How do people get to the point of Panic/Anxiety Attacks?

Question

I am a 25 year old female, and in this last week have begun to have "/panic/anxiety attacks". What are these and why did I get them? Will they ever go away, and is there anyway to manage them other than meds...I have taken xanax for the past few day and I'm afraid not to take it...the times I went without I had more attacks! What is happening to me! I am overweight...could thi have anything to do with it??

Answer 1

It is just something that happens. You should stay on your medication. Being overweight would not cause it, at least I don't think so.

Answer 2

I get panic/anxiety attacks also, constantly. Please dont take meds, thier addicting, and most doctors only give it to you for a few months as "training wheels" to help with the process of getting over them yourself, but then its harder because they take you off them all at once. I was on ativan and my doc took me off, and i feel even worse. Did something dramatic happen to you? I get them because of personal reasons, i was abused during my marriage, and everything else in the world happened to me when i was with him. So seeing him, or thinking about what he did, triggers the attacks. But now i dont even have to see him or think about it, they just come. Slow breathing techniques help me, just relax, dont think about it, breath slowly in through nose out mouth and just tell yourself, it WILL go away. Maybe for you, you can call a friend, talk to someone, but for me it made it worse to do that. Read a book, turn on some favorite music and just sing along, than are so many natual ways to overcome these attacks then meds. They will go away, eventually in time, its been 3 years since mine started and they are better, i used to get 3 a day for about 20 days out of the month, being overweight may not be the reason, unless you think about it all the time everyday and it bothers you alot, so an example would be, you would have a panic attack in public because you fear your overweight, but its not the cause of panic/anxiety attacks. Just dont take the meds, you'll be better off. God bless and good luck!

Answer 3

I have read some litterature about panic attacks. But they allways seem to have a more scientific approach and that is nothing I need in my struggle to survive those horrible panic attacks. This is a "hand on" and very practical book. I felt it was written to me. I am sure that you are going to feel the same.

Joe Barry writes exactly how I think. The examples are perfectly described. And the method is genius. I recommend this book and thanks Joe Barry for writing it. It changes your life

Answer 4

If you have been feeling fine until 2 weeks ago, then something has happened that has scared you. Panic and anxiety are words that mean the same as "fear". Panic is the highest intensity of fear. Possibly you have not been feeling fine and your worries have increased to the level of panic. You say you're overweight, how overweight are you? Are you so overweight that you are not attractive to men? At 25 years old, have you started to think that you will never marry and have children? I'm not saying that's the case, but the scenario gives you the idea of what can cause panic attacks.Fear/anxiety is caused by what we are thinking. That's why it is helpful to do things that focus your mind on on positive or neutral thoughts.

To really solve the problem you may need to see a good counselor. The problem is that when you are in such a high level of anxiety that it's hard to even function, much less take a good look at our lives. Reading and doing something to take your mind off of problems is helpful, but when I was having panic attacks I couldn't even do that. Medication can be very helpful to reduce anxiety. Please don't listen to those people that say not to take medicine. I worked as a Registered Nurse on a psychiatric unit for over 20 years, so I know about medications.

The Xanax that you are taking is effective at reducing anxiety and is very safe. It can be addictive if taken for too long but you won't get addicted in 1 or 2 months as long as you take it the way your doctor prescribed. I'm sure that you were given instructions by the pharmacy that filled your prescription that warned to not drive or use dangerous machinery until you are familiar with the Xanax. There should be other instructions also.

My problems are long term ones. Six years ago my back got so bad that I was in constant pain and I could not lift more than 1/2 pound. That's right, 1/2 pound! I had surgery to correct this but the surgery made it worse! I had 6 months of physical therapy and the "therapy" made it worse yet. After the physical therapy didn't help, I started worrying that I would never get any better and have to live the rest of my life this way! That is when I started to have panic attacks. They didn't come and go, I was in that state of panic most of the time.

My family practice doctor referred my to a psychiatrist because they are experts on medications that help the mind. That doctor started me on the medication, Buspar. Buspar is not addictive and can be taken for a long time. It also doesn't lose it's effectiveness when taken for a long time. I've been on it for 4 years and it still helps a lot. My physical condition has not changed and after my wife realized I would not get better, she divorced me. I don't say this for sympathy but to explain why I have been unable to change my life situation and why I still need to take medication for anxiety.

One of the things that helps me a lot is to try and focus, to the best of my ability, on scriptures like the 23rd Psalm and the Lord's Prayer. I try to pray the scriptures while focusing on the meaning of the words. It puts my mind on the truth that God loves all of us greatly and that I don't have to worry. Speaking of worry (dwelling on negative thoughts), another thing that helps is the realization that worrying about something doesn't help anything. Jesus said in the Sermon on The Mount, " Which of you by worrying can increase his height by 1 cubit (18 inches). If you cannot by taking thought (worrying) change even the least of things, why take you thoughts for the rest.".

I hope some of what I wrote is helpful for you. I know how bad panic attacks feel. One of the problems that occurs is that we start worrying that we will have another panic attack and that worry, itself, can bring on a panic attack. A thing that helps with that is to realize and tell yourself, "A panic attack feels bad but it won't kill me or harm me phssically.

God bless you. Ask God for help. He loves to give His children good things.I will pray for you too.

I,m sorry to say that pegasus90 doesn't know what he is talking about. I not only worked as a Registered Nurse but I also have hypoglycemia. While it is true that if I let my blood sugar get to low that I feel lightheaded, then progress to anxious and feelings of panic; but this has nothing to do with either depression or panic attacks. The symptoms of low blood sugar go away by drinking orange juice, that doesn't work for panic attacks. I hate it when lay people give such bad advice, if people believe them the person that listens can be harmed or not get the help that can be effective.

And by the way, low blood sugar does not happen to everyone every day!

Answer 5

You may want to search Yahoo!Answers for this topic, as it is asked regularly, and has gotten some great answers.

It could be that the depression has its roots in low blood sugar - something that happens to everybody every day, but for some it can hang around. For basic information on hypoglycemia, check out www.hufa.org.

Answer 6

Therapy will help you understand why you are having them. Some people have panic attacks because they are worried that they'll have one, so inevitably, they do. Being overweight by itself will not cause it, but your reaction to being overweight may.