Also dealing with triggers/PTSD

I don't want to steal Mr. V's thread, but I have a similar question. My PTSD isn't usually much of a problem. My Bipolar I and Generalized Anxiety Disorder are up front causing all the trouble while my PTSD and OCD just sort of hang around in the back and act annoying.

Lately, however, my PTSD has come roaring back to the front. One big example recently was Saturday. I decided to attend a Saturday evening service at a new to me church near where I live. Everything was great until they started singing. Perfectly normal upbeat song, nothing remotely triggering. Next thing I knew I was back at a really horrific fatal auto accident, one of the first of my career, and that was a lot of years ago. I was shaking and hyperventilating, feeling like I was going to collapse into tears. It was all I could do not to bolt for the door.

I managed to force myself to settle down, and I was ok for the rest of the service until they started singing again, then it started all over again. This makes no sense at all. Nothing about the church, the people, the singing, or anything else was remotely related to my attack, but I nearly had a meltdown anyway.

PTSD flashbacks and panic attacks are bad enough to handle when you have a clue they're coming. How do you handle something that just comes out of the blue like this without people thinking you're completely off your rocker?

Someone...Anyone... I really am looking for help here. I didn't put it in the PTSD forum because it's not exclusively PTSD, sometimes I have panic attacks unrelated to PTSD. Felt really weird and bad and sick trying not to completely lose it in the middle of all those happy smiling people. Does anyone have a good way to handle unexpected attacks other than the "just breathe" that people keep telling me?

Eft tapping, on you tube there is a nurse that demonstrates. I used it when i was panicking and alone handcuffed to a wall in the hwy
patrol. It worked pretty well.

Also, (((bowhunt))) i'm sorry you are dealing with this. Neurofeedback also helps me not to have so much anxiety. I have ptsd too. Sending you hugs if that's ok. May angela surround you. Peace. Bless you.

(((Bowhunt))) I am sorry that happened. It's happened to me. I just was praying in my head to get away from everyone before I totally freaked out. I didn't want anyone to know. In fact, I think I wrote about this before, but the first time I had a major incident, I thought I was having an MI. I was too embarrassed to tell anyone so I drove myself to the ER

The ER doc did all the stuff and it turned out I was having major anxiety/panic due to stress, and he gave me an Rx.

After that, I would have anxiety/panic attacks out of the blue and not know what in the **** was happening! (But at least I knew it was Anx and not an MI)

One time, I was just simply driving to work, and all of the sudden it came on out of NOWHERE (like with you) like a freight train. I quickly pulled into a gas station having a full-blown anxiety attack ... I opened the car door, threw my legs out and put my head down while hyperventilating and panicking, sweating, the whole 9, etc.

Some people stopped to look at me, and all I could say was, "If I faint, call 911". I had NO idea what was going on.

So I believe what you are describing IS PTSD. Anx/Panic Attacks sneak up out of nowhere by a certain "trigger" (in this case, for you, the singing), and then you have the sudden horrible memories/flashbacks of a Traumatic Experience (car accident).

To this day, I still don't know what triggered the major anxiety attack while I was driving, but at least I understand the "process" now.

Oh, and by the way, try not to worry about what other people think .... just try to tell yourself in your head when you feel it hit you (or coming on) "I am safe" over and over again. Your brain is remembering the Trauma through the trigger, and the anxiety is the exaggerated fight or flight feeling which causes the panic / anxiety attack = PTSD.

I hope you are able to work on this with your T. Perhaps you will be able to learn what it was exactly about the moment (singing) that brought on the anxiety and flashbacks.