If I had one panic attack, what are the chances that I could have more?
I’m a white 15 year old male that weighs 153 pounds and is 5′ 11" tall.
About a month ago in Spanish class (I’m a sophomore in high school) the class was sitting down and we were doing an in class assignment the teacher passed out. While I was doing it I randomly got somewhat nauseated but I ignored it. But then the nausea grew worse and I got lightheaded and dizzy. Then out of desperation and some curiosity of what the heck was happening to me I raised my hand and told the teacher I wasn’t feeling well. Right after I told him, my heart started pounding hard and irregularly, I had cold sweat all over my body and overall it just felt like I was going to die. Then after a series of events of my teacher calling my dad telling him to come pick me up as well as feeling like God was keeping me on the fine line between death and life just for kicks, all taking place in around 15 minutes, my dad came to pick me up and all that felt weird was of course being freaked out about what happened and my heart still beating irregularly, but not beating hard.
After that wondrous experience I started doing research with what happened and found out that I had a panic attack. However I’m still curious as to learn if I’ve had one panic attack, what are the chances that I could have more or turn agoraphobic? And are they supposed to happen randomly without a cause?
Have you seen a doctor? It was very likely a panic attack, but it would be best to make sure.
My attacks would happen randomly, but most frequently at night. I wouldn’t worry about becoming agoraphobic. If it is a true panic disorder, and it continues or gets worse, there are different medications you can take. I take a low dose anti-depressant (Lexapro) to prevent symptoms and have a Xanax prescription on hand to ease symptoms if anxiety occurs.
I really think you should see a doctor.
Best of luck!!
Comments
Comment from Laurel
Time January 6, 2010 at 3:41 am
Have you seen a doctor? It was very likely a panic attack, but it would be best to make sure.
My attacks would happen randomly, but most frequently at night. I wouldn’t worry about becoming agoraphobic. If it is a true panic disorder, and it continues or gets worse, there are different medications you can take. I take a low dose anti-depressant (Lexapro) to prevent symptoms and have a Xanax prescription on hand to ease symptoms if anxiety occurs.
I really think you should see a doctor.
Best of luck!!
References :
personal experience with anxiety/panic disorder
Comment from efxdc x
Time January 6, 2010 at 4:15 am
Negative emotions (like sadness, stress, anger, etc.) causes your Serotonin production to be low; when your Serotonin level is low, you are more prone to getting Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Depression, etc.
Medication like Antidepressants (SSRI – Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) helps to boost Serotonin level.
But there are natural ways to do it without medication. There’s this strange herb called "St John’s Wort" – it is said to be more effective than Prozac. No, it is not for mild depression only and ignore those sayings. In fact, it does help anxiety and panic-attacks as St John’s Wort works like prozac. Other natural ways will be exercise, diet, more exposure to light, etc.
The problem is that, even if your Serotonin is balanced… you have that "learned behavior" in your mind. You need to break that initial cycle to destroy that learned behavior – Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) does this. A technique that you can use without CBT will be Distraction… There are several other techniques to help cope them!
Ok, to use Distraction: Firstly, try to….
Extracted from Source.
References :
http://PanicAttackResearch.blogspot.com
Comment from Jason W
Time January 6, 2010 at 4:21 am
I totally know how you feel, Alot of people, including me, get them on occasion. I wondered the same thing after having a similar experience to you. you may or may not get them again, but the first one is always the scariest because you dont know what is happening. I would suggest getting some anti anxiety medication from the doctor if it worries you, because It really works, and you only need it if you are having an attack.
I probbably get one once every two years or so, but when I know im getting one, i’ll just excuse myself from class or whatever im doing and take an anxiety pill, and that fixes the problem.
Panic attacks can be caused by numerous different things, stress, lack of sleep, wierd sleep patterns, and chemical changes that occur within everyone, especially around puberty, and shortly afterwards,due to those chemical changes. I had my first panic attack around that time. Generally they come on really randomly though
Dont worry about getting them, but If you do, just relax, and try to focus on something other than the anxiety. I know its lame, I usually try watching cartoons, or like animal planet,or playing with or petting my dog.
marijuana can bring panic attacks on too, I would just suggest staying away from it.
For me It hasn’t been that big of a deal as far as impacting my life. But it can still be scary, you just have to realize what is happening, and go somewhere where you can calm yourself down
Sorry you had to go through that, I feel you
References :
Panic attack survivor
Comment from Smiz
Time January 6, 2010 at 2:57 am
you should keep stressing over it and find out.
References :