r/panicdisorder

Hey everyone! I am looking for personal experience with medication. I have never tried them as I had a horrible experience with marijuana about 20 years ago that caused all of this (panic attack, derealization, etc.) I've done exposure many times and it has worked but never really cured me. I finally admit that I genuinely need medication for help.

I am drawn towards Buspar for some reason. Has anyone tried this and how did it go? I know SSRI's are a front line treatment but side effects give me pause and I also have a prolonged QT interval in heart so there's risks involved. Xanax or or benzo's seem like they would help me but I'm so afraid of something that's going to make me feel high or sedated or anything like I felt on weed.

Anyone have a personal experience with any of this, especially buspar?

I’ve had anxiety for 8 years and have had a nervous breakdown before but recently I’ve started having panic attacks again. On top of the panic attacks I’ve been having these horrific sensations. This feeling constantly in my head that something is wrong that it’s a physical feeling. All I can think about is how uncomfortable my brain feels in my head. When anyone even speaks a word it’s like the words actually cause me pain like my brain flinches. Alongside physical sensations like head pains, manual breathing, tight throat, feeling tongue in mouth. The feelings are so specific that I don’t feel I can even explain them. I’m not suffering from the typical racing heart, chest pain anymore. The are absolutely unbearable that I’m struggling to cope.

I’ve searched for other people who have the same symptoms but can’t seem to find anyone.

Does anyone else have this feeling at nighttime where you are about to close your eyes and fall asleep but all of a sudden your heart feels like it skipped and your body just drops/sinks? Doesn’t happen as often but when it does i think the worst and immediately panic.

I’ve been having panic attacks for years. I’m not new to the lightheaded feeling that comes along with it. However, a couple times in the last year I’ve woken from my sleep to some panic that shortly after led into genuine clammy cold sweat, shaking, vision tunneling where I had to lay on the floor with my legs elevated to prevent fainting. Last episode also I induced vomiting because the nausea was so bad.

I’m thinking maybe it could be some sort of vagus nerve trigger that brings me to a pre syncope episode and then the panic amps it all up? Note that this type of episode has only happened at night after waking from sleep. Maybe it’s simply panic on its own? Anyone else with a similar experience, let me know!

Okay so I’m supposed to go see my girlfriend in San Jose ((I’m in SD)) in like 2 weeks and this would be my first time flying EVER. I was thinking about either taking the train or a flight. I am diagnosed with panic disorder and health anxiety and also slightly agoraphobic. I think suffering thru a 13 hour train ride is worse than a 1 hour and 30 min flight. I genuinely don’t know. I’ve been trying to google and Reddit and tiktok my way thru the pre anxiety but I can’t tell if it’s helping or making it worse. Does anybody have any tips on what I should do and what travel route I should take? (Leaning towards flying more just bc it’s quicker. ) I just don’t want to have a full blown panic attack getting to the airport and backing out of the whole trip.

A few years ago when I was maybe 16, I was having full blown panic attacks frequently enough to be sent to stay in a mental hospital for a while. After I was discharged, I hadn’t had another panic attack since then. Pretty much forgot about them till recently. I’m scared of the actual panic attack itself, and even more scared of the physical sensations that last after it ends. I’m left feeling drained, my chest will feel numb for a few days, and I’ll be left with lingering anxiety that prevents me from falling asleep.

I had a panic attack maybe a week ago? I’ll admit, I hadn’t slept the night before but I’ve done this before so I figured it’d be fine to go run errands with my mom. In the car I started having a panic attack. It wasn’t super severe but it just felt like I was 16 all over again. I started instantly feeling helpless. Now every-time I’m in the car again I get that panicky numb / vibrating feeling in my chest. I’m equating it to the seatbelt digging in between my chest, and my bra- more specifically the straps and underwire.

