Extreme fear of death while having a panic attack?

[greenzebra]

Does anyone else just feel really afraid that something's going to happen and they're going to die, and then it spins off into a panic attack? I've been getting that a lot lately, and it's freaking me out. Even more so because I lost a close friend of mine over the summer, and one of his friends mentioned that he was saying that he felt like his time had come. That thought always sticks with me when I'm having a panic attack and feeling like I'm going to die, and it just makes it worse. :/

[Peterjr]

I have suffered many many panic attacks. The most common fear whilst having a panic attack is the impending feeling that you are going to die, it's the ultimate loss of control, and we panic suffers need constantly to be in control of everything. Because it's such an over whelming sense of fear, and honestly if you have had a real panic attack you would definitely understand the level of fear it produces, resulting in your brain deciding on one outcome...and that's dying, because that is how your brain is programmed to react so as to help you survive...however in a Panic sufferer you brain reacts like this when not in any dangerous situation, thus confusing it, but it thinks it is still fighting to survive, so the adrenalin fires up, all the symptoms of fear fire up, and lastly your brain psychologically prepares it self for the the worst scenario, usually that person will think death, this in turn will increase the anxiety making it acute anxiety, where you just completely freak out...the brain after a while will realize that it doesn't need to be scared anymore, and that person calms down, but residual anxiety may keep that person in a mild state of panic for a long time after, but that's the fear of fear.

[A_ISRLguy]

yea when i had my first panic attack about a year ago.
i didnt know what the hell was going on so i thought something was seriously wrong with me
physicaly that is. that made my panic attack a full blown one with all the symptoms (hands going numb, heart racing.. etc etc)
after that first one it was never that bad again because i knew it was only a panic attack and not me dying.
altho! my thought tried to wonder to that region of thought.
I would sit infront of the computer using google to find what else could it be besides Panic attacks.
If i was out i would use my phone to surf the web doing the same, all that did was made my panic attack worse.

[theguy]

you cannot die from a panick attack. that is a fact. so realize you will not die. so now you should know that panic attacks and death have no relation....so now if you do have a panic attack, before during or after that is a fear you can now not have not to worry about. which is a big symptom that you can be relieved of now.

what if.....panic attacks peoples biggest problem. that creates anxiety that is not needed.

[greenzebra]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. It's reassuring to know it's not just me haha.

[Pippy187]

I get those feeling of impending doom or the feeling like im going crazy often before my panic attacks... Its a horrible feeling, but you're not alone.

[khrusty666]

yeah, this one is up there for me.

It kind of feels like I am in a slow moving car accident, but cant stop it.



.....also didnt help that I had a Pulmonary Embolysum last year (which made ongoing attacks, and sleep, all that much worse).



.......only being a newbie on this, this forum is great. I feel so much better that I am not the only one (as terrible as that sounds).