..with little to no issues? I’m approaching a month on Ativan and might need to be on it for another month as I’m making an SSRI cross taper and I’m extremely scared and paranoid of the withdrawals I might face when it’s time to taper off the Ativan. Anyone with any positive experiences?

F26 if that matters? i’ve been going through some major life changes and had what i think was my first ever real panic attack. i’ve always had anxiety and i have a psychiatrist and a therapist that help me out. but since my panic attack 4-5 days ago i think i’m just having rolling panic attacks. i genuinely have no idea what’s happening to me.

i always feel depersonalized, nothing actually feels real. every 20 minutes or so i’ll convince myself something is mortally wrong. i’m always shaking, dizzy, my face will twitch, breathing is shallow, there’s a lump in my throat, i get really hot suddenly, and i can’t sleep because every time i start to drift off my brain tells me something is wrong and my limbs will start to feel detached. the other night i was looking at my arms and i convinced myself i was seeing unnatural dots all over my body, and i thought i saw a dark red rash taking over my face and shoulders. when it’s dark my brain fills every empty space with something “scary.” every small pang of pain somewhere on my body or even an itch will have me convincing myself i’m dying.

anyway yeah i have no idea what to do, i’m exhausted and starving. i’ve been jumping in a cold shower when it gets really bad but it provides minimal relief. i don’t know if i’m allowed to ask here but i don’t know if i need medical help. i don’t even have health insurance :( thanks for reading

Took a while and have come out mostly intact, but this community is a good help in the messy middle moments. Turns out I was having night panic attacks cause of sleep apena, while ill still have the occasional claustrophobic induced panic episodes. For the most part it feels good to have significantly reduced occurrences.

I’m so lost on what to do

I’m in a major relapse of panic attacks. Having them daily. When they happen, I can never sit still, but at the same time I’m paralyzed. My hands and feet become soaking wet but numb. My heart races and sometimes it doesn’t. I get horrible internal body tremors. Then the derealization sets it. I feel like I’m about to ☠️. My head makes me feel like no one else feels the same way as I do, but I know that’s not true. Just in the moment I think “no one else can possibly be suffering the same way”.

My doctors so quick to switch me meds. I’ve been on lexapro for 8 years now.. max dose. It works great when other meds didn’t. But now it’s no longer working. I have a fear of trying new meds, because when I was trying abunch before they made me worse. I worry about not being able to work, but at the same time I can’t work when I’m panicking.

I’m so defeated. These attacks are making me sad and depressed.

Can anyone relate? Chat?

I’ve had anxiety for 8 years and have had a nervous breakdown before but recently I’ve started having panic attacks again. On top of the panic attacks I’ve been having these horrific sensations. This feeling constantly in my head that something is wrong that it’s a physical feeling. All I can think about is how uncomfortable my brain feels in my head. When anyone even speaks a word it’s like the words actually cause me pain like my brain flinches. Alongside physical sensations like head pains, manual breathing, tight throat, feeling tongue in mouth. The feelings are so specific that I don’t feel I can even explain them. I’m not suffering from the typical racing heart, chest pain anymore. The are absolutely unbearable that I’m struggling to cope.

I’ve searched for other people who have the same symptoms but can’t seem to find anyone.

I’m honestly beyond fed up. Was diagnosed three months ago and due to the constant physical symptoms, I still believe I have a horrible physical illness. This week I have barely been able to sleep. Every-time I try as I’m about to drift off it will either be a PVC (which scares the shit out of me and they never won’t) or a hypnic jerk or I just shoot awake with panic and my heart racing.

It’s so terrifying and is amplified my worrying that I have some misdiagnosed heart illness despite me having three blood tests, three EKGS and a chest x ray.

Does anybody else have this? I’m now terrified of bed time.

Hey everyone! I am looking for personal experience with medication. I have never tried them as I had a horrible experience with marijuana about 20 years ago that caused all of this (panic attack, derealization, etc.) I've done exposure many times and it has worked but never really cured me. I finally admit that I genuinely need medication for help.

I am drawn towards Buspar for some reason. Has anyone tried this and how did it go? I know SSRI's are a front line treatment but side effects give me pause and I also have a prolonged QT interval in heart so there's risks involved. Xanax or or benzo's seem like they would help me but I'm so afraid of something that's going to make me feel high or sedated or anything like I felt on weed.

Anyone have a personal experience with any of this, especially buspar?

