Question about Panic Attacks

[skalamanga]

i dont have panic attacks anymore, now that im on 50mg of Zoloft everyday. but i was just curious to see if anybody knew if "dying from a panic attack" is possibe. my panic attacks were extremely nerve wrecking to the point that i felt like i was going to die or something. just curious if anyone knows the answer to this question. thanks.  

[Vel7]

Your post was excellent. My only question is how do I know if it is a panic attack or real emergency??  I am comfortable that if it is a panic attack I will be fine but I always think it is something different. Help ?? Advice ?

[amish1979]

All panic attacks end.

[Heather3418]

You stated it PERFECTLY...you "felt like your heart was going to explode.  I always think I'm having either a stroke, or a heart attack."  Then your last sentence tells the real truth.  "But I haven't died so far."

That's the key, is TRYING to remember that this panic attack WILL NOT KILL YOU, no matter how terrible you feel at the moment.  It's hard to realize that when you are in the middle of a panic attack.  You almost lose grip on reality during those times of extreme panic.  But lo and behold, the panic attack DOES end and poof, you are still ALIVE.

Horrible to get at that point, but nevertheless, we always wind up ALIVE at the end of what seems like sheer torture.

Few words Dremora, but EXACTLY what someone experiences....Well said!

Heather

[DremoraLord]

I have panick attacks sometimes as well, I always think i'm having either a stroke, a heart attack or something, and I always feel like " That's it, this is the end for me ". Sometimes i feel like my heart is going to explode, other times my limbs go numb for a while, but I haven't died so far :)

[RubyWitch]

The feeling that one is about to die is probably the most common "symptom" of an anxiety or panic attack. And the most frightening.

MYTH: Anxiety attacks can kill you.

FACT: Even though a person may feel like their heart or head is about to explode or that they can't breath, it takes much more than this to actually kill a person. Just ask any ER doc who has treated hundreds, if not thousands, of healthy people who sincerely believed they were going to die from an anxiety attack, walk away from the ER well and intact.

MYTH: If a person feels they are going to die, they will.

FACT: Feelings, no matter how sincere or powerful, do not change the medical fact a person is not going to die from an anxiety attack.

Hope this will relieve your mind a bit.
Peace
Greenlydia    

[Beckyw]

My sister and I both have panic attacks and hers are way worse than mine. She has them so bad that she mimics a stroke. The first time this happened to her I was in the car with her and driving her to the ER and I was very scared I really thought she was going to die. Her face was drooping, she wasn't making sence when she talked, and her hands were curled up to her chest. She also couldn't move her legs. I was totally shocked when the doctor came in the room and told her not to fear that panic attacks are pretty much harmless, scary, but harmless. I am not sure if that is really true, but every since he told her that her panic attacks have never gotten that bad again.