Help with Anxiety?

Hello I'm 17 and I have been going through panic attacks for around 4 months now and it has been taking over my life. When I have panic attacks it feels like I'm going to die / have a heart attack and when I think about them they get worse. I have panic attacks everyday and I just can't take it anymore. I went to the doctors about it and they did a ekg and said I was healthy and then they took some blood tests but I didn't get the results back so I'm guessing I'm ok. Is there anyway to deal with my panic attacks without taking any medication? It's just weird that my panic attacks come at random times or when I think about them.

(Symptoms: Feels like I'm going to die,Feels like I'm going to have a heart attack, paranoid, fast heart rate, chest pains)

Thanks,

-Mac

[Paxiled]

Therapy is your first choice.

[mammo]

I agree that therapy is best.  But realize that a panic attack won't kill you.  What's happening is you are getting the "fight ot flight" signal which you get when in a scarey situation.  This body gets flooded with adrenaline for you to fight, but there is no fight, so no need for the adrenaline rush.  Since it has nothing to work on, it results in a panic attack. So you are getting a perfectly normal reaction at the wrong time.  You can try talking yourself down by saying you know what is happening and it's normal, you are fine etc.  Exercising is best, it gives this adrenaline something to work on. Pay attention to your breathing, we tend to breathe in a shallow manner at these times, by breathing slowly, and deeply through your nose and slowly out of the mouth 8-10 times will help.  Keep in mind that anxiety has a root cause, and it's important to find out what that is, address it and move on, happy and with no medications.  Things happen to us in life which we feel we have dealt with, when in reality all we've done is tucked them away.  But they will force us to deal with them with anxiety and/or depression. Sometimes we don't even know what happened and this is where a good therapist can help you.  I think you can get past this without medication and a good therapist. Take care...