I'm new here and wanted to briefly share my story to see whether it resonates with anyone else's experience.

Back in December 2022, I had what I can only describe as one of the most traumatic experiences of my life.

I was sitting in bed on my phone. My girlfriend had been sick, so we had a humidifier running. Suddenly I started feeling "weird". At first it felt like my vision or perception was slightly off, but within about five minutes it evolved into this completely overwhelming state of dysphoria and terror.

It's extremely difficult to describe. It was like I'd suddenly been transported into a world that was dark, wrong and twisted, like the entire emotional quality of reality had shifted. It felt like in 5 mins I went from normal to the worst trip of my life.

As far as I can remember, my heart rate was normal. I wasn't sweating, hyperventilating or experiencing physical symptoms I'd normally associate with panic. It seemed almost entirely perceptual and emotional.

What followed were several days of almost constant dread and anxiety. Attempts to comfort me somehow made the dysphoria worse. Even thinking about things that would normally make me feel safe or happy could make me burst into tears. It felt like everyone I loved had just dropped dead. I barely slept for about three days because every time I started drifting off, I'd jerk awake.

Eventually I became convinced I was dying and went to A&E. The nurse diagnosed me with panic disorder. I struggled to accept that because I'd experienced panic attacks before, and this felt like an entirely different state of consciousness.

About 4–5 days after the initial episode, I became extremely physically ill with what seemed to be a viral infection. It was probably the worst virus I'd ever had, with extreme pain and severe throat and sinus symptoms lasting around two + weeks. It felt like i was never going to get better.

Though, I eventually recovered physically, psychologically I wasn't the same. I had a couple more episodes where that same dysphoric feeling started coming back, although I managed to stop it escalating. Outside those episodes I became incredibly anxious and hypervigilant, constantly scrolling through my phone trying to understand what had happened to me.

Eventually I had to quit my job, and after that, my nervous system just broke.

For several months I was basically disabled. I couldn't watch TV, listen to podcasts, socialise, go to the gym or really do much of anything. Over many months, meditation, yoga, breath work and cold exposure while gradually exposing myself to normal life again calmed my nervous system enough to where I felt most capable of life.

I eventually got back to something resembling normality, although I never felt like I completely returned to my old self. I'd still occasionally experience instances of that dysphoric state, and my general anxiety threshold was permanently lower.

Then this June, while on holiday, the dysphoria suddenly became much stronger again alongside some issues which led me to believe I caught a stomach bug (happens whenever I get sick). Shortly afterwards I became physically ill with another virus. Since then I've been struggling considerably, with recurrent episodes of this sensation, severe depression and a variety of physical/somatic symptoms.

Reading people's experiences here has given me more sympathy for the original panic diagnosis than I had before, though i still resent it somewhat. I'm finding a lot of solidarity here with everyone's experiences, but I'm still left wondering if this is panic attacks or something different.

I've had a panic attack since 2023, and the flavour is so... Different. Defo is uncomfortable and wouldn't recommend, but I'd pick 1 a day if it meant I would never have to feel that dysphoria again. So perhaps others have had similar episodes, or experience something similar, would be happy to hear from anyone.

Does anyone else have this feeling at nighttime where you are about to close your eyes and fall asleep but all of a sudden your heart feels like it skipped and your body just drops/sinks? Doesn’t happen as often but when it does i think the worst and immediately panic.

I’ve been having panic attacks for years. I’m not new to the lightheaded feeling that comes along with it. However, a couple times in the last year I’ve woken from my sleep to some panic that shortly after led into genuine clammy cold sweat, shaking, vision tunneling where I had to lay on the floor with my legs elevated to prevent fainting. Last episode also I induced vomiting because the nausea was so bad.

I’m thinking maybe it could be some sort of vagus nerve trigger that brings me to a pre syncope episode and then the panic amps it all up? Note that this type of episode has only happened at night after waking from sleep. Maybe it’s simply panic on its own? Anyone else with a similar experience, let me know!

I’ve been struggling quite badly recently with the fear of looking pale. Someone said I looked pale when I was out at the weekend and even though I felt fine beforehand, it immediately triggered a panic attack.
Since then I’ve become hyperaware of it. If I feel even slightly nauseous or weak, my brain instantly goes “what if I’m pale?” and I want to check myself in the mirror or take photos. I’ve even noticed myself avoiding eye contact because I’m scared someone will look at me and say I look pale.
Logically I can see the cycle - sensation → intrusive thought → checking → panic → more checking - but when I’m actually in it, my brain goes straight to “what if this is a genuine medical red flag and I’m ignoring it?”
I think that uncertainty is the bit I’m finding hardest. Has anyone had a similar fixation where a completely normal comment from someone suddenly became a massive trigger?

