ferry to Provincetown. I had felt a little under the weather the day before and was anxious at the idea of being sick during our vacation. For no particular reason, I started to feel anxious. I was afraid I might be having a heart attack (I had never had any sort of anxiety attack before), and the thought of getting on the ferry- not the best place to have a cardiac episode- made me more anxious. Then I started googling heart attack symptoms and within a minute convinced myself I was about to die. Then i started sweating, hands shaking, etc. I made my partner call an uber and take me to Boston memorial. He was completely unfazed and said “you’re not having a heart attack... but ok”. They did an EKG and blood test and the doctors assured me I was fine. Suddenly it dawned on me “oh did I just have my first anxiety attack?!”. The doctor said “I think you did”. And I instantly felt fine. Caught the next ferry to Provincetown and all was well.

by Anonymousreply 11February 17, 2020 12:35 AM

I had one yesterday but it wasn't in public (well it was in a way because I was on the phone). First, the phone was ringing, I was expecting a call from my doctor. He sometimes calls back on Saturdays. The ringer was on low and I couldn't find the phone. It seemed to be in the dining room but I couldn't find it. It stopped ringing. Then it started again. I don't know why - this is how panic attacks are - it can happen over nothing. This was nothing but it seemed SO IMPORTANT that I find and answer the phone.

So this is how it started. Trying to find a ringing phone. A was already having a panic attack though I didn't really want to acknowledge I was.

I eventually found the phone in my jeans, which were tossed on a dining room chair. But it took forever. The dining room was a mess. The jeans are black, the chair cushion is black.

So then I saw the call was from a friend. She left a message to call her back or to call a guy she named. The guy was my ex. And also her friend. He lives in another city and I thought: why is she telling me to call him? I was totally freaked by now (no reason to be. Panic attacks aren't sensible). I shouldn't have called her because I was having a panic attack. I knew my ex was with her.

So I found out she was at her house with my ex. And I talked to him. And he wanted to come over. I was like, "Are you kidding? Why are you here? Why didn't you call me and let me know you were coming?" He said he left messages on my other phone. The ringer was off on that one. I asked when he made plans with her to come and he said a week ago. "So when did you leave me a message you were coming?" "Yesterday. And this morning." My heart was pounding, I was sweating, I had reason to be annoyed, or worse, but not panicked. "So can I come over?" I told him the house was a mess, I was a mess and he should have let me know a week ago he was coming, and I had to get off the phone because I couldn't breathe. And I didn't end up seeing him. Took me two hours to totally calm down.

by Anonymousreply 12February 17, 2020 1:26 AM

I was a grad student, sitting in a classroom lecture, when suddenly--there it was. Total, absolute, white-knuckle terror. I thought I was going to pass out or die. After a minute or two I got up and left the room. This happened in the week when I was waiting for the results of my AIDS test. (You had to wait a week in those days.)

by Anonymousreply 13February 17, 2020 2:44 AM

I can't walk across some bridges

by Anonymousreply 14February 17, 2020 2:52 AM

Yes... I had to pull off the highway and get a ride from a coworker. It was seriously scary.

by Anonymousreply 15February 17, 2020 2:53 AM

When I was 19. I was having sort of a mini breakdown. Went to therapy and it helped. No medications, just talk.

by Anonymousreply 16February 17, 2020 2:56 AM

[quote] I had to get off the phone because I couldn't breathe

Kelly, take deep breaths and count to 60.

by Anonymousreply 17February 17, 2020 3:31 AM

Jesus R8, I honestly thought I was the only person who was like that.

by Anonymousreply 18February 17, 2020 2:32 PM

"I didn't want to be a teacher anymore"

Why, hon?

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 19February 17, 2020 3:16 PM

Car driving is very scary. I remember seeing a burnt out car and burnt out semi on the highway. Fucking terrible knowing the people died burnt alive like that. That's the way Paul Walker went.

No one ever really talks about it. They accept it as a given risk. We ought to have safer public transit systems in place to curtail all these car deaths. Obviously the ones that died aren't around to advocate for safety.

