i have really bad health anxiety and ocd and this news about the ebola outbreak is scaring me really bad, i’m supposed to go to greece for school in less than a month and my layover is in one of the airports doing screenings for the virus. i’m just really worried. any advice or help is appreciated, i just need to find a way to calm down
Lately I been going back and forth because I get a wave of light headless to the point I feel like I’m about to pass out at work. And the first time it happened I went full panic attack. Second time just super dizzy and I could feel my heart beating hard. I can’t tell if my anxiety is causing the lightheadness or vice versa. Has anyone ever experienced this?
Years ago when I was triyng weed I sometimes had panick attack from it. But sometimes it was okay without panic, just enjoyable moments. But I thought its not worth the panick attacts back then. After 3 years, I decided to give it chance again, so I was smoking 2 weeks now and it was perfect, until today.
Today I had the worst panick attack in my life. The moment panick hit me, all I could focus on was my heart beating fast, and weid sensation in my chest. I could hear my heart beating. My whole chest was vibrating/shaking.
I immediatly went to bathroom, I drinked alot of water and I took batth, I thought I need to cold my body. It didnt help, I was panicking naked in my bath. I thought I will die.
My body started shaking, I was losing any power on my muscles, I barely could move with my legs and hands.
I tried to focus on something else, but everytime my mind went to the thought of "im diyng my heart beats like crazy"
I tried to breath slowly and my breath was not fast it was okay, the only problem was the heart and chest focus.
As I was just triyng to chill myself breathing deeply, I felt like im going to fall off, like I was very tired but scared to sleep because I thought im diyng. When I get out of bathroom I was scared to see myself in mirror because I thought my body will look very white and purple lips and it will scared me even more. I was scared I will look like im diyng in mirror and it would freak me even more.
It lasted 2 hours, whole 2 hours I was panicking but the worst was first 1 hour. I think I will never touch any drugs anymore.
Hi everybody,
I'm a 25-year-old guy, generally pretty social and outgoing. I've had small anxiety moments before but never anything like this.
About 3 weeks ago I had a flight to visit my family, and while I was in the TSA line a sudden wave of insane nausea, lightheadedness, and disorientation hit me hard (I literally thought I was going to yak on a TSA agent). I made it through the line and tried to drink some water but couldn't get it down. I called a close friend who stayed on the phone with me until I boarded — he kept repeating that I was going to be okay.
Miraculously, I got on the plane and flew. It wasn't the worst thing in the world, but it definitely wasn't pleasant. I went straight to my friend's house and the next few days were fine.
About a week later, I was in an Uber heading from my friend's place to my family's house when the wave hit me again with all the same symptoms. I thought about asking the driver to pull over but white-knuckled through it. Once I got back to where I was staying I was fine for the rest of the day. The next day is when this really started taking over my life.
Since then I wake up every morning extremely nauseous (I've been taking ondansetron / Zofran, which offers some relief) and have had multiple attacks per day. They last 10–15 minutes each — sweaty hands, intense hot and cold flashes, the nausea, lightheadedness, disorientation. One was bad enough that I seriously thought I was dying and almost went to the ER. I'm uninsured, so I held off, and a few hours later I was fine.
Some context that might matter:
I have an appointment with my family doctor tomorrow. But right now I feel completely stuck — I can't imagine getting back on a plane to go home to my actual life, and that's scaring me almost as much as the attacks themselves.
Has anyone been through something like this? Does it get better? Is this more serious than panic attacks, or is this what panic attacks actually look like? Any advice appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
I've been experiencing severe episodes of dissociation/derealisation with my panic attacks for a month now, I've been diagnosed with panic disorder, general anxiety disorder since 2022 and adhd in 2025. What terrifies me is the dissociation/derealisation as they come with the panic attacks lately, the feeling comes in a wave that lasts for a few seconds and leaves me completely terrified. Starts with a randome spike of my heart beat almost like an electric shock to my heart, extreme hunger for air, chest tightness, dizziness and complete out of touch with reality type of feeling like who the fuck am I and am I even real??? I wonder if it happens to anyone else and I'm not losing it cause it feels very very lonely and I told my psychiatrist he has put me on some meds that help only when i take them as its perscribed to be taken on need only with my usual meds that i won't go into details of cause ive been on them for a while and they are fine. But if anyone here deals with same thing please let me know how do you cope with it, I even had an episode at work few days ago and had to ask for help. I'm an introvert, I didn't like that I had to let my coworkers and my boss know that I'm not feeling good enough to work that day, as they've been asking a lot about it as to what exactly happened to me. All replies are appreciated here btw especially experiences with dissociation/derealisation.