My bra definitely doesn’t help the feeling as it creates a tight feeling around my chest that my brain equates to that numb feeling, and even just the bra straps touching my shoulders creates a little bit of anxiety. I don’t feel comfortable enough to leave the house without a bra so I guess what I’m asking is, do any of you guys suffer with panic attacks and physical anxiety manifesting when wearing a bra? If so how do you go about it? Im open to some bra suggestions to try. Is there even such thing as a bra so comfortable to wear you don’t feel it? I’ve really been struggling with leaving the house recently due to these circumstances which is not good for my mental health.

TLDR - I had a panic attack in the car, can barely stand to be in the car due to association, and seat belts creating uncomfortable feelings. Bras also now create the same uncomfortable feeling leading to anxiety and panic attacks. Looking for advice, and maybe even bra recommendations.

I don’t know what it is but no matter how long I’ve suffered with anxiety for, panic attacks just never seem to get easier although you’d think they would. It’s been so exhausting lately and each time scares the heck out of me no matter what. Especially in the middle of the night.
I wake up at about the same time every night and then I start overthinking about my heart rate every time I wake up and then I put myself into a full blown panic attack because I start over analyzing every feeling and then I had a straight big adrenaline surge. And my rate went up to 136 and then I was able to calm myself but during the panic attack I felt almost every panic symptom you could feel but thankfully chat gpt helped me calm myself instantly and my rate went back to normal and my Apple Watch showed a reassuring ecg but after all that I’m always left so scared, trying to convince myself that this was anything other than panic

I’m a 27-year-old man and for 3 months I’ve been tormented by panic attacks with strong health anxiety. There are periods when it’s better and periods when it’s worse. If I leave the house, I simply start panicking. I’m always afraid that I’ll faint, throw up, get dizzy and collapse. During the panic attacks I usually experience dizziness, nausea and a feeling of fainting.
What should I do? For 1.5 months I’ve been taking 250 mg of Swanson KSM-66 ashwagandha every evening. The L-theanine I tried was ineffective (Swanson Suntheanine 100 mg). I’m seeing a psychologist; 4 days ago I had my 4th brainspotting session.
I’m at a loss, desperate. It’s destroying my life, I can’t live properly. My wife is 7 months pregnant and I also have a 3-year-old son. I can’t function as a father. I’ve fallen apart, that was the end of my life…

Has anyone done an intensive outpatient therapy program? I am considering one that is M-F / 3 hours a day for 4 weeks. I would need to take a leave of absence from work.

Not sure if this is a victory but here it goes about a year ago I got diagnosed with panic disorder because I had literally panic attacks every single day while I was at work I went from having panic attacks almost daily to now having them once in awhile spoke to my psychiatrist and she reevaluated me and diagnosed me with general anxiety disorder which honestly I can handle way better than having to deal with constant panic attacks. I still have a long way to go as far as anxiety but I still consider this a win in my book

Dear everyone,
I recently started experiencing symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, blurred vision, weakness on the left side of my body, and weakness in my face.
Last Thursday, I suddenly experienced numbness in my face, which caused my speech to become slurred. I also felt like I couldn’t properly control my entire face, and it felt like my face was somehow disconnected from my head. It was very scary, and I suspected that I might be having a TIA (transient ischemic attack).
I had a CT scan, and thankfully, the results showed that my brain was healthy. The doctor told me that I have panic disorder and advised me to relax, avoid stress, and try not to overthink.
However, I’m still confused because some of these symptoms feel very strange to me. Can panic disorder really cause symptoms like facial numbness, weakness, dizziness, blurred vision, and slurred speech?
If anyone has experienced similar symptoms with panic disorder, I would really appreciate it if you could share your experience. Thank you!

