Am I having a panic attack or going crazy?

Question

This happened about a week ago, but it comes every once in awhile. But while I was eating at the dinner table a started to feel a little dizzy and my parents words were out of sync with their mouth. I got scared and I started seeing everything in strobe vision. I thought I was dying. They took me to the hospital and everything was fine after a couple hours. It was like I was on marijuana but I haven't smoked marijuana in months and I only did it once because I was curious. Am I going crazy? Is this a flashback? Or am I having a nervous breakdown or panic attack?Please help!

Answer 1

Here's an article:

Panick Attacks

Everyone has anxious times. Modern life, with its pace, its pressures to perform and produce, and its difficult relationships, seems at times almost to be a factory for stress. But the normal life's normal strains are not the stuff of panic disorder. The panic attacks stemming from the illness often strike in familiar places where there is seemingly "nothing to be afraid of." But when the attack comes, it comes as if there were a real threat, and the body reacts accordingly. Surroundings can take on an unreal cast, and a combination of symptoms spark like the current in a crosswired fire alarm: the heart races, breathing gets shallower and faster, the whole nervous system signals :DANGER! The person suffering under this barrage may be convinced they are having a heart attack or stroke, or that they are going crazy or going to die.

It has been determined that in order for an attack to be classed as part of a panic disorder, it must be one of four episodes in a four week period and must include at least four of the following symptoms:

* sweating
* shortness of breath
* heart palpitations
* Chest discomfort
* Unsteady feelings
* choking or smothering sensations
* tingling
* hot or cold flashes
* faintness
* trembling
* nausea or abdominal distress
* feelings of unreality
* fears of losing control, dying or going insane

* Not all attacks or all people have the same symptoms.

The sense of danger and physical discomfort the attacks bring is so intense that they may interpret them as the precursors of a heart attack or stroke or the product of a brain tumor. Consequently, many panic disorder sufferers show up in emergency rooms where doctors unfamiliar with the illness judge that the patient is in no danger and send them home. This embarrasing process my repeat itself many times if the proper diagnosis isn't made.

What's behind the attack?

Psychiatric research into the causes of panic disorder has been on the rise in recent years. Surveys have shown that more women than men are afflicted with panic disorder--by a ratio of two to one--and that panic disorder knows no racial, economic, or geographical boundaries. Because the victims often hide their illness and because healthcare professionals often do not diaganose it, it is difficult to gauge how wide spread panic disorder is in the general population. A recent study by the National Institute of Mental Health, 10 percent of those interviewed reported having spontaneous attacks. The best recent estimate of those with panic disorder or phobia is 13 million. Apart from the very real suffering the disorder inflicts, the illness costs billions of dollars per yar in the U.S., figured in terms of wages. And as the disorder is more widely recognized and researched, those number may very well climb.

While many studies have examined the emotional components of panic disorder, more recent studies have shown that panic disorder's roots are pyhsical as well as psychological. Researchers have found that panic disorder runs in families--a fact which supports the idea that the ondition may pass genetically from generation to generation. To explore this possibility, scientists are pursuing several promising lines of biological study, looking into the brain for the clues to the causes of panic disorder. Scientists are studying the brain's chemistry to find out if panic comes from a problem with that organ's complex chemical communications system, called neurotransmitters. Other groups are examining the brain's structure to see if a problem there might cause information from the senses to short circuit, triggering the panic reflex. Still another group is looking into the effect of various chemical compounds, such as sodium lactate and carbon dioxide.

Many people who do not have panic disorder may have an occassional panick attack during periods of severe stress. But those with panic disorder have the attacks even after the stressful conditions have gone. The disorder typically begins when the victim is in their twenties. Often a serious event--such as the death of a parent or divorce--will kick off the first attack.