Hi everyone,
For the last couple of months, I’ve been experiencing an overwhelming physical feeling that is getting worse daily. I've never dealt with this before, I have no one to talk to, and I'm struggling to cope.
When it hits, my breathing gets very short and I feel a frantic, impatient internal restlessness. Mostly, I feel it in my calves and soles, which feel puffed up and tighten up heavily, and my entire body gets a tingling or stinging sensation. It completely kills my concentration and makes me feel like I want to scream, but I'm trapped and can't do anything.
I desperately need suggestions on how to calm myself down at the exact moment when this feeling is at its absolute extreme. What actually works to break the cycle when you are at the physical peak?
Thank you.
I just feel so hopeless right now. Woke up at 7am with a full blown panic attack, my HR climbed to 160bpm+ and I legit had the worst feeling of impending doom. I thought I was going to die. I was also all alone.
I called a friend who’s coming over now, but I kept getting worse and called an ambulance (europe) thinking ‚this is it, my heart is going to explode‘. They took my vitals(ECG, blood pressure, spo2 all fine) and I started to feel a bit better.
I can‘t do this anymore. I have been battling anxiety for years, now nocturnal panic attacks have appeared since last year. I don‘t know what to do. I‘m in therapy. I have virtually no stress in life. My family, partner, and friends are all loving and supportive.
The panic attacks ripping me out of dead sleep are the worst too, so disorienting and I still feel so anxious afterwards too. I hate this. I feel like this is going to be my life forever. Just fearing the next big one and resetting the progress I have made.
It feels like a never ending battle that I know I can‘t win, only manage. I‘m young, how will I cope when I get older and start having actual emergencies? It feels like a rigged coin flip of panic attack vs heart failure
I never thought I’d be writing one of these posts but here I am, two years anxiety free and I just want to share what worked for me because I know how dark it can get.
It started when I was 18. I got sick, lost a lot of weight, and one evening I felt something weird in my body and made the mistake of googling it. First result basically told me to call emergency services. I didn’t know what a panic attack was at the time so when one came on I was completely convinced I was going to die. That was the beginning of a really long loop.
For months I didn’t leave the house. I kept going to professionals and people around me hoping they’d tell me I was fine and it would work for like an hour and then something else would come up and the whole thing would start over. I had every test done. Everything came back fine. It still didn’t feel fine. I had no idea what was happening to my life.
I eventually found a therapist who introduced me to CBT and it genuinely helped. I got to a point where I was going to the gym, playing sports, doing things I’d completely stopped doing. But I’d relapse every couple months and each time felt like going back to square one.
Then I started meditating and trying to understand how my mind actually works. Practiced every day and slowly got to a place where thoughts didn’t pull me under the way they used to. Life felt normal again and I honestly thought I was done with it.
Then I moved to the UK for uni.
First six months were completely fine. Then the homesickness hit, the weather, the culture, being away from everyone I knew. I started isolating and hiding it from my friends there. And then it all came back harder than before. I felt completely alone. Eventually I decided to come back home.
Coming home didn’t fix it the way I hoped. I tried forcing myself back into exercise and meditation but it wasn’t working like before, the anxiety was too bad at that point. I got some professional support which helped enough that I could actually function again. But I knew I had to do the real work myself.
I started paying attention to what was actually triggering me. Health stuff on social media was a big one. Any weird sensation and I’d immediately go to google. I always zeroed in on the worst possibility. Running to others for comfort gave me maybe an hour before the whole thing kicked off again.
