Causes Of Panic Attack and Other Anxiety Disorders

I have had panic/anxiety attacks since I turned 14 or around 8th grade. I did have a normal childhood but not as normal as others since I didn’t have many friends or I didn’t go to daycare as much and I always asked alot of questions and often got frustrated and angry and had tantrums, I moved to America when I was 7 I was born in Estonia. I got teased alot in Elementary and Middle school. Now that I’m 17 years old I’ve begun to understand myself more and know myself, I’ve been through alot in my life, good and bad. I’m very shy and its hard for me to communicate/ make friends. Last year I was in alot of stress and I mean alot, I started having severe panic attacks and I almost felt like dying, thats how bad they were. I ended up in the hospital, had no idea what was going on. They gave me alot of medication in the hospital, I got transferred into a mental hospital though, and from there on they discovered I had Aspergers Disorder, I also had Panic/ Anxiety Disorder. Im much better now

you’ve been through alot of "stress" moving from one country to another is hard. i’ve moved from on state to another which is easier but, still not as easy. as the aspergers part that’s a whole genetic thing. i have a younger brother that has aspergers and he’s now 26. i’m thinking it’s just the whole moving thing, and being shy cause you don’t know anyone, and on top of it your have to learn a whole new language. you were speaking eesti keel which is alot harder to speak than english is. i would step back, take a deep breath, and think about everything that’s happened in your life and look at yourself in the mirror and say "hey it’s cool, i’m new but, i’ll make it through it" you have to take one day at a time.

good luck

email me at reenie18@hotmail.com if you need someone to talk to.

when i sleep in the dark sometimes i wake up suddenly, in a full blown panic attack,i guess its a panic attack cause it feels likei m panicing.i have to get up and turn all the lights on and take really deep breaths and a couple of times ive even had to go outside because i felt like i was too closed in or somthing.so now i sleep with a night light and the t.v. on.so it doesnt happen any more.it almost happened to me in a movie theatre one time but i controlled it.has this ever happened to you and did you get help for it?what is it called?

thanks!

People with anxiety disorders can sometimes be awakened at night by panic attacks. We know that most nighttime panic attacks aren’t caused by dreams.Records of sleep polysomnographia show that most panic attacks take place during the early sleep phase (phase II), not during the REM phase associated with dreams.This is different from nightmares. Nightmares happen during the second half of the
night, so we’re often able to remember the content of these dreams.
If you wake with a panic attack, implement the One Move—that should help you significantly drop your anxiety level. It’s important not to go to bed fearing you might have a panic attack. Go to bed confident that if one should arise, you’ll successfully deal with it. That way, you don’t put yourself under pressure to not have a panic attack. Many panic attacks are experienced at the very moment of falling asleep. Here’s a description a woman gave of her experience:Getting to sleep is a real problem. Just as I’m about to drop off to sleep, my body seems to jolt awake, like an electric shock, which then frightens me and keeps me awake for hours.This jolt is called a hypnic jerk, or hypnagogic massive jerk. A hypnic jerk usually occurs just as the person enters sleep. People often describe it as a falling 120 sensation or an electric shock, and it’s a completely normal experience. It’s most common when we’re sleeping uncomfortably or overtired. There’s been little
research on the subject, but there are some theories as to why hypnic jerks occur.When we drift off into sleep, the body undergoes changes in temperature,breathing, and muscle relaxation. The hypnic jerk may be a result of the muscles relaxing. The brain misinterprets this as a sign of falling, and it signals our limbs to wake up, hence the jerking legs or arms.People turn hypnic jerks into panic attacks because they already feel nervous about their condition and the jolt scares them into thinking something bad is happening.Again, it’s a fearful reaction to a sensation. Usually when these people wake up,they gasp for air, and this can also turn into a fear of a breathing problem while sleeping. If you jolt awake with panic, then simply understanding the nature of a
hypnic jerk can strip away the anxiety from the experience. Reassure yourself that you’re safe and that the jerk isn’t something to worry about. It doesn’t disrupt your bodily functions, and it doesn’t put you in any danger.

