Oh yeah, don't we all just love anxiety attacks. Wipes the fun right out of living! Lol.

Mine usually only happened in bed, but I've had a few in other places. But the worst were in bed. They just come out of nowhere. I'm not even thinking about anything in particular. Then my heart starts pounding, and I can feel it from my toes to the top of my head. It's horrible to feel your heart beating in places that should be QUIET. *smile* Plus I'd get a dry throat, and I would think that this time I really WAS going to die.

I dealt with it by just talking myself through it. I knew it would only last about 20 minutes, so each minute that ticked by was one less minute to endure. Plus, if I could coax my cat into bed with me, it helped tremendously to just pat his belly and stroke his fur and hear him purring. And pretty soon, the 20 minutes would be over. Phew!

I haven't had a panic attack in about 2 years now because I take a beta blocker. It stops the adrenaline from flooding your heart...so no more rapid and forceful heartbeat or any other physical symptoms. That is one of the meds I would never give up because I don't want to go through those ever again. Plus the doctor said there's really no reason to go off it because it's basically a cardiac protector. It's doing me good in a number of ways.

As for Yoga and deep breathing......yikes. I'm like the other person who posted that anything that makes you get quiet and focus on your body just makes it worse. I need distractions. I don't want to be aware of my heart beating or the sound of my breath. But I'm glad it works for so many of you, though!!!

God bless,
Sandy