I'm usually pretty chill but I get major panic attacks when I have to do some sort of public speaking! It's BAD too. Heart beating, palms sweating, shortness of breath, dry mouth. I'm actually thinking about getting medication for it because I do alot of public speaking for my work (presentations in front of senior management) and I always get panic attacks right before I present!
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@banana: I never do, but I was at a really crowded bar on Saturday and was getting panicky when I would look toward the entrance and it was mobbed. But I got through it without it escalating. I think it's b/c I'm pregnant.
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I actually talked about this on a past mental health thread!! I haven't had one in a while, but I found out that two other HBers experience exactly the same kind of panic attack that I do every now and then!! Here's what I wrote:
I think they are caused by stress combined with sleep deprivation. It always starts in the shower-- I start to feel like people are all around me, excitedly (not necessarily negatively) shouting and spurring me on. It's kind of like when you hear music like "Eye of the Tiger" and you start doing everything faster and faster and feel more motivated, except it's voices instead of music and it starts to spiral faster and faster out of control. During the attack it's all I can do to keep myself in control and I feel like I'm moving through molasses, brushing my hair, putting my watch on, putting lotion on my legs... it's torture.
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I used to really struggle with this! Then I took a weekend seminar with this woman, whom I later found out wrote a book on the same subject that would've saved me a lot of money:
http://www.amazon.com/New-Talkpower-Business-Personal-Development/dp/189212324X/
I got the book and it was great.
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@banana: Yes. I used to get them frequently. I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, and over the years it's gotten better. I've had one while pregnant, and it was really scary!
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i have panic attacks on occasion. the worst is waking up during the night with one! it's almost like i'm trapped in my skin & my heart is beating out of my chest & i feel like i can't breathe. my pupils will dilate & i won't be able to focus my eyes. it's terrifying.
i used to get them more often, especially in crowds. if someone tries to talk to me about how i'm feeling or the things causing the feelings, it makes them worse, so i ask them to talk to me about something really boring, like painfully dull. just telling me a random story or describing a scene can help to calm me. taking valerian root is helpful to lower anxiety levels & it helps you sleep. i also take a benzo PRN (like once a month, so very rare). i used to take it, honestly a lot of it, on a schedule to keep my anxiety low, but that's been shown to be very counterproductive in the long term & it was really hard for me to stop using it regularly. the drs never told me that when i stopped i would go through full blown withdrawal, like vomiting, sweats, muscle spams, the whole nine, and i had a terrible dr that didn't wean me off of them properly & i ended up having seizures of absence after withdrawing & thought i was loosing my mind. it was a terrible experience and if i could go back and do that all over again, i would try everything else first & take the meds as a last resort. i'm not completely against the meds, i just didn't understand what i was getting myself into when drs starting throwing them at me when i was younger and wish i'd made some different/better informed choices.
hope you find something that works for you soon!!
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I have had them a few times. Only when I was beyond stressed out. First time was when I was leaving my abussive ex husband. Second time was more recently, while I was pregnant which was not cool. Lots going on in my life right now...try to stay calm and not stress out. But was possibly loosing my job (which I am not now which is awesome) and then was dealing with DH leaving for 1.5 yrs 3 short weeks after LO is due.....I had a bad day and kept having pannick attacks over and over... they are HORRIBLE!!!!
For you yeah I would def look into your options of what you can do if public speaking is something you are going to have to do often. Wishing you the best!
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I used to get panic attacks; I got an Rx for diazepam which worked wonders. You don’t have to take it every day, just take it when you need it. It doesn’t make you loopy either; you still know exactly what’s going on….you just don’t care haha
I also practiced deep, slow breathing techniques which actually helped a lot; and repeating a sort of “mantra” to myself helped too. I used to say “even though I feel like everything is out of my control, I can control how I feel” repeat repeat repeat
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I haven't in awhile but I have had quite a few. Usually it's when I'm in a crowded or small store and I just feel like things are closing in on me. My heart races and I feel like I can't breathe. It helps when I go outside and take some deep breaths.
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