You know how certain things you see, smell or hear can trigger a panic attack? I have so many of these triggers now that I don’t know how to avoid the panic attacks. How do you make objects, sounds and smells neutral and so that they are no longer triggers? It feels like almost everything makes me feel panicky and I don’t have a safe place to be.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is probably your best bet for literally making your "trigger" objects, sounds, and smells more neutral. This sort of therapy helps you to identify/recognize the thoughts you are having and how they contribute to your feelings of panic. The next step is to begin to practice relaxation or self-soothing techniques while thinking about or literally physically encountering some of your triggers. This way, over time, you learn to associate your triggers with feeling relaxed instead of feeling afraid or panicked. This whole process is done slowly and sensitively, depending upon how much you can handle at any given time.

Try calling the phone number on the back of your health insurance card and ask for a referral to a cognitive-behavioral psychologist or therapist, if you are interested.

Other types of individual psychotherapy can also help you with panic attacks and depression, but again… if you are literally interested in making your triggers neutral, I think CBT is your best bet. Other types of therapy will help you to identify and modify your unconscious reasons for having such a strong reaction to particular triggers.

Good luck.

Please take the time to read and help me out. Thank you

I’m 23, 5′10, 220lbs.

I woke up really early this morning (6:30am) and i usually don’t get up that early, but then i started feeling bad and I couldn’t really remember or focus on what i was thinking at the time (that caused me to feel bad), but i was probably dwelling on whatever i was thinking. I got really thursty and drank some water.

I started to freak out and then had a panic attack, this was pretty hard core. My neck and my jaw felt really tight (like a tence feeling, It was like, i kept my jaw tenced and bit down) but during this period my head felt like it was going to expload and then i started having the shakes, like chevering. I was confused on how to explain what was happening to me towards my g’f and my mother, i just wanted to be kept calm and wanted this feeling to stop. I felt scared and thought i was going to die or something.

I made myself get up and walked around trying to keep calm, then it was slowly going away cause the shaking was stopping. Then it was like *BAM* gone, lasted not even 5min. Then i felt calm and fine.

This isnt the first time, a panic attack like this felt so bad. I had it before and was actually taken out by ambulance and they said it was a panic attack that caused my blood presure to go up then it was gone after a few min.

Last night i had a few drinks (alcohol) and just went to bed, and i know this wasnt any normal hangover lol. I hope you guys understand what happed and if this is a normal panic attack, cause if so im going to do something about these panic attacks cause i’ve ever had them before in my life, and they just started on my 3 years ago, and i will be 24 in Aug. 2009. I was on Prozac, then paxil then lexipro but all made me feel worse or mean, so i quit taken them, then my Dr. gave me Vistiral and i only take those when im really stressed and feel like i could have a panic attack coming. but after doing a "what did vistiral do for you" and "Side Effects of Vistiral" search, im done with that, i think i need normal excersize and good food diet.

I have suffered from severe anxiety and panic attacks since I was in first grade. I am 22 now. It is not a normal thing to have. I take Buspar to help curb the anxiety, and the only side effect I had when I first started was a little dizziness when I stood up. I also take Ativan as needed, which is a quick acting anti-anxiety medicine. It’s heavy duty. You are not alone. I understand. Hang in there and talk to your doctor.

When I panic, I do not want to be alone, but at the same time, I don’t want anybody near me. It doesn’t make much sense to anyone around me.

some days feel good for several days in a row and then fall back into not wanting to get out of bed. Help!

My dad had heart surgery a couple of months ago. He started having panic attacks whenever he tried to lay flat in bed. The doctor explained that the body was reacting that way because of some fear that the heart might stop beating. It is a natural reaction to such a major surgery. My dad fell into a bit of depression because he’s not able to do everything that he wants to yet. If you are on medication you should talk to the doctor about side effects, these could be causing problems. But you also have to let your body take the time to heal. Some days your body is not going to want to do much but sleep, other days you might have more energy. This is totally normal. My dad went through this for a few weeks. Be gentle with yourself and understand that the healing process takes longer than we want it to.

