Hi...plz help....I'm having a panic attack!

[e.lee.sa]

Hi, I'm not here for gaining attention ! I'm here Cruz I really need your help. Plz plz plz read it.

Now that I'm writing this...I'm having a panic attack!...well actually It started...about an hour ago!
It was really bad...,but now I feel a lil better, so I decided to post it & ask for your help.

I'm 21 & a uni student BTW.

*Today, I didn't go out, & actually whenever I don't go out, I feel kinda blue!

*Also, I drank coffee in the afternoon (Idk if that helps & idk if there is a connection. But 4_5 of my panic attacks/anxieties were at nights that I drank coffee (& rarely energy drinks).

I was fine till night. I studied a bit (for exams) & then went surfing the net & watching movies on TV.
I slowly started feeling kinda between anxious & depressed.
But I tried to watch something on TV to distract myself.
I got a lil better, but I was still disappointed, anxious, scared, & suicidal & afraid of future!

So I went to check my messeges,. & I was told that one of our grades is in our uni profile.
(It's exam time)!

Then I felt even worse. My body got cold, I started feeling nauseous & overly anxious, suicidal, & I couldn't stand up completely cuz I felt kinda dizzy! I have emetophobia too, so becoming nauseous made me feel even worse!
I was afraid of failure!
I checked & It wasn't really good but I had passed.

I was still anxious! I asked myself ; "till when am I going to feel this way?"", "What if it gets worse?"
"What if I get out of control one day?"
"Should I kill myself to end this?"

I felt really bad, so I woke my mom up & told her that I passed, but I felt anxious! & suddenly I burst into tears (I rarely cry inn normal situations).

She thought It was only for my grade, so she told me to either stop going to uni (& a major I don't like) or calm down Cuz failing or getting bad grades isn't the worst problem that can happen in ppl's lives! (Although she will kill me if I fail)!

She also said that she is willing to take me to a psychiatrist if I want, in order to get some pills for stress!

But I said No! Cuz I can't really see myself sitting in front of a doctor talking about my problems/emotion & also answering questions.
& also I guess I kinda have social anxiety & I'm kinda shy!

So....
Could u plz help me?
Will I get better ?
What should I do?

 

[Alias]

I don't quite know how to help, but I'll try. Do you have any allergies or intolerances pertaining to coffee? Could it be from watching TV and being in front of a screen too long, or perhaps you were awake too long? What are you majoring in? If you miss the exams can you not retake them? And are you certain you don't want to see a doctor (I don't blame you). Sorry about asking all these questions.

It's kind of hypocritical for your mother to say grades aren't that big of a problem then intimidate you if you fail.

If nothing I can give you helps, good luck. Get well soon. Maybe someone else here could help.

 

[Ex-User (5841)]

Quick and dirty...

-Caffeine causes epinepherine release. It's the same fear hormone involved in the fight or flight response. It increases heart rate and elimination (bladder/bowels). Stop drinking caffeine.

-Do these: http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/08/6-breathing-exercises-to-relax-in-10-minutes-or-less/

Long term:

-Stop worrying about what other people think. They're beyond your control. Not giving a fuck is a valuable life skill.

-See a therapist. They'll refer you to a psychiatrist if you do want meds, but they can also introduce you to non-med techniques (like deep breathing).

-Consider changing your major. A stressful life probably isn't worth living (philosophically speaking).

 

[e.lee.sa]

Allergies ? Yes! But it's seasonal allergy!

Idk about coffee! Some of my panic attacks were at the same night that I drank coffee!
My panic attacks are really awful! Every time I tell myself that I'm never going to drink coffee again, but after a while, I drink again &....

But as far as I'm concerned, no one else in my family (close ones) gets these types of anxiety after drinking coffee!

They can't even understand how bad my panic attack are! They tell me to stop feeling this way, as if I can control it!

Honestly, whenever it happens, all I truly need is an anesthetic drug, to let me die, or at least sleep at that moment in order not to feel anything!

No, I can't retake my exams.....unless I fail! But exams give me stress anyway!
I used to be a good student before uni. I didn't have panic attack, just mild anxiety attacks right before exams. But I was sensitive about my grades (my family forsed me to get good grades!).

I once went to our school counsellor & she told me not to be sensitive about my grades & not to care!
I kinda tried to become this way "after high school & at uni), where most of my peers study hard & get nearly good grades, but I avoid trying hard & don't take tests carefully, & then when I wanna see my grades, I'm Afraid of failure!

Anyway, now that my panic attack is a lil better, I feel a kind of mild discomfort in my stomach area! Not sure if it's coffee! But I still feel anxious & can't sleep!

BTW, thanks for helping me!

 

[DrGregoryHouse]

I find this individual's advice quite soothing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5PWwTv-FEM

GOOD LUCK! Please take care of yourself

 

[Sinny91]

Without knowing you and without knowing what you do, help is limited..

I do know that that much coffee isn't good for you, I was a coffee addict from 2013 to early 2015; I had to cut down due to the effects, I developed a twitch in my eye, and developed the shakes. Go decafe if you must. Do you drink fizzy pop? If so, avoid all with aspartame, and false amino acids, they wreck havoc.

I never understood panic attacks or anxiety until I developed them a few years ago.
It took a lot mental strength an meditation to banish them.

I still have the occasional attacks, however I have specific triggers... Are you aware of yours?

Breath work helps during..

But for the mean time, remember that nothing is permanent in this world, not even your worries. (Can't remember who said that).

 

[Polaris]

I recognise the problem.

The person we think we are is often the product of other people's expectations.

You need to detach from your thoughts and view them as an outsider (the actual you).