by Anonymousreply 20February 17, 2020 3:33 PM

i have had at least two. the first was 15 years ago or so. i've been a pot smoker all my life so smoking it was nothing new, i was so happy to smoke a bowl & we were going to watch this thing on tv i was feeling really good. i took a hit from the bowl & within minutes my heart was racing like crazy for no reason. the doom feeling was insane, i felt so much like i was going to die that i was experiencing emotional pain over the fact that i believed i was dying. it just didn't make sense to me that it could possibly be my time. i was on the floor & my friend just ignored me. the second time was a year or two ago. same friend (only friend) he is a jerk-i know, get a new friend. my life is so complicated & not in a good way, money is a real issue. anyway, he was being really mean to me & i was pretty stressed out. not long after i was on the road the attack started. i couldn't think-i could not make a connection in my mind as to where i was going or how to get there, i also felt like i wasn't sure i was really able to drive at all. to make matters worse it was rainy & i was on this main artery thing where everyone goes at least 65. i made it to a Walgreens parking lot, sat & listed to some calming music while watching Waxwings eat berries off of a little tree. come to think of it i have had others...when in Jr high i was being bullied as usual & the bullies made me miss my bus. a teacher offered to drive me home. i blanked mentally & could not tell them how to get to where i lived which eventually made the teacher frustrated & mad which didn't help. yep its been a rough, hard life.

by Anonymousreply 21February 17, 2020 7:09 PM

R21, was it one teacher or more than one?

by Anonymousreply 22February 17, 2020 7:12 PM

r22 just that one teacher. also i would like to apologize for the big glob of writing. i guess i need to press return twice.

by Anonymousreply 23February 17, 2020 7:16 PM

Thanks, R21/R23.

by Anonymousreply 24February 17, 2020 7:18 PM

R11 Boston Memorial? Never heard of it. Do you mean Boston Medical?

Anyway, that reminds me: I was on the subway in Boston during the evening rush when we got stuck in train traffic and were just sitting in a dark tunnel awaiting the "all clear" to pull into Park Street Station. All of a sudden we heard this ear piercing scream, "OH, MY GOD! PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP ME!" It was the kind of scary primal scream that chills your blood. I looked up and saw this young woman, maybe about 20, bawling her eyes out and gasping for air as she seemed to melt in her seat onto the floor. She kept pleading for help and screaming she couldn't breathe. The sheer terror and desperate pleading in her voice scared the fucking shit out of me and it scares me to recollect it to this day.

Fortunately, the stop prior to Park Street is Charles/MGH (Mass General Hospital) so we had just picked up a trainload of medical personnel who immediately identified the event as a severe anxiety attack and cleared the area which is no small undertaking on a packed rush hour train on the Red Line. The emergency alarm was pulled but there's not much, if anything, that can be quickly done in a log jammed subterranean tunnel.

But the staff from MGH who were on board were incredibly knowledgeable and the usually cold, uncaring T riders were especially impressive that one day. As soon as the healthcare pros came forward and demanded a wide berth it was like the Red Sea parted as hundreds of riders stepped back and crammed each other to give the woman space. The docs and RNs said she needs air and suddenly dozens of riders started fanning their newspapers, reports, and textbooks creating a gust of air. The usual noise volume during the rush had dropped to silence except for the occasional words of encouragement from concerned passengers.

As we finally started moving and chugged into Park Street we could see an EMS team waiting. By this time, the young woman had calmed down considerably and her breathing was more controlled. Her tears had stopped flowing and she was no longer in an active panic state. The poor embarrassed thing croaked out an apology and thanked everyone before they put the oxygen mask on her and strapped her to the stretcher. The car broke out into spontaneous applause for her and especially for the medical personnel who took care of her. I actually thought for a brief moment that we Bostonians can be nice when we want to be.

by Anonymousreply 25February 17, 2020 8:26 PM

Boston Memorial is what Boston Medical Center used to be called.

by Anonymousreply 26February 18, 2020 6:23 AM

^^^ Interesting. I've never heard of it. I remember as a kid being fascinated by the "Women's Lying In Hospital". As a little boy I thought people were calling it the Lion's Inn, which sounded much more elegant than the Lying In. What a stupid name the Lying In was. I think it's now Brigham & Womens.

by Anonymousreply 27February 19, 2020 12:31 AM

I had one on a flight from Toronto to Amsterdam, out of the blue. I knew what it was and managed to keep myself from visibly freaking out too much and it passed.

by Anonymousreply 28February 19, 2020 12:34 AM

I am having these attacks regularly now after years of NOT having this problem. I dont know why.

by Anonymousreply 29February 19, 2020 12:46 AM

I’ve struggled with panic attacks all of my life almost- from 13 to my current age of 55. I’m on a lot of anti-anxiety meds, but it’s Lorazepam that seems to do the trick. My doctor has cautioned me that it’s been linked to early onset dementia. For that reason I try my best to avoid it unless I really have to. I’ve broken down and ordered CBD oil to help with my anxiety as it’s interfering with my ability to perform my job. It should arrive tomorrow or Thursday.

by Anonymousreply 30February 19, 2020 1:09 AM
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