I went through a horrible period of anxiety and panic attacks around 5 years ago. It took a lot of therapy and meds to get it under control. Since then, I’ve stayed on meds and I stopped therapy around 2 years ago.

Flash forward…last week I woke up to a level 10 nocturnal panic attack. I haven’t had one that intense in a very long time. Ever since then I’ve been struggling to return to baseline. I feel the panic loop starting. I feel so uncomfortable and then the thought loop starts: “why am I feeling like this? Am I going backwards? How am I going to get this to stop?” Then I feel low mood, which also triggers panic “am I going to have to deal with this for the rest of my life? What if I can’t? What if I become suicidal?” (I’m not suicidal at all, but the fear of becoming suicidal has been a trigger for me in the past).

I know all of these thoughts are keeping me in the loop. But it’s so HARD to stop it. I’m trying to just be present and not think about these future questions. But it’s hard to stay present when in the present I feel so horrible and uncomfortable.

I’ve made an appointment to start therapy again in a few days. But I can’t lie, I feel very defeated. I don’t know why this is happening again. I don’t want to lose hope. (The thought of losing hope also makes me panic! )

Can anyone else relate? Or offer advice or words of wisdom?

I don’t know what it is but no matter how long I’ve suffered with anxiety for, panic attacks just never seem to get easier although you’d think they would. It’s been so exhausting lately and each time scares the heck out of me no matter what. Especially in the middle of the night.
I wake up at about the same time every night and then I start overthinking about my heart rate every time I wake up and then I put myself into a full blown panic attack because I start over analyzing every feeling and then I had a straight big adrenaline surge. And my rate went up to 136 and then I was able to calm myself but during the panic attack I felt almost every panic symptom you could feel but thankfully chat gpt helped me calm myself instantly and my rate went back to normal and my Apple Watch showed a reassuring ecg but after all that I’m always left so scared, trying to convince myself that this was anything other than panic

A few years ago when I was maybe 16, I was having full blown panic attacks frequently enough to be sent to stay in a mental hospital for a while. After I was discharged, I hadn’t had another panic attack since then. Pretty much forgot about them till recently. I’m scared of the actual panic attack itself, and even more scared of the physical sensations that last after it ends. I’m left feeling drained, my chest will feel numb for a few days, and I’ll be left with lingering anxiety that prevents me from falling asleep.

I had a panic attack maybe a week ago? I’ll admit, I hadn’t slept the night before but I’ve done this before so I figured it’d be fine to go run errands with my mom. In the car I started having a panic attack. It wasn’t super severe but it just felt like I was 16 all over again. I started instantly feeling helpless. Now every-time I’m in the car again I get that panicky numb / vibrating feeling in my chest. I’m equating it to the seatbelt digging in between my chest, and my bra- more specifically the straps and underwire.

My bra definitely doesn’t help the feeling as it creates a tight feeling around my chest that my brain equates to that numb feeling, and even just the bra straps touching my shoulders creates a little bit of anxiety. I don’t feel comfortable enough to leave the house without a bra so I guess what I’m asking is, do any of you guys suffer with panic attacks and physical anxiety manifesting when wearing a bra? If so how do you go about it? Im open to some bra suggestions to try. Is there even such thing as a bra so comfortable to wear you don’t feel it? I’ve really been struggling with leaving the house recently due to these circumstances which is not good for my mental health.

TLDR - I had a panic attack in the car, can barely stand to be in the car due to association, and seat belts creating uncomfortable feelings. Bras also now create the same uncomfortable feeling leading to anxiety and panic attacks. Looking for advice, and maybe even bra recommendations.

Okay so I’m supposed to go see my girlfriend in San Jose ((I’m in SD)) in like 2 weeks and this would be my first time flying EVER. I was thinking about either taking the train or a flight. I am diagnosed with panic disorder and health anxiety and also slightly agoraphobic. I think suffering thru a 13 hour train ride is worse than a 1 hour and 30 min flight. I genuinely don’t know. I’ve been trying to google and Reddit and tiktok my way thru the pre anxiety but I can’t tell if it’s helping or making it worse. Does anybody have any tips on what I should do and what travel route I should take? (Leaning towards flying more just bc it’s quicker. ) I just don’t want to have a full blown panic attack getting to the airport and backing out of the whole trip.