Practical hint:

When you feel an anxiety attack coming, don't resist it. It's not going to kill you, because the power of it is illusory. What is happening is that all the pre-conditioning is clashing with the part of you that is real (the calm observer) and the result is the worst kind of cognitive dissonance where your pre-conditioned self is trying to win the battle.

Just watch your thoughts come and go and don't pay attention to them or give them significance. Whenever an intrusive thought comes along just let it come and observe it like an object. These thoughts are meaningless as they are just thoughts.

Others here suggested therapy, which is not a bad idea either. Just be aware some medications can initially amplify the negative effects.

Coffee just serves to initiate or amplify the effect. THD outlined the chemical potential which means coffee is probably a significant contributor/trigger.

Take a break from study, perhaps. It may give you time to think about your options from a more detached perspective - right now you are in the cave looking out.

 

[Sinny91]

"Control your mind before it controls you"...

 

[StevenM]

Ah darn, polaris beat me to it.

I have intermittent attacks once in awhile. Therapy helped a bit, and I found ways to cope.

I wanted to say, that programmed in the panic function in all of us, there is an instruction that ignores suggestions of being relaxed. In fact, when the suggestion is persistent, it triggers even more panic.

Fear causes very weird sensations. If you know what you're afraid of, and how to handle it (and are handling it), you won't notice them. Otherwise, you'll focus right on them, and it'll feel something like having a stroke. And that'll scare you more.

So in the midst of it, the first and best thing to do, is stop the loop right at that point. The sensations are crazy, but there is no need to be alarmed of them. That, and it always goes away; might take 20 minutes or so. I find distraction is key, along with 'ignoring' the symptoms. Then try to remember what you were thinking about, or what happened that triggered it.

It's a colossal, loud and scary beast that actually won't ever harm you. It's better to have a grip on it, or find ways to cope, than it is to turn to meds. Meds should be a last resort. I've been told diet and exercise can take you far.

Don't be afraid of being afraid.

 

[Lapis Lazuli]

You are probably not afraid of failure. It would be my guess, that if you are an INTP, you are afraid of success because no one around you has ever really seen an intelligent person and they wouldn’t know if it if Einstein or Jesus were in front of them.

My advise? Hold on. Don’t be afraid of your mistakes! This is the only way you will acquire experience, and your experiences are the only thing that distinguishes you from the Zombies.

 

[onesteptwostep]

I don't think your mother values your education over your health. She values your wellbeing over anything.

I think if you rest a bit, it'll go away. Not going to class isn't the end of the world. Anxiety + coffee is bad I've found, personally. If things get worse it'll affect your sleeping schedule, then you won't have enough energy to function during the day time. Tbh you seem to lack someone you can lean on (I mean no homo). Children usually need both a father figure and a mother figure to get through their adolescence. Without emotional support you're bound to suffer some social related problem.

If things go bad to worse though, then a psychiatrist might be a possible solution. But it could be that school stress is getting to your head, idk. Working isn't a bad idea either, like some of us have already noted in reply to your other topics. Helps you cool down and live life a bit. Schooling isn't everything, especially when it impinges on your health and wellbeing.

 

[e.lee.sa]

Hi everyone! Thanks a lot for helping me!
After posting this thread & reading some of your comments, & googlings, I felt like my panic attack/anxiety was getting kinda better, so I just tried to sleep, & after some time (Idk, maybe an hour, but Idk), I fall asleep!
Then after sleeping for hours, I woke up & I felt much better than that moment!!! (After all, it was a panic attack).

Now, I feel better, & I just don't want these types of attacks to happen to me! & I don't want anything else to give me panic attack!

I also searched a bit online, & found websites of some ppl who claim that panic attacks, are the result of bad/abnormal fight or flight system in ppl. They claim they have learned some methods to stop their fight or flight system from giving them panic attacks & these types of things, but they only "SELL" their methods & you have to send them money! But I did'nt do that!

I'm still searching for these types of methods to trick my fight or flight system!
They claim they do it without going to a psychologist or pills

BTW, the reason I don't go to a psychiatrist, is because I'm really uncomfortable with sitting in front of a doctor, answering his/her personal questions, or talking about my feelings, emotions, my situation, who I am, my life, etc with him/her. I would feel ashamed!

I prefer ppl who see me & know me IRL to think that I'm a happy normal person. Sometimes, I I had someone close to me in real life & this small town, & I could trust her, or even love her, or there were some groups or ppl like me, or ppl I could trust, & get support from.
Having no one to trust & feeling lonely, is really bad!
I really like to leave this town after finishing my education & go to a big city were I can have things that I lack now! I can have a busier life there & Then maybe my depression, anxiety & panic attacks go away!

But thanks for taking time & helping! Thank you! If you ever found other methods, plz let me know!

.

 

[EditorOne]

Speaking with a therapist need be no more stressful than speaking in this forum. We are empathetic but nonjudging and somewhat detached by nature; therapists are empathetic and nonjudging and detached by professional training. It won't be as you fear, it will be OK.

"The person we think we are is often the product of other people's expectations." Polaris nailed that one, and it leads me back to your unhappiness with your university major: Why? Presumably a major indicates a body of knowledge that will be the basis for some sort of life activity. If you don't like the major, how does it follow that you're preparing for a life in that field? To me that was the biggest red flag. Many of us resolved dissatisfaction with subject matter by changing majors several times (which was also counterproductive and stressful). You sound like you've made a choice and will grit it out. Or is your choice really based on what others expect of you? I'd pour some thought into this particular aspect of your life, you may think your way through to a resolution.