So I just started cutting things off one by one. Blocked all health content on social media. Stopped googling. Stopped running to people every time I felt off. Went back to meditation even when it felt useless. And I stopped letting every anxious thought drag me somewhere.
The first few weeks were really hard. Every urge to check or search felt overwhelming. But I didn’t give in.
And slowly, without me really noticing, the thoughts stopped having so much hold over me. Not because I beat them but because I stopped feeding them.
Two years later I travel, play football, go to the gym. I do everything I thought was gone from my life.
The thoughts still pop up sometimes. But now I just notice them and keep moving.
If you’re in it right now just know the loop can be broken. Every time you don’t give in to the urge to spiral you’re making it weaker. It’s slow and it’s hard but it works. I’m proof of that.
Happy to answer anything in the comments.
I read stories of people saying they’ve been full on struggling with bad anxiety their whole life and they don’t get better. I’m terrified of that happening for me.
I have PTSD and apparently my vagus nerve was stuck in freeze paralysis. I’m just starting to see a specialist to try help it get better.
I’ve been dealing with agoraphobia for 10 years since 20 years old. It got better from 23 to 25 where I was able to live life with way less anxiety and even go out for long walks by myself and get public transport, get in the car with friends.
But since I had psychosis again at 25 since I came out of it I’ve felt stuck for the past 5 years. I’m so so tired of dealing with the anxiety and I have to take lorazepam a few times a week to even cope going out with my safe person to get things done.
One of the biggest things that kept me stuck for years was constantly seeking reassurance and I didn’t even realise it was making things worse.
Every time I felt something off I’d run to someone. A friend, a family member, a professional. And they’d tell me I was fine and for maybe an hour I actually felt fine. Then something else would come up and I’d need to hear it again. And again. And again.
The problem is every time you seek that comfort you’re telling your brain that the threat was real enough to need confirmation. So your brain keeps producing the threat. You’re not calming the anxiety, you’re feeding it.
The loop only broke for me when I stopped seeking that comfort completely. Not reduced it, stopped it. When a worry came up I just sat with it. Didn’t ask anyone, didn’t google, didn’t do anything. Just let it be there.
The first few times were really uncomfortable. But slowly something shifted. My brain started getting the message that these feelings weren’t emergencies. And when it stopped getting the confirmation it was looking for, it stopped sending the alerts as often.
If you’re constantly reaching out to people to tell you you’re okay, I’m not saying those people don’t care. They do. But that comfort is a short term fix that makes the long term worse.
Sit with the discomfort. It’s the only way through it.
why is it that my body at specific time turning into survival mode aka reduced bloodflow, physical and mental exhaustion, brain fog/ cluttered thoughts this is usually when I think about fighting but recently it has been auto
Started having severe panic attacks and cardiophobia in 2020 out of nowhere. At one point I became almost housebound and couldn’t even go far from my house without panicking. I was prescribed SSRIs multiple times but never took them because I was terrified of the side effects and horror stories online.
Eventually I improved a lot with time and propranolol as needed. I managed to finish my studies abroad, get married, have a kid, and from 2022 until recently my panic attacks became rare and manageable.
But 3 weeks ago I suddenly relapsed after dizziness, palpitations, and a panic attack at work. Since then I’ve been stuck in constant anxiety and cardiophobia again. I can barely stay outside my house for long, I’ve taken emergency leave from work, and I’m terrified of fainting or my heart stopping even though tests are clear.
A psychiatrist just prescribed Sertraline (Zoloft) and propranolol, but I’m honestly terrified SSRIs will just make me worse and not help. I’m barely sleeping or eating and I’m scared of losing my job and not being able to provide for my family.
Did anyone here go through something similar and actually recover with SSRIs or treatment? I really need advice right now.
im currently on bisoprolol 1.25 to control my heart , i got BAV , i’ve had untreated Hypercholesterolemia for the past 3 years because im scared of medication , and Vitamin d deficency .
HELP ME!
Hello everyone!!
