No more Panic Attacks?

Can we ever stop having panic attacks after getting off of antidepressants and benzos?  I really need some hope right now.  My panic attacks are paralyzing  :'(

I don’t know if this helps but what I do when I feel a panic attack coming on I put on headphones and watch a YouTube video that involves all of my attention. I’ll put on something that’s not repetitive because things repeating gives me crazy anxiety for some reason. So songs are a no go right now. Or try watching people talk about their benzo experiences. It’s soothing to me because it feels like I’m listening to a friend reassure me that I’m not alone especially when they say their symptoms. Try playing a game on your phone. Try redirecting your brain and tiring it out. As for the second part I think that retraining the brain is important. Even though I can’t do that outside the house I can do it in the house. There’s also a lot of apps to help distract anxiety and panic

Can we ever stop having panic attacks after getting off of antidepressants and benzos?  I really need some hope right now.  My panic attacks are paralyzing  :'(

 

I was just thinking the same thing. No amount of facing fears seems to help for me. I have techniques to help at home, but its very tough outside the house.

 

How long have your attacks been going on? I started getting them once I weaned down to 8 mg of Valium and they just worsened from there. I pray to god that they will get better for you (and me)!

It really is tough facing fears outside of the house. I get extremely self-aware and self-conscious, and being an introvert to begin with, it is not helping. I do try to help myself that other people do not care as much as I think they do. I also try to focus my eyes on greenery, cars, elegant buildings, etc. Anything that can sort of shift me back into a more regular rhythm, even if it is just short-term.

 

 

Hi hennypenny68, one thing I find helpful is going for a walk/jog to try and curb the adrenaline surges even though I feel as though I'm going to die, have a heart attack or something catastrophic to that degree I still try push myself to get out. Other times when there is definitely no chance of me leaving my safe place (home) I do as sunshine 1997 mentioned and try watch something on you tube that I'm interested in.

I've also thought recently about maybe taking promethazine when things get severe to try allow me to breath again, has anybody else had experience with this? Whether or not it works, as we all know sometimes it becomes a desperate measure

I have struggles with panic attacks since I was 10 years old. I’m 25 now. I actually started taking Xanax for panic attacks very young like 11 or 12. And took it until July of this year. I have been benzo free for 4 months. My doctor cold turkeyed me and I didn’t know any better. Once I entered withdrawal the panic attacks changed. They were worse, but also different.

 

I had so much anxiety and panic I needed something and eventually I found it. I have finally learned after all these years how to combat a panic attack. It’s actually all thanks to a book I picked up at Barnes and noble. It’s called: Don’t feed the monkey mind by Jennifer Shannon. It changes your perspective on panic attacks. If you read the book and follow its teachings, it really does work. I am still having a really hard time with anxiety and depression in my fourth month after cold turkey, but I have atleast gotten better at dealing with panic disorder.

 

Please give it a try. I think everyone could stand to learn from this book.

 

Ps, the other thing that has helped me is a healthy diet, and regular exersize, whatever is manageable.

 

Praying for you, I know how hard it is. Anxiety has ruled my entire life. But I’m really working on it, and I have had success with CBT, and reading books like this. Especially this one.

Thanks for the book recommendation, Schrutefarms.

I have struggles with panic attacks since I was 10 years old. I’m 25 now. I actually started taking Xanax for panic attacks very young like 11 or 12. And took it until July of this year. I have been benzo free for 4 months. My doctor cold turkeyed me and I didn’t know any better. Once I entered withdrawal the panic attacks changed. They were worse, but also different.

 

I had so much anxiety and panic I needed something and eventually I found it. I have finally learned after all these years how to combat a panic attack. It’s actually all thanks to a book I picked up at Barnes and noble. It’s called: Don’t feed the monkey mind by Jennifer Shannon. It changes your perspective on panic attacks. If you read the book and follow its teachings, it really does work. I am still having a really hard time with anxiety and depression in my fourth month after cold turkey, but I have atleast gotten better at dealing with panic disorder.

 

Please give it a try. I think everyone could stand to learn from this book.

 

Ps, the other thing that has helped me is a healthy diet, and regular exersize, whatever is manageable.

 

Praying for you, I know how hard it is. Anxiety has ruled my entire life. But I’m really working on it, and I have had success with CBT, and reading books like this. Especially this one.

I recently borrowed that book, Don't Feed the Monkey Mind, by Jennifer Shannon, from the library, and so far have read about half of it.  I think that it will be very helpful, and I will probably purchase a copy to have at home.

Thanks for the book recommendation, Schrutefarms.

 

Yes, of course. And I don’t mean to minimize withdrawal. Benzo Withdrawal has been the worst thing I have ever experienced in my life. And the panic / anxiety / depression it causes is supernatural. It’s absolute hell, and sometimes it’s so bad that all you can do is stay home and ride out the storm. BUT, eventually I believe it is very good to start trying to work on managing the anxiety. Especially if you suffered with anxiety before the benzos. In a way, I am thankful for this experience, because it has forced me to actually deal with my anxiety rather than medicating it.

 

Stay positive, and know that medicine is NOT the for panic attacks. And destraction is not a cure either. Trust me, I learned the hard way. The book will help.

I don't think it's honestly realistic to expect panic attacks to go away. I think it's more about going back from living in a panic attack/constant fear state (as a result of benzo and SSRI withdrawal) to just having and dealing with panic attacks.

Can we ever stop having panic attacks after getting off of antidepressants and benzos?  I really need some hope right now.  My panic attacks are paralyzing  :'(

 

I was just thinking the same thing. No amount of facing fears seems to help for me. I have techniques to help at home, but its very tough outside the house.

 

How long have your attacks been going on? I started getting them once I weaned down to 8 mg of Valium and they just worsened from there. I pray to god that they will get better for you (and me)!

 

I never really got panic attacks until 5 years ago when I tried to taper off of paxil.  I didn't know what was wrong with me because I wasn't put on Paxil for panic attacks but for depression.  I ended up on diazepam to help deal with the withdrawals.  I have been having these attacks quite frequently ever since.  They seem to come out of nowhere too.  I developed agoraphobia because of it and