I've had severe panic attacks and agorophobia for 15 yrs. No meds or therapy has helped me, I had it all. I found out about a book by Dr. Claire Weeks, that was 30 yrs ago, she helped me so much, she taught me how to face the panic attack and how to float through it, and most of all she told me and many others that I/we will not die from a panic attack. For the last 30 yrs, thanks to Dr. Weeks I'm now 95% free of my panic attacks and 100% free of my agorophobia.
how long have you been having panic attacks? I didnt think mine would ever go away, i still panic all the time but its been about 6 months since my last panic attack. this is the longest i have ever gone. before now, id get sooooooo excited if i went a whole day, because i was used to having at least 1 a day, most of the time 2 or 3 though.
I have a irregular heart beat which is made worse by pannic attacks,I live in a constant state of panic because of the thought of having another one. my mind races all the time, it is a big deal just to get out to the store, for fear of having another a panic attack while I am out. I get dizzy, my heart pounds, I cant breathe, my eyes dont want to focus,I feel hot all over I feel like something bad is happening to me .I am on lorezapam, have been put on lexapro but I couldnt take it. Now i dont know what to do I am just tired of feeling this way.
I think its anxiety, I had your symptoms before, and I too work myself up weeks before a test of any kind.
You say you saw a doctor, and you're going through testing to see if there is anything wrong with your heart. Do you have the test results yet?
You say you started flight school. The stress and anxiety about it could cause all your symptoms.
You ask can you get over it without meds, YES!! but its hard for some people, it depends how long you had these symptoms and how severe they are . Once you know for sure there is nothing physically wrong with you, you have to rule that out FIRST, then ACCEPT your symptoms, don't fight them, accept them until they pass. That is what I've been doing, and it worked for me.
You need to get it under control because if you want to become a Navy Pilot, or any Pilot for that matter they will check out your health big time, but I have the feeling once you find out its nothing organic you will feel better.
I think you are stressed out about the flight school, and your body reacts to that stress. Believe me I know all about working yourself up for any kind of upcoming test.
I had Panic Attacks for 6 years now, and now from time to time I find myself in deep panic because I am scared of having another one. I would have to say that i am 99.99% POSITIVE you are just having Panic Attacks. I thought everything was wrong with me. I went to the Hospital ALL the time, told them I WAS dying and I was not leaving untill they found the cause of it. I have had EVERY test known to man, and well 6 years later, they still have NOT found anything. But I still try to talk myself into believing their just doctors, not GOD soooo they could be missing something. One time I went to the hospital 4 times in 1 month !! Panic Attacks as ive gathered over the years are due to a phobia..like mine is the fear of pain before death. I assume that is it because everytime i would hurt myself or got hurt (like when i stomped my toe on a boat, i just knew i would die from an infection) i would have a panic attack. Hell i even had a panic attack once because i "thought" i got struck by lightning > lol no its really NOT funny, i just laugh looking back. It sucks, everybody thinks your a moron and that you need your head examined, which only makes you that much more scattered brained, because above all that is already happening, your now worried to have one around anybody because of what they might say or think. I had heart-burn for the first time ever, and i thought i was having a heart-attack, so i told my boyfriend to rush me to the hospital, after taking malox and calming down, it went away and i was left there in front of his WHOLE family to look like a mental case! I told you all of this to see if you have the same yet maybe different issues, in case you get your heart results back as negative, and still wonder whats up. BTW I dont care what ANYBODY tells you, PLEASE I BEG YOU ...DO NOT TAKE XANAX!!!!!! May I ask how old you are?? Duh you don't have to tell me, but i was wondering. Hope your ok, i would like to know, maybe we can keep up with one another, I hope to help you so you dont get as bad off as me. Good luck an CONGRADULATIONS with/on your career, sounds fun and exciting, ASM? is your name SAM? lol