PTSD, mild long covid and who knows what else seems to have triggered panic attack.
Initially a month apart now 3-5 weekly even with SSRIs.
Doing breathing exercises, CBT, meditation and therapy in addition.
Already changed diet and added exercise.
Physically, a little round but extremely fit with an active lifestyle.
Absolutely flummoxed, doc reco'd antihistamines to replace a benzo that was begging to concern us for it's addiction profile.
The antihistamines just further fueled the pressure, in the ER now after 30 hours of discomfort.
I have a new respect for people going through anxiety, it's not how I want to spend my nights.
Oh, dear. I'm so sorry! And hope you're feeling better. The ER is its own ring of Dante's Inferno, isn't it?
I used to be agoraphobic -- so, panic attacks led to agoraphobia. I could tell you stories, but I'm sure you have your own. And I managed them & now it's mostly a very bad set of memories.
Anyway, what kicked my butt into gear was ... a trip to WDW! LOL. I was going to a joint trip to the national figure skating championships & WDW & there was no one I was going to miss this trip. I went to a new MD who gave me Xanax, which I fought against. My adrenaline level was so high that I didn't even feel it, but it, as my doctor put it, knocked me on my butt so I could grab some perspective. Now, if I take the same dose, I fall asleep for half a day. It was, for me, a radical intervention.
And I read a book about relaxation - I wish I could remember the title! (Something like One Minute Relaxation, it's a very old book) Essentially, you breathe in slowly for about 30 seconds, pause & say a word like "peace", "quiet", "calm" - you could say "puppy", it doesn't matter, just a word that is calming. Then you breathe out, taking twice as long, so 60 seconds. I thought it was the dumbest thing I'd read & I read a lot of books about anxiety attacks, but I was desperate. It was miraculous & I still do it sometimes.
When I am in the throes of an honest-to-goodness anxiety attack, I use another simple tactic that short-circuits the brain. You look around you & describe what you see, completely without judgment: "There is a wall with red bricks. The trim on the window is white. The mailbox is painted like a flower with a ladybug on it. The car is silver with New Mexico plates. The license plates are teal with yellow lettering." And so on. Once you are focusing on this sort of minutaie, you will have less attention & energy for the physical manifestations of an anxiety attack & they subside.
These tactics are not about delving into why you're experiencing panic, although that can be very valuable, too. If you cannot control them in the moment, thinking rationally is just a nice treat. These are about stopping the attack as it happens so you get that perspective.
I hope they help. You will get better -- I promise!!