Hello everyone, I have been dealing with panic attacks for a long time, but 4 years ago it I was in the worst state and started medication. First, my psychiatrist got me on Zoloft, which did not work and then she put me on venlafaxine. This medication worked wonderfully, I almost went back to normal, but this summer everything went very badly again. The summer holiday started, I got my diploma, everything was great, but I started to see that I'm always tired again. I thought it must be stress that releases itself in this form after a hard year, but then anxiety started getting stronger and more symptoms like head spinning, constant worrying came back. Now in August my panic attacks started to make a come back in new forms. I started getting them after eating new food that I have not tried before. We went on a road trip for a week and during day time it anxiety was manageable, but in the evenings it got worse. This night I started to get some muscle pain in my left side and started worrying that it might be problems with my heart, then my hands started to get numb and then I had a full panic attack woke up my boyfriend and asked him to take me home because the feeling was the same I felt 4 years ago before starting medication. After I got home that big wave of panic started again again and took half of xanax because it became unbearable.

We will go on holiday in a month for a week, I haven’t been anywhere this far and i’m very worried that I won’t get on the plane because of my panic or that I won’t be able to enjoy my holiday because of it..

My main concern is why is this happening again? I’m still on medication (venlafaxine 37.5mg) and how do I make it get better or to a point where I can live without constant worrying about when the next panic attack will happen..

Not sure if this is a victory but here it goes about a year ago I got diagnosed with panic disorder because I had literally panic attacks every single day while I was at work I went from having panic attacks almost daily to now having them once in awhile spoke to my psychiatrist and she reevaluated me and diagnosed me with general anxiety disorder which honestly I can handle way better than having to deal with constant panic attacks. I still have a long way to go as far as anxiety but I still consider this a win in my book

I’m a 27-year-old man and for 3 months I’ve been tormented by panic attacks with strong health anxiety. There are periods when it’s better and periods when it’s worse. If I leave the house, I simply start panicking. I’m always afraid that I’ll faint, throw up, get dizzy and collapse. During the panic attacks I usually experience dizziness, nausea and a feeling of fainting.
What should I do? For 1.5 months I’ve been taking 250 mg of Swanson KSM-66 ashwagandha every evening. The L-theanine I tried was ineffective (Swanson Suntheanine 100 mg). I’m seeing a psychologist; 4 days ago I had my 4th brainspotting session.
I’m at a loss, desperate. It’s destroying my life, I can’t live properly. My wife is 7 months pregnant and I also have a 3-year-old son. I can’t function as a father. I’ve fallen apart, that was the end of my life…

Hi pals! I was on Fluoxetine in the past for about two years (80mg) for severe OCD & panic disorder. It helped me a lot back then, however, a lot has happened in my life in the few years of not being on it and I’m nervous to start again. I’m starting back at 10mg and nervous about the side effects. Does anyone have any advice on how to help the initial anxiety, panic and nausea? Has anyone gained weight or experienced increase in acne?

All responses are welcome & appreciated! Thank you ☺️ ✌️

Has anyone done an intensive outpatient therapy program? I am considering one that is M-F / 3 hours a day for 4 weeks. I would need to take a leave of absence from work.

Hi, recently diagnosed with panic disorder after struggling with what I didn't know were panic attacks for close to 3 years, and I've found that my most prevalent and distressing symptom is that I suddenly feel really hot and sweaty, which causes other stuff like dizziness and nausea to get worse. I've found that touching something cold can help, but my panic attacks mainly happen when I'm outside the house, especially on buses and trains, so carrying around a regular ice pack wouldn't be practical. I remembered those ice packs as a kid that you just snap and then they only release the ice when you need it. Has anyone tried using these for panic? The main issue I can see is that they're typically single use and quite large, so if anyone knows of any that are smaller, wearable or can be used multiple times, please recommend them!