Any success stories? Im so exhausted from being so anxious i just wanna feel relief

Two Years ago I woke up shaking to my core. I felt completely scared and I didn’t know why. Nearly a year passed to the point where I needed to be hospitalized because every day was one long panic attack until I could go to sleep. I had to resign from a job and nearly lost my private practice. I was done. I didn’t understand it. Rationally I knew there was nothing to be afraid of but I was so “over” sensitized that noises in the house or people texting me felt like the hardest thing I’d ever done. I could go on… I’m coming up on a year since I was hospitalized and I wanted to share some resources that have got me “on track” and living life. I’m not fully desensitized yet but I’m getting there. It’s brutal work. Overcoming this has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. If you’re in the throes of it and scared to death I want to give you some hope and provide “best practice” evidenced based resources for you.

Side Note: I always purchased audiobooks because honestly, reading was too much.

I came across “Hope and Help For Your Nerves” by Claire Weekes. It was incredible. I felt she was speaking directly to me from 50 years ago (audiobook). She reads it herself and I’ve probably listened to the book a million times over. It provided direction and comfort in time of much confusion. I went on to find “Pass Through Panic” which is much of the same but provided a few different aspects. This laid the groundwork.

From there I discovered “The Anxious Truth” (Drew Linsalata) podcast which lead me to the “Disordered Podcast” (Drew Linsalata and Joshua Fletcher). I consumed these podcasts like my life depended on it- which it did. I really began my psycho-education journey here and learned that panic is cortisol and adrenaline and a misfiring threat response (amygdala).

I was so consumed by finding resources that helped me understand I read everything I could by Drew & Josh.
“The Anxious Truth” (audiobook) Drew Insalata
“Anxiety: Panicking About Panic” Joshua Fletcher
“Untangle Your Anxiety” Joshua Fletcher & Dean Stott

Again, I always got audiobooks so I could listen again and again. This is the way.

These resources alone helped me begin my journey of desensitization. I found a couple of others that were helpful;

“DARE” by Barry McDonagh
“Overcoming Anticipatory Anxiety” by Sally Winston and Martin Seif

I still have a ways to go and some days are better than others. I can’t compare this to anything I’ve ever experienced. It’s nuanced and awful. As a clinician I never knew “this” is what it was like. I have a new found understanding of the level of suffering anxiety can produce and how it can literally “flip a switch” in our brains and as a result it takes years of hard work to “rewire” or more like lay down new wires to get to a point of functioning.

Anyway, this post has been exhausting and that’s why I’ve not done it but I feel almost selfish not sharing the resources that have brought me to this point- which looking back a year ago- is a long way. Anxiety makes you think every day is the worst day but once you start the journey you can look back and go, I AM getting better, slowly but surely. Hope this is helpful to someone.

Hey everyone! Long term panic disorder experiencer here. I mostly do okay now. The only time I really just cannot handle the anxiety is for flying. I try to do it as little as possible but I have a flight coming up. I’ve been prescribed Xanax but never actually taken it on a flight. Only took it once at home and it felt fine but that was a long long time ago. Does anyone else also get anxiety when they feel fine? Like I know to expect a racing heart and uncomfortable feelings and racing thoughts so now I’m worried if I take the Xanax that I’m going to panic about feeling “normal” on the flight. Does anyone else get this? My doctor said that Xanax quiets the mind so I won’t be thinking about how I’m feeling normal and be afraid but idk my anxiety is pretty strong lol. Anyone ever had this fear and then the medicine still helped?

Need some tips please, I have visibly less muscles in my legs and overall. My calves are like almost a straight line, I get tired easily and I can’t afford an in home PT..
I usually only get up for food and to pee, so my hygiene has suffered too or the rare visit to the living room

I feel like this life only makes my anxiety and depression worse

I’m 32f and my panic disorder was triggering by me accepting a new job opportunity after 12 years at my current job. This job I have swapped locations and not only has it been hard adjusting but it’s greatly affecting my mental health as it got more toxic since the merge. I’ve been wanting to leave for the past 6 months and finally got a job offer. I accepted it as a way out and for better opportunities for my future but I took a pay cut. I keep second guessing my decision I think out of the fear of the unknown until I start. I have been in the worst shape since I made the decision. I can barely eat, sleep, or be without panic attacks/anxiety. Thankfully I have meds to help but I can’t stay calm enough to relax without being in fear. I need help or some kind of relief until my two weeks are up and I start my new job. I have an upcoming psychiatrist and therapy appointment.

