Mental & Emotional Health

I had my first real, full-blown panic attack this afternoon. It had to do with school, financial aid, and not receiving the correct amount THREE WEEKS before school starts. I started having tunnel vision, my hands got incredibly shaky, I started breathing very shallowly and I felt like I was going to pass out. I was crying, my tongue swelled, my nose started running, and I felt the entire room spinning. My good friend Jenn talked me through most of it and then I called my mom to tell her about it. I asked her to cosign a loan (so now not all of school is free) and she was more than willing, reminding me that she “had to have co-signers until we were 30!” when I told her I felt weird asking her to do so.

Well, this panic attack felt worth describing and then I wanted to share some other descriptions of panic attacks with you. I am leaving them all anonymous just because I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable!

“I always feel sick, my heart beats against my chest and it feels like it’s going to break through my chest, stomach pains, constant shaking, all noise seems amplified, and my brain just freaks out and panics, kinda feels like the whole world is swirling, feels very disorinated. Also I find it very hard to breathe, and I get a very dry mouth.”

“The uncontrollable shaking, hard to breathe, pins and needles in my fingers and toes, the funny vision thing you were talking about. I also get involuntary muscle spasms and cramping (which makes me look possessed), nausea.. Two things that happen with me I never really see mentioned anywhere though, is vomiting and fainting. I do those as well.”

“Your mind races, your thoughts blur, and anything you think of you begin to worry about. It makes it very hard to function because you feel like any piece of your world could suddenly collapse around you. Sometimes they last all day, relentlessly making you feel like something horrible is about to happen, even though you don’t what that something is. Other days they last for an hour or two and suddenly disappear. Whenever they stop, they leave you feeling ecstatic and ready to take on the world. Until, of course, it comes back again the next morning or afternoon or two days later. You never can tell. The randomness of duration and frequency are what can drive you insane. You can have two perfect days, and crash the third. Or, have a perfect day interrupted at various intervals. Like I said, you never can tell.”

Just for actual reference:
Signs and symptoms may include:
* Rapid heart rate
* Sweating
* Trembling
* Shortness of breath and hyperventilation
* Chills
* Hot flashes
* Nausea
* Abdominal cramping
* Chest pain
* Headache
* Dizziness
* Faintness
* Tightness in your throat
* Trouble swallowing
* A sense of impending death

mental & emotional health, panic attacks, panic, panic disorder