I hope you are able to find something that helps you deal with the panic attacks.

I think the main trick is to find the things that work for you. I know this is a terrible thing to say, my T keeps trying to get me to try again, but breathing stuff does not help me at all. Paying any type of attention to my breathing makes me panic harder. It is some sort of mental block that I have in my head, because it's supposedly the best way to overcome attack. I do fine without the breathing stuff, thank you very much. So there's hope, I promise.

Things that do help me:
-counting backwards from 100
-proving that I am in control; picking a specific thing to do and doing it (i have a lot of attacks in the car, so I'll tell myself to change the radio station 4 times or roll down the left side rear window, etc.)
-If I am having mental panic I do something physical (If I keep thinking about something that causes me panic I will go do a load of laundry.) If I am having physical panic I will do something mental (If I am concentrating on the fact that my face feels numb and my heart is pounding I will try to learn something new, play a computer game, watch TV, or read something.)

When worse comes to worse I sit and look at what is actually happening. I was having terrible attacks at home. I tried to think about how I was safe at home watching TV and how it is not even remotely dangerous or scary, no matter what it felt like.

I also started tracking how long the attacks lasted. It gave me something else "scientific" to focus on. The more I got into tracking, the shorter the attack. I read somewhere that your body can ramp up to full alert in 3 minutes and that it takes about that long to ramp back down. I always tried to test to see if that felt true or if I could relax enough to drop down closer to a 6 minute attack.

I tend to worry that I'm going permanently crazy and that the attack will never stop. Obviously those things aren't true. I rarely panic that I am going to die (in fact I'd probably welcome death to be blatently honest) but panic won't kill you either.



Oh, T once told me to grab an ice cube in each hand and stand outside. I've never tried that one. I think it was summer when he told me that though.

And I will shut up now. I just know what it feels like when they won't stop coming and it feels so out of control. It can get better.