Am suffering from severe anxiety and panic attack from last 2 years like i feel like dying everytime my heart starts racing I get that feeling of dying sm is on chest my bp gets spiked but I comes down normal within minutes I did all of test like all (blood test hdl ldl eco ecg abmp ) inshort am feeling like I having something still in me like blood clot or something you know what anxiety get you to different conclusion even though I know it's a again anxiety or panic attack but I can't help it it's like stabbing some one again and again though you know they wouldn't die I did everything I could but I'm helpless now struggle of 2 years I know how I kept it with , it comes out of no where and I feel liking oh I might die my time has come also now like I have developed new symptoms like my whole body feels like pulsing even tough my heart rate is normal ...am really not able to do anything as I think it would get me anytime anywhere
I need real advice not like stop thinking about it like real real advice how do you overcome it ....please
​
I feel like anxiety affects me physically a lot sometimes, and I’ve been wondering if medication actually helps with overthinking, panic, and physical symptoms.
>"OH GOD IM.PANICING!"
> *stops panicing*
> "huh, im not panicing anymore"
> *panicing becomes worse*
Its just a repeating cycle and i cant stop it any help?!
I’ve been vaping for 8or 9 years now and within the last 2 years I’ve had extreme anxiety to the point I can’t function. and I can’t figure out why, I’ve done all kinds of blood work seen so many different doctors and yet no answers. I’ve have countless panic attacks weird heart beats/rhythms and lots of other anxiety type problems. Just wondering if my vape is causing all my problems or if other people have experienced similar things. I’d greatly appreciate any feedback back or alternatives to quit or an anxiety free form of nicotine! TIA
I’ve had panic attacks since I was 4, at 40 I’m so fed up with them. Some years better than others, but it’s exhausting. It’s always the worst right before my cycle and I also have diagnosed OCD. Today, after 36 years of lying, I admitted to my a primary doctor that I struggle. She ordered me Effexor and hydroxyzine. After researching I’m leaning toward not doing the Effexor and just using hydroxyzine when needed. I just don’t know if daily use is needed for 1-5 attacks a month. Anyone take Effexor? Not take Effexor? Holistic ways that actually helped? I’m at my wits end, but I’m not looking to trade side effects here.
i’m allergic to raw onion. it’s an insanely hard allergy to live with. my throat closes up even smelling it sometimes, and based on my genetics it’s only going to get worse with age.
i have several safe restaurants i can order from. ones that never serve onions in their dishes or have the option to exclude them altogether. one of these places is a poke place i order from quite frequently. tonight i thought i wanted to try a sushi burrito instead of a regular poke bowl. this was my order:
- spicy tuna
- spicy salmon
- cucumber
- sweet corn
- edamame
- hijiki seaweed
- cilantro
NONE of these products have onion in them. i know bc ive checked. several times. and when they are in poke bowl form they have never given me onion. but this is the SECOND TIME i ordered a sushi burrito from this place and they have given me strips of raw, uncooked onion.
i swallowed three bites before i realised what had happened and now im freaking out. now i get to ply the game ‘what is my allergic reaction and what is my anxiety disorder’. i dont want to go into anaphylaxis. i dont want to take my hydroxzine. it doesnt make me feel human. i hate it. it’s either that or a large ED bill so i guess ill take the depersonalization for several hours.
i feel like even if i contacted the store nothing would happen. i’m so upset. this is the worst allergy to have.
Hi guys,
One year ago i started a new job that requires me to travel once every 3 or 4 months. I absolutely loved it, until i had a really bad panic attack during my second trip. Since that trip, ive had 3 more panic attacks, always during work trips. Always in the evening/at night.
I have a busy day, go to my hotel room, and in bed I start getting anxious, which then leads to a full blown panic attack. Hyperventilating, vomiting, feeling a need to escape, you know the deal.
I discussed this with my therapist and we worked on preventing overstimulation during these trips. My doctor then prescribed lorazepam for when i need it.
Ive had lorazepam before, 10 years ago, but I dont remember the effect it had very well.
So... i have now got another trip coming up (just 1 night away from home) and im already starting to feel anxious that the lorazepam wont work. Wont do anything. That i will panic again, but I also dont want to cancel the trip. I dont want to let panic win.
Could you please share you experiences with Lorazepam? I need to start believing it will do something.
Thanks in advance ❤️