Panic attacks

Yeah they're not fun.
I don't want to have them ever again.

If only

I'm sorry you have to go through that too :T I don't have them very often, but when I get them they suck...

That's a pretty poem, though

nice poemst

the hardest part of a panic attack or anxiety attack is ironically that they feed into themselves. you're scared of being scared so you get more scared because the fear isn't going away

most of my homework has been done during severe anxiety because forcing myself to do math/coding/writing lets me avoid thinking about the all-consuming fear

I've dealt with anxiety and panic attacks for a few years now, even having a major attack recently so I can relate. I've been through some online training on it offered by the province I'm in that I found to have lots of great information. The first recommendation I've got is to remind yourself that a panic attack will not kill you, that it always ends and that you can always cope better than you think you can. There are three things I'd recommend: Thought challenging, controlled breathing and talking with friends and family about it.

Typically, when we have thoughts, we rarely consider the fact that they may not even be true or based on facts. Thought challenging is the act of reviewing your negative thoughts and testing them to see if they actually make sense. Challenging can be done in a variety of manners like asking yourself if a friend or family member would think the same of you or do you have any actual evidence to lend to the thought. Most often than not, the answer would come back to disprove the thought and help you discard it.

Practising controlled breathing can help lessen the severity of the attacks. This is done more regularly rather than during an attack. I try to do it at least twice a day. It can help during an actual panic attack but by practising it, it keeps you calmer when an attack actually happens. Typically, I set a timer for 3 minutes when I practise. This is taking gentle breath around 3 seconds in through your nose, and then 3 seconds out through your mouth. I've seen the timing a little different between resources. You also want to use your belly for the breaths. If you find it hard, sit upright and put one hand on your belly and the other on your chest, focusing on pushing your belly out with the breaths.

Talking with friends and family can go a long way. It's hard at first but I've found many people are supportive when discussing anxiety rather than dismissive. The obvious fear is someone would say "What do you have to be stressed about?". I've never had anyone say that to me. I've found myself feeling almost immediately better every time after talking through my thoughts with my girlfriend.

All of this aside, I do still have attacks every few months and am continuing to learn and understand it myself. My next step personally is to take up meditation. I've heard there are many benefits to meditation including calming your mind.

life sucks, and its the ability to cope with that is what life teaches you over time. you cant over analyse the things that trigger aa panic attack.

Panic Attacks are indeed no fun. Hard to avoid them though

@AshuraZro yeah, Mine are more physical then mental, I know I am /okay/, I know I'll live through it. I learned this like on my second or third one, I still feel them tho, still feel like crap. Breathing does seem to help, even if slightly,
and Yeah, I have a friend I talk to i she's on.

I also hate how they feed on themselves like that, It's like screwing yourself over if you think about it too much.

that kinda sounds like what happens when I think about existence :/