Ok so in April I like greened out had the worst panic attack of my entire life (first panic attack) and it caused me to develop panic disorder. I used to have a great time with friends, had no problems at parties or going out always drank and had a good time. I am a sophomore in college now and almost every day I have the worst physical symptoms. I look at people doing fun things and think to myself man if I did that I would be so anxious I’m like jealous of all the people around me because they can just live life anxiety free and I’m over here having panic attacks for no reason at all feeling like I’m going to faint. Obviously I have fun but it’s nowhere near how I used to. Every time I go to do something I think “what if I get anxious or have a panic attack” and I just wanna be like how I used to be. I’m in therapy and got prescribed propranolol and I’m too scared to even take it. When does this get better? I just wanna be myself and have fun again it sucks my life was amazing until college and now I just am scared I am always anxious and it genuinely controls my life what can I do to get better? Will I ever even feel normal again?

Hi everyone. I wanted to ask if anyone else experiences this kind of mild panic feeling that lasts for hours but never turns into a full-blown panic attack — and that you kind of fuel yourself by not doing the things that would actually help (not eating, not moving around, etc.)?
For example, yesterday around noon I briefly felt dizzy and nauseous, which was actually pretty logical because I hadn’t moved around yet, hadn’t been outside in the fresh air, hadn’t eaten anything, and was still doing household chores. But immediately my brain went: “Oh God, you’re going to faint, and now it’s the weekend, so an ambulance is going to have to come and you’ll have to go to the hospital. ALARM ALARM.”
So I sat down, drank some water, went out onto the balcony for a bit and ate a banana (one of my “safe foods”). That helped for a little while, but the feeling kept coming back throughout the day, sometimes better, sometimes worse.
By the evening it was at its worst. I started gagging, had a racing heart, felt dizzy, etc. And by that point I STILL hadn’t eaten anything except the banana, a bread roll and some chips 🤡. Then I suddenly felt REALLY awful, started crying, and afterwards I felt better.
I have no idea why I’m describing all of this in such detail 😅 I guess I just want to know if there are people who experience the same thing. Especially people who get these low-level panic feelings at home (particularly on weekends) and then somehow end up fueling them themselves by not eating, not moving, avoiding things, etc.

Hello. I have been struggling with agoraphobia and panic disorder since 2018. I’ll cut to the chase with the advice I desperately need. I work 40 hour work weeks 5 minutes from home and need to be driven to. (Thank god I have a girlfriend who is helping me through these tough times) and by the time I get home after white knuckling all day. My main symptoms being constant yawning and breathlessness. I don’t really notice the other symptoms as much as I notice me constantly trying to get a satisfying enough yawn in. But after everything is said and done I lack the energy whatsoever to go and do exposure therapy for my agoraphobia. I was prescribed sertraline and I did a lot of research saying how awful it can make your symptoms and to tell you the truth I cannot handle ANY MORE than what I already do. Hence why I made this post MY 2 QUESTIONS: IS THE YAWNING THING NORMAL FOR ANXIETY. AND 2, WHAT ARE GOOD WAYS TO MOTIVATE AND GET THE ENERGY AFTER A HARD DAY TO DO YOUR NECESSARY EXPOSURE THERAPY. Thank you.

First time taking this for panic after 10 years of raw doggjng my panic attacks for fear of meds.

It’s been 30 min and I’m just yawning a lot and sleepy and more calm? Is it working 🥹

Anybody else take this ? What mg? And how often?

UPDATE:
It took away my panic for about 8 hours now I feel it wearing off a bit.

It did make me feel groggy. And super sleepy. Like I just wanted to lay down. But no bad side effects of it making my panic worse. Also I did not take the full dose. I took half of my 10mg pill. If I would’ve had oh man I would’ve been ko all day tbh lol