My Panic Attack Solution

Comment from Daisy
Time February 11, 2010 at 1:27 pm

dont go !
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Comment from buggerlugs
Time February 11, 2010 at 1:56 pm

only thing ive found that works is to breath deeply into a paper bag-ive used cupped hands if one isnt available
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Comment from alison h
Time February 11, 2010 at 2:34 pm

1st of all stay calm,take slow deep breaths through your mouth and release slowly out your nose,or you can take deep breaths in and out of a small paper bag as it helps the oxygen levels in your body.
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fellow panic attack sufferer

Comment from Special K
Time February 11, 2010 at 2:39 pm

When you have a panic attack you start gasping and taking in too much oxygen which then makes things worse.
So if you feel a panic attack starting make a conscious effort to breath controlled and slowly – breath in, hold it for 3seconds and breath out.
You can also cover your mouth with something (often a paper bag is used) and this will force your oxygen co2 levels back to normal too.
And enjoy the film

Don’t take Daisys advice – if you don’t go you only make your panic attacks worse by avoiding the situation and building it up in your head!
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Comment from Mandy P
Time February 11, 2010 at 2:55 pm

Close your eyes and take slow, deep breaths… in through your nose, out through your mouth. Put your arms up over your head to send more blood to your heart.

Do you know why the movies give you panic attacks? Is it because you’re in a dark place, or because of the content of the movies?

If you always get attacks in movie theaters, and nowhere else, I would recommend renting DVDs and watching in the comfort of your own home.
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Comment from Ding dong Belle
Time February 11, 2010 at 3:11 pm

When I feel a panic attack coming on I lie in a dark room for an hour, breathing deeply. When the feeling stops I then go out!!!
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Comment from Sunny-USA
Time February 11, 2010 at 3:46 pm

Close your eyes, concentrate on keeping your breathing even & keep slowly telling yourself "this will pass", "this will pass:.
I usually start to calm down then.

Hope this helps
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Panic attack sufferer

Comment from Philip H
Time February 11, 2010 at 4:22 pm

Try and breath normally and try not to think about it as the worry of having one can often lead to actually having one, It might be the dark enclosed feeling of a cinema that causes it so sit in an aisle seat so you can get up and get some fresh air if you need.
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Comment from selcohpos
Time February 11, 2010 at 4:33 pm

Hey I suffer from panic attacks as well. If they are severe enough you should be prescribed a medication like Clonopin to quell these attacks. As for home remedies I clear myself from whatever is causing my attack, inhale and exhale four times holding each breath in and exhaling slowly. I also do basic addition, 1+1, 2+2, 4+4, or the alphabet backwards. If you have an excess of energy find a private space and pump your arms back and forth for as fast and hard as you can, then do the four breaths. You may feel lightheaded but you should feel a calm afterwards. Most importantly, acknowledge that you may panic and dont panic over the idea that you could (anticipatory anxiety). If you still have any problems feel free to email me, helping others helps my panics as well!
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Comment from petemctaz
Time February 11, 2010 at 4:46 pm

Go to the chemist/health shop and buy some rescue remedy!!!
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Comment from snowandsun
Time February 11, 2010 at 5:02 pm

Hi,
I am so sorry you are experiencing panic attacks, they are the worst thing, so scary and exhausting.

I used to have panic attacks almost daily – this is how I got rid of mine: I didn’t fight them. Each time I’d feel one coming on, I’d always start thinking, "oh no, oh crap, not now, this has to go away, I have to get out of here NOW" and then one time I started having panic and I thought to myself, ‘okay, this is just panic, I’m not going to die, I’m going to sit through this’ and it was uncomfortable, but I focused on breathing slowly, and made sure to exhale all the way out and closed my eyes. I also made sure to keep my shoulders relaxed and down. It was hard, it took several times of trying this to master getting rid of full blown panic attacks, but my last panic attack was December 21 2006, so it has worked for me for some time now!

I think panic attacks thrive on fear. If you let the feelings of a panic attack instill more panic in you, it will just feed itself and get worse and worse. This sounds weird, but you have to stand up to them and not let them scare you. That’s when they go away. Weird, I know.

A lot of times if you have a panic attack while doing a certain thing or being in a specific place (like the movie theater) you will develop an aversion to that thing and associate that thing or place with panic attacks. Oddly, this association with the event/place and panic can trigger a panic attack when you try revisiting it again. Mine was an airplane. I thought planes gave me panic attacks, but it was just a bad association because that’s where I had my first, really bad, panic attack.

The comedian Steve Martin said that he had a panic attack in a movie theater once and didn’t ever go to the movies for 10 years as a result! So what you are experiencing is not unusual. Try and remember that you are associating the theater with panic and when you are having a good day and feel you can handle testing your anxiety, go to the movies and try my approach!

Hope that helps, good luck.
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Comment from Sam H
Time February 11, 2010 at 5:41 pm

dont go to movies for little while,except comedy or u can watch shreck tom and jeery or crazy frog ring ring ring
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