I had a baby 11/15/08. My periods since then were: 12/25; 1/19 (25 days); 2/14 (26 days). So 25 or 26 days for this month would’ve been March 11 or 12. On the 12th I had a panic attack, and on the 13th I went to the ER with left-sided, shooting chest pains. That’s when I found out I have panic attacks and stress/anxiety disorder. Basically, I will be getting a HPT, but do you think the PA could have made my period stop or is making it late? I am 4-5 days late as of now, but I don’t have any symptoms of pregnancy. All I have are cramps and the "feeling" that I should be starting my period soon.
I also, and I could be making myself think this, but I have like a "menstrual smell", like when you can smell rain coming? Yeah, like that.

I take it your stress level is up if you had a panic attack. Stress will delay the onset of your cycle.

Ok so I had a panic/anxiety attack the night before last and I had all the usual symptoms. About an hour later after I was given the drugs to help calm me down my throat still felt tight and blocked. The doctor kept reassuring me that I had 99% oxygen and that I was breathing fine. It took me forever to get to sleep that night and when I woke up I was anxious and had the same feeling of suffocation again so I went back to the hospital and told the exact same doctor that I had seen the night before that I still didn’t feel any different and that the panic attack had reoccured 3 times again so far because I was scared that I couldn’t breathe. I also told him, yet again, about how my throat felt blocked and and clogged with mucus and how when ever I drank or ate something it felt like it took longer than normal to go down. He seemed to not car about anything that I was saying the most he did was tell me to make an appointment to get my throat checked out. What do you guys think it is?

Any time you have a Respiratory problem.it is aways best to consult a Pulmonologist,for they specialize in this field! I have had Panic and anxiety attacks for years,also COPD,which stands for ( Chronic – Obstructive – Pulmonary – Disease – and when I have difficulty breathing,I get panicky and anxious and that hinders my breathing even more! It would be a wise move,for you to make an appointment and see this type MD as He/She can benefit you by accurately diagnosing your illness! Good Luck! God Bless!

I think I had some sort of panic attack, or just a mental breakdown, and I think it may have been caused by a combination of my prescription allergy medicine and school stress. I am a sixteen year old sophomore in high school in honors classes with about a 4.0 gpa at a difficult catholic school. All school year, I would, of course, get a little bit stressed during tests, but I had one of the worst experiences of my life this past wednesday: I almost lost it. I had just started my allergy medicine for this year; i had also used it last year, and nothing like this ever happened. The night before my big honors algebra 2 test, i felt really anxious, even though I studied for hours. When I sat down to take the test the next day, I answered a few of the easy short answer questions; then i got to one I didn’t know. I skipped it, and moved on to the problems. The first one I couldn’t do. As usual, I moved on to find one I could do, you know, to boost my confidence. Whoops out of space
Anyways, suddenly I couldn’t do any of the problems. My face started to get really hot, I started get waves of cold sweat rushing over my body, I felt nasuous, and I could feel my heart racing. The room seemed way too bright, and I felt really dizzy and light headed being in there. I started breathing faster, and felt a terrible adrenaline rush. I jumped out of my seat, and then covered it up by asking my teacher a bs question. I don’t know how long it was, 5, 10, maybe 15 minutes, but I started to calm down, did a few problems, then ran into another I suddenly couldn’t remember how to do, and it all started over. I was frantically flipping through my test, and I couldn’t do anything. I calmed down again, but there were only a few minutes until class ended. Is it possible that my allergy medicine could’ve caused more anxiety than normal, and then the stress of the test triggered an anxiety attack?
By the way, could this cause a phobia of tests? I had an honors chemistry test today that I started out doing really well on, then I hit a problem i couldn’t do and felt that terrible feeling. This time, I somehow got a grip and pulled it together, and got through the test. My teacher graded it right away and I got one of the highest grades in the class! (a 96%). I guess I’m afraid of failure. Could that be the cause of these recurring panic attacks.
Okay, these details are getting kind of ridiculous, but when I was having my panic attack, suddenly scenes from Superbad started playing in my head, and Smoke on the Water, which I had listened to on the way to school started playing in my head. Now I’m afraid to listen to music on the same day as a test. Can one panic attack cause a phobia?
sorry for all these details. Another wierd thing that happened was that I felt like a litte kid; I was scared and I wanted my mom. So many wierd things happened at once that it’s hard to remember all of them.

