Panic attack. Heart talk, of course

[bin_tenn 1252]

Hey everyone! It's so strange to me that I can reply to others who are experiencing this exact same thing with advice, yet I can't seem to benefit from my own advice. LoL! But yeah, long story short, I'm feeling panicky this evening. It isn't a full blown panic attack, but sort of a coming and going bout with feeling suddenly anxious.

This is no surprise, however; I've actually felt a bit on edge the past few days. Since Friday night or Saturday morning, I believe. I wasn't blindsided this time. Part of the problem, I believe, is that anxiety is doing what it does best - drawing conclusions without facts, and also making connections that don't exist. Here are some of the things I'm experiencing:

* Shortness of breath

* Increased heart rate + a few skipped beats

* Arm, jaw, shoulder pain, and chest "pain"

* Feeling warm and sweaty

But here's the thing: I feel these things (minus the shortness of breath and increased heart rate) on a regular basis. The pains are due to lack of regular exercise as well as posture / other positional things I need to work on. Feeling warm and sweaty? Well, duh, temps have been in the 80s and 90s around here! Yet here comes anxiety, attempting to convince me that these things together mean trouble. So I must say "no, punk, sit down and shut up!"

It's the usual, coming in waves. I'll feel great for a few minutes, then the anxiousness sets in again. I will know it's over when I feel relieved. Any time it's going to come back, I don't feel truly calm or relieved when it takes a break. But as soon as it's gone for good (until a much later time) I feel a sudden sense of relief - euphoria, even. Funny how that works!

Does all of this sound familiar? I've seen so many posts just like this recently, and I think I've replied to most of them! But here I am, going through it myself. Perhaps this can help those of you struggling with it find some relief though. You're never alone in this stuff. I do well the majority of the time, though I do have my bad days. It's not the worst thing that could happen.

We all just need to hang in there and take care of ourselves. Let the anxiety do what it does and get out of here. This is something my therapist and I talked about, and I just remembered: welcome the feelings of anxiety. If you let it happen and you get it over with, it can also decrease your future sensitivity to the anxiety. And I do believe other members here have referred to their own success with this method. I need to try that now. Sit here, let it happen, then go to bed and get some sleep.

Thanks for reading! Have a great evening.

[Heal 13]

Hope you feel better soon.

I went through this last year. All the first half. I can relate 

[bin_tenn 1252]

The answer to this question may be helpful to me, if any of you can answer it in a way that makes sense to me: what does shortness of breath actually feel like?

I understand the sensation when I feel like I can't catch my breath due to panic, or if I've overexerted myself during exercise. Is that the same shortness of breath (fundamentally, of course), that one may experience as part of an underlying issue? Not because I think that's what's going on, but because I DON'T think that's what's going on, despite anxiety saying it is.

What I mean to say is, I'm questioning whether or not I really experience "shortness of breath" as a symptom of anxiety. I almost feel like I'm actually experiencing muscle tension in my face and chest (and shoulders / back) that somewhat resembles shortness of breath but is not, in fact, an inability to get a satisfying breath.

Of course we all know shortness of breath is a very common symptom of anxiety, so perhaps I'm wrong and I actually do experience false shortness of breath (e.g. mild hyperventilation). I say mild because I don't *feel* like I'm hyperventilating. But as with anything anxiety related, and I think we all know this, a symptom doesn't have to be obvious to be present.

[Heal 13]

Last year I used to get palps and chest muscle tension all the time. My left arm would hurt and be weak. I would not be able to breath and heart rate up. Sinking feeling. I ended up in ER like 5 times getting it checked. 

Does it sound familiar?

[bin_tenn 1252]

Somewhat. I've felt much worse than this before, with severe panic attacks. I feel a little better this morning, but still kind of on edge about it all. We'll see how things go as the day goes on though.

[Heal 13]

Hopefully it goes good for you