#panic disorders

Just because you have experienced butterflies before public speaking or an interview and have ~gotten over it~ does not mean you now have even an inkling of what living with a severe panic disorder is like.

That shit is not the same as having such a severe neurological reaction to stress that your nervous system is convinced you're dying and is so overwhelmed by stimuli that it is patently unable to process anything outside of all-consuming, irrational panic.

And even when people are capable of conceptualizing that someone may have panic attacks and are sympathetic to that... it's like that's as far as they're willing to take it.

Anything short of a panic attack is suddenly something that can be ~overcome~ or ~powered through~ just like "everyone else".

Ironically, if you view severe anxiety rationally... is it not obvious that if someone is capable of experiencing the same level of a panic over getting a shot that you would experience when being held at gunpoint that... that level of hyperactivity might extend to literally every other aspect of their life?

Many cases of severe anxiety are a function of a defective parasympathetic nervous system. People with severe anxiety are as neurologically incapable of calming down as someone who suffers from seizures (the medications for the conditions literally overlap!!).

Medication, therapy, and coping mechanisms work as well as they do for any other health condition.

It seems so much bigger than me lately.

The anxiety demon that lives in my brain: oh, a new thing to freak out about! Time to have a panic attack!

My body: instantly feels like it's dying

Me: okay, but this isn't the end of the world and we have strategies to cope with this. We know logically it will be fine.

Anxiety demon: okay, okay, but have you considered....

Anxiety demon:

Me: ...

My brain,

feeling a sharp pain in my chest:

BROKEN RIB!! PANIC ❗️ PUNCTURED LUNG!!!

the power suddenly going out:

EMP?!?! ☢️ Apocalypse!!! ⚠️ OH MY GOD

absolutely nothing:

okay, i have to start this off by saying that i am in no way medically trained in dealing with anxiety/panic attacks. i am not a medical professional. i am a high school student who has been dealing with anxiety and depression for a long time and i have developed some methods of coping that work for me. this is just what helps me, and i hope that something from this list can help you in some way.

1. talk to a therapist

this one isn’t possible for everyone, especially if you’re having an attack at a time where you aren’t with your therapist. i get that. however, if you are showing symptoms of a panic disorder, i would highly encourage you to talk to a professional about it. they can help so much better than a random stranger on the internet. a lot of schools have counselors, and i would recommend talking to them. they can help a lot.

2. call a friend

this also isn’t always possible. it’s always an option, and a good one to have. make sure that friend knows that you might call them, though, or shoot them a text. i’ve found that calling a friend can sometimes be the only way for me to recover from a panic attack. sometimes i need to be talked through it, and that’s okay. i’m very grateful for my friends who help me out when i’m not okay.

3. focus on your breathing

this one sounds a lot more simple than it is, i know. it’s really hard to focus on your breathing when you’re panicking, but try your best. sometimes i need to turn on a metronome (can you tell i’m a band kid? haha) and breathe while i count. i’ll usually start at a higher tempo, and take it down as i begin to control my breathing. i count in for four, hold for two, then release for another four. if i’m panicking too much to hold my breath, i’ll simply hold for four counts then release for another four counts. if i’m on the phone with a friend, sometimes i’ll ask them to count for me or breathe with me. this is probably what helps me the most.

4. ground yourself

focus on your senses. i like to find three things i can feel (ex. someone’s hand on mine, my clothing, my phone, etc.), three things i can smell (ex. a candle, the grass, food cooking, etc.), three things i can hear (ex. my cats playing, people talking, instruments playing, etc.), three things i can see (ex. my hands, the sky, the grass, etc.), and three emotions/feelings (usually nausea, fear, my chest tightening, etc.). this helps bring me back to reality.

5. use apps on your phone

there are a lot of good meditation apps or apps that generally help you get over panic attacks. one that i like to use is called “calm”. if you don’t want to use an app, there are also videos on youtube that do the same thing. i recommend them mostly for when you feel like you’re going to have a panic attack, but aren’t having one yet.

6. think of something that makes you happy

for me, this is often my cats or my friends. it’s also marching, my plans for the future, and my relationships with the people around me. it’s the things that make life worth living.

The most severe and intense form of anxiety disorder.

People basically have eight types of emotions.

Joy, Acceptance, Fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger, expectancy

And these emotions mix to form more complex ones.

Love, obedience, awe, disappointment, regret, scorn, hostility and optimism.

A panic disorder of a type of anxiety disorder where a feeling of powerful fear and anxiety without reason overcomes the person like a wave or fog.

And puts them in a state of being unable to do anything. 

When a panic disorder patient suffers from a panic attack. It starts with symptoms such as dizziness, claustrophobia, cold sweat or a strong heartbeat and tends to lead to a fear of death or going insane.

In our increasingly stressful modern society, more and more people suffer from this disorder. But no one has found a clear cause for it yet. 

Hyperventilation during a panic attack makes it much more dangerous. By making the person breathe into a bag, you need to force them to take in more carbon dioxide. If it’s urgent it may be necessary to cover the person’s mouth with your hand and make them breathe through their nose. 

First, you’ve got to calm the person down.                                                        [It’s okay. There’s nothing to be afraid of.... It’ll go away just like before.]

Then turn their attention to something else.                                                       [Getting them to count down from 100 by 3, for example]

Panic disorders appear often in people who are sensitive to anxiety. There are situations which panic disorder patients avoid at all costs.  Situations where their heart races or which makes them anxious.

They’re afraid of open places where they’re exposed to a lot of people, or enclosed spaces where they feel trapped. This is why they stop being able to use public transportation and are extremely afraid of riding in cars  and another thing is they’re afraid of walking in pedestrian overpasses.

Also, aside from their house and room (where they feel safe). Enclosed spaces make it very easy to cause a panic attack. Places like basements, elevators are worse than a nightmare to panic disorder patients.