Yes it was likely a panic attack and if you take Allegra it can make matters worse, but more likely you are beginning to get panic disorder. Stay away from caffeine, nicotine, and get enough sleep. Try to get 30 minutes of cardio exercise daily. Eat well, don’t be underweight and take a mult vitamin. If it continues to happen talk to 7your doctor you can take an SSRI like Zoloft or Paxil o prevent attacks

Hey, I am a 18 year old male and I got mono in September, 2006 of last year and I am allot better from what I was, but I still have some effects of something that is driving me crazy. I have a rapid heart rate at times, like when I wake up and stand up of a morning my heart beats hard for like 5 minutes and I get weak, but I am not light headed yet when I wake up of a morning, but when I get into the evening I get light headed and my heart beats hard and I get light headed and I get almost scared that my heart is going to bust.. When it does that, I can feel it all in my chest beat and shit. I also get random fevers and pressure in my head near my jaws. I was told that it is probably a panic attack and I was wondering can a panic attack do this? Also what is a good medicine for treating a panic attack, if it is that because there is no way I can control it naturally.

Well her is how I look at it; if you have been checked out by your doctor and you have expressed your symtoms and they still insist it is a panic attack then I am going to agree yes.

I suffer from panic disorder, and I found that some commonalities is your associatied enviroment…or your normal routine. You can trigger your own attack by associating it with the last one. That is why most people that suffer anxiety disorder usually are agoraphobic (meaning they don’t like to leave there house ever for fear of a public anxiety attack).. However, you have to retrain your mind into remember the last time it didn’t happen. That is what I do, and they are getting fewer and far between now. The key thing to remember is that if it was a hard attack or something worse there is usually sickness and or pain involved. More then likely you are triggering your own attacks…

For example, I can cause my self to get one there is one chair in my kitchen that I had a bad one in…and everytime I sit in that chair I feel one in a sense coming on…simply mind over matter. But, my mind associates itself with my last experiance. You need to always remeber to take 10 deep inhaled breaths and release them slowly…and keep telling yourself this will pass and that there is nothing wrong with you.

If you still seem like you can’t get over them, you need to see your doctor, perhaps they can put you on some medication to help you "COPE" with the symtoms. Notice I said cope and not cure…because that is exactly what the meds are for!

Last night I took 10 mg of Flexeril, and then 150 mg of Trazodone, to help my Restless Legs Syndrome and to prevent insomnia. I usually just take 50 mg of Trazodone, but I felt that last night I could benefit from an extra two pills. (Dumb, I know.)

About half an hour after I took the Trazodone I began to panic. I felt like I was in a different world – like I’d gone through the rabbit hole or something. Everything seemed strange and unfamiliar, even my room. It was like I was somewhere that resembled home, but it wasn’t home. I started to black out, then I regained consciousness and sat on the couch curled up in fetal position. Eventually I managed to make it to bed and fall asleep.

When I woke up this morning, I felt extremely groggy. I also noticed that some of last night’s effects were still there. I continued for the remainder of the day to feel like I was stuck in Wonderland – like everything was extremely unfamiliar. The cars looked like they had faces and for a period of time, I thought there was something in the sky watching me, watching us – all of us. I know it all sounds crazy, but you can’t imagine how terrifying it is to feel like you’re on some sort of psychedelic drug when all you’ve taken is 3 sleeping pills and a muscle relaxer.

I took a half an Ativan to help calm myself today, and it partially worked, but I still feel as if everything is strange. I still feel partly stuck in another place, and it scares me. It scares me more than anything in the entire world. I’m paralyzed with fear at the thought that I might be like this forever. How long do all these drugs effect’s last/how long do they stay in your system? And will this go away? Please help me, I’m desperate.

Thanks.

If your prescribed dose of Trazadone is 50 mg, taking three times that amount has given you bad side effects. I hope you don’t try that again. Sounds like you probably won’t.

It should be out of your system tomorrow. Drink lots of water to help flush it all out, and do not take anything else today or tonight. Let your body adjust back to normal.

You will be back to normal again soon.