Panic attacks from out of the blue.

[Hayley]

Having a pretty crappy night tonight guys. I haven't been sleeping well lately as I've had a lot on my mind therefor my anxiety was bound to hit me with a vengeance. I was sat watching one of my favorite tv shows feeling fine then bang- a slight twinge in my chest and I'm convinced I'm having a heart attack. I really hate feeling this way but honestly I can't remember what it's like to live without fear. I'm constantly thinking I have some life threatening illness, normally it's always heat issues, blood clots or a brain tumor. I would love just one fear free day.  Sorry for the vent guys. Hope everone is having a panic free night. Xo

[sixpack]

anxiety doesn't have an on/off switch.  one has to change habits and mindsets long term.     while it may seem you had a panic out of the blue, you didn't really.  panics like that are still part of an amped up nervous system.  one may feel all calm and such but the body/mind has learned to just "flip a panic switch" out of habit or just because the mind/body are still 'tweaked'

what a lot of think is that we are calm.  after all we aren't, in the moment, thinking anxiously.  what we have a hard time seeing is that our over all lives are still at a low level anxious hum....


as my signature says:

MOST anxiety happens at the subconscious level.  JUST because you don't feel consciously anxious or had a day or two of calm doesn't mean your mind & body are relaxed.  It can take months of reduced anxiety before a body goes back to a more non-reactive state.   

[marc]

Anxiety many times hits you out of the blue. Sometimes it is anticipatory anxiety; like you
are waiting for something bad to occur. I would try to distract yourself as much as possible,
by hanging out with friends, talking to family members, possibly prayer and conversations
with clergy, therapy, prescription or natural anti-anxiety medication, etc. You have to see
what works best for you.

[Hayley]

Thanks guys.

[Hayley]

Another attack tonigh. I really need to catch up on some sleep to help calm them down, but it's a catch 22. The more anxious I am the less I can sleep and the more tired I am the worse my anxiety gets. I just pray i can get on top of this one day.
Any calming advice appreciated.