Ten Rules for Coping with Panic

1. Remember panic feelings are only normal reactions that are exaggerated.
2. They are not harmful and nothing worse will happen.
3. Notice what is happening in your body now. Stay with the present. Slow down, relax but keep going.
4. Thinking about what might happen is unhelpful. Only now matters.
5. Accept the feelings. Let them run through you and they will disappear more quickly.
6. Monitor your level of anxiety: 10 (worst) to 0 (least). Watch the level go down.
7. Stay in the situation. If you run away, avoid or escape, it will be more difficult in the future.
8. Take a few slow, deep breaths.
9. Consciouly relax your tense muscles. Feel yourself relaxing.
10. Now begin to concentrate again on what you were doing before.

Answer 2

Hmmm I am actually on zanex at night for panic attacks so I've had them before but they woke me up and I would get out of bed thinking my heart stopped, i lost feeling in my body and couldn't breathe. That was my experience with a panic attack. Sounds like you have Vertigo which is a more serious form of dizziness. You definitley should call your primary care doctor like right now because you definitley have a problem that can be fixed with some sort of meds. Don't worry your not crazy and your not dying but he should order a CAT-Scan for you.

Answer 3

Are you stressing a lot? Usually panic attacks are brought on by heavy stress. If not- it actually may have to do with your diet. Are you getting all the nutrients your body craves? No matter what, I'd set up a doctor appointment and explain exactly what happens and how often.
Perhaps before you go to the doctor- write down any time you get one- what time, what you were doing, and how you were feeling in order to help your doctor give the most accurate diagnosis. Take care. Hope you feel better soon. :)

Answer 4

sounds like a panic attack!
where you having a hard time breathing?
if so then yes panic 100%
panic attacks make you feel like your dying for me it was the breathing thing tho! I was breathing but i didn't feel like i was getting air! thought i was dieing!
a great way to help stop that is to sit down
count to 10 slowly and don't think about dying! ortry not to listen to words from your parents or anyone! just sit there for a few minutes or so! and relax breath and ignore everything and focus on what you want out of life or a goal!
good luck!
Mad luv

Answer 5

Don't think the pot is the problem.... Certainly could be panic attacks, they come in all shapes and sizes Do you get much exercises? Sometimes that helps without the medication. Try to find a solution short of meds, they work but I'm not convinced that they should be your first choice. Good luck...

Answer 6

Sounds like a panic attack. You should contact your doctor and let him/her know about this and also keep a journal of when and how often this happens along with how you feel before, during, and after these attacks. There is plenty of medication out there to help treat this!

Answer 7

Sounds like a panic attack to me, and no you are not going crazy although at the time you think you are. Here are the most common symptoms of panic attacks:

Rapid heart beat, pounding heart or palpitations
Sweating
Shaking visibly or inside
Choking sensations or lump in throat
Smothering or shortness of breath sensations
Chest pain or discomfort
Nausea, bloating, indigestion or abdominal discomfort
Dizziness or unsteadiness
Feeling light-headed
Derealisation (feeling unreal or dreamy)
Depersonalization (feeling outside yourself or like you don't exist)
Fear of losing control or going crazy
Paresthesias (numbness or tingling sensations) in face, extremities or body
Chills or hot flushes
Skin losing color
Blushing or skin blotches
Urgently needing to urinate or defecate

Now just because they are common doesn't make them the only symptoms. Your mind can play funny tricks on you. I know, I've been through this.

Answer 8

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 9

I would hope you wouldn't look for the answer to this question in this forum. There might be some good opinions here, but you need professional help to identify the source of this experience. I work in the residential treatment industry (for troubled teens), and there are lots of different things out there. I will admit that I don't trust a lot of "professionals" and the psychology thing is way overrated, but when something this unusal occurs, you need help to sort it out. However, don't discredit your own good judgment either. Be in tune with what's going on with you and you may be a big help to the therapist. By the way, a flashback is very unlikely if all you've used is pot. Flashbacks come from much harder drugs that marijuana.

Answer 10

sounds totally like anxiety/panic attack, suggest you see a counsellor and learn to recognize that these are just attacks, you arent actually having a nervous breakdown or going crazy. Its just anxiety and can be dealt with. See your doctor if you dont want to go to a counsellor.