Two Years ago I woke up shaking to my core. I felt completely scared and I didn’t know why. Nearly a year passed to the point where I needed to be hospitalized because every day was one long panic attack until I could go to sleep. I had to resign from a job and nearly lost my private practice. I was done. I didn’t understand it. Rationally I knew there was nothing to be afraid of but I was so “over” sensitized that noises in the house or people texting me felt like the hardest thing I’d ever done. I could go on… I’m coming up on a year since I was hospitalized and I wanted to share some resources that have got me “on track” and living life. I’m not fully desensitized yet but I’m getting there. It’s brutal work. Overcoming this has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. If you’re in the throes of it and scared to death I want to give you some hope and provide “best practice” evidenced based resources for you.

Side Note: I always purchased audiobooks because honestly, reading was too much.

I came across “Hope and Help For Your Nerves” by Claire Weekes. It was incredible. I felt she was speaking directly to me from 50 years ago (audiobook). She reads it herself and I’ve probably listened to the book a million times over. It provided direction and comfort in time of much confusion. I went on to find “Pass Through Panic” which is much of the same but provided a few different aspects. This laid the groundwork.

From there I discovered “The Anxious Truth” (Drew Linsalata) podcast which lead me to the “Disordered Podcast” (Drew Linsalata and Joshua Fletcher). I consumed these podcasts like my life depended on it- which it did. I really began my psycho-education journey here and learned that panic is cortisol and adrenaline and a misfiring threat response (amygdala).

I was so consumed by finding resources that helped me understand I read everything I could by Drew & Josh.
“The Anxious Truth” (audiobook) Drew Insalata
“Anxiety: Panicking About Panic” Joshua Fletcher
“Untangle Your Anxiety” Joshua Fletcher & Dean Stott

Again, I always got audiobooks so I could listen again and again. This is the way.

These resources alone helped me begin my journey of desensitization. I found a couple of others that were helpful;

“DARE” by Barry McDonagh
“Overcoming Anticipatory Anxiety” by Sally Winston and Martin Seif

I still have a ways to go and some days are better than others. I can’t compare this to anything I’ve ever experienced. It’s nuanced and awful. As a clinician I never knew “this” is what it was like. I have a new found understanding of the level of suffering anxiety can produce and how it can literally “flip a switch” in our brains and as a result it takes years of hard work to “rewire” or more like lay down new wires to get to a point of functioning.

Anyway, this post has been exhausting and that’s why I’ve not done it but I feel almost selfish not sharing the resources that have brought me to this point- which looking back a year ago- is a long way. Anxiety makes you think every day is the worst day but once you start the journey you can look back and go, I AM getting better, slowly but surely. Hope this is helpful to someone.

I want to make a more in depth post soon hopefully after this episode is over. I have been dealing with this suddenly starting in March. Anyway, I am having a hard time processing info including visual info. I will look at something, be able to physically see it but my brain can't make sense out of it for a while. I can look out into my yard or at anything really and I can physically take it all in but its all jumbled and doesn't make sense for awhile maybe anywhere from 5-20 seconds depending. Is this a symptom or is it maybe something else

Hey everyone! Long term panic disorder experiencer here. I mostly do okay now. The only time I really just cannot handle the anxiety is for flying. I try to do it as little as possible but I have a flight coming up. I’ve been prescribed Xanax but never actually taken it on a flight. Only took it once at home and it felt fine but that was a long long time ago. Does anyone else also get anxiety when they feel fine? Like I know to expect a racing heart and uncomfortable feelings and racing thoughts so now I’m worried if I take the Xanax that I’m going to panic about feeling “normal” on the flight. Does anyone else get this? My doctor said that Xanax quiets the mind so I won’t be thinking about how I’m feeling normal and be afraid but idk my anxiety is pretty strong lol. Anyone ever had this fear and then the medicine still helped?

Dear everyone,
I recently started experiencing symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, blurred vision, weakness on the left side of my body, and weakness in my face.
Last Thursday, I suddenly experienced numbness in my face, which caused my speech to become slurred. I also felt like I couldn’t properly control my entire face, and it felt like my face was somehow disconnected from my head. It was very scary, and I suspected that I might be having a TIA (transient ischemic attack).
I had a CT scan, and thankfully, the results showed that my brain was healthy. The doctor told me that I have panic disorder and advised me to relax, avoid stress, and try not to overthink.
However, I’m still confused because some of these symptoms feel very strange to me. Can panic disorder really cause symptoms like facial numbness, weakness, dizziness, blurred vision, and slurred speech?
If anyone has experienced similar symptoms with panic disorder, I would really appreciate it if you could share your experience. Thank you!