Panic Attacks Support Group

im a 20 year old girl and i had a panic attack today, but it was the first time i rrealized i had one. even though i had a couple before(i didnt take it serious before cause it wasnt as bad), since it lasted over an hour and i felt like my body is gonna shut off and im about to die. i decided to google all my symptoms and i had every one of the ones on the list. but where do i go from here? im not insured. and it really scared me soo much this time. are there any exercises i can do to not have this horrible expierince come back? i still feel shaky and a little down. thank you for you help

Welcome to the group Patricia. I know how scared you are right now, I was there, but regardless of how afraid you are this will all get better for you. It might not happen right away, but eventually it WILL get better. Being shaky and feeling down is normal under these circumstances, but the main thing is that you have to go on with your life. Don't let this attack stop you from living it because if you start to avoid situations it will confirm your fears and make things worse. Continue to do research into panic attacks, I know for me, the more I knew about them the better I started to feel. In this case knowledge is definitely power.

We are all here for you whenever you would like to talk about this. We've all found talking helps us cope, so I'm sure it will help you too & also knowing that you aren't alone will probably help you feel a little better.

Try not to let the fear take over, you ARE going to be alright even though the attack was very scary. Just keep telling yourself you will be alright.

I'm here to talk anytime you need to.

Sandy

Welcome to the group and to the scary world of panic attacks. Like others have said take a deep breath. The first one terrifies everyone. You are not alone. Do you know what brought this one on? was it a certain place, person, memory, etc? I too have no insurance and am having a hard time getting the help i need for this. Feel free to email me anytime and i'll see if there is anything i can do to help you out. Here in my state we have dr's that go by your income and free clinics but i am not sure where you live at.

Hi patricia87 I'm AJ welcome to the group. I'm sorry you're in the situation you are in, but always remember there is hope.

You may want to go to http://www.anxietycoach.com/

I found this site last year when I had an acute attack (August 2007). It's book, The Panic Attack Workbook, put a lot of things in perspective for me. There are also some videos on YouTube where people talk about panic attacks and what helped them - some I found helpful and some...wow

AJ

So sorry to know you're going through this Patricia but you already took one major step by joining an awesome support group and you really can't beat this one. The deep breathing, drinking cold water, listening to music and sometimes just singing really loud always seems to help me. I had my first major panic attack a few weeks ago and still feel shaky and nervous. I have had some aftershocks (nothing's as scary as the first one) but I have learned so much here that it's already getting easier to handle. I know I say this to everyone but if you're into yoga at all that really seems to help me too. Or at least just some really nice stretching. My prayers are with you to get through this tough time. Just remember you're not alone and this is a pretty common thing.

Mamatrixie speaks the truth! You are so welcome here and we all care! Don't feel "weird" because you can see this does happen a lot. When I first had one, no one even had a name for it. There were no computers. I wish I had this back then! Although I am a GL here, you can see for yourself everyone's opinions are equal and we really would like for you to join in. We can get deeply into this or, at times, we just have some fun together. I personally think either is good for us. Mostly though, feel free to speak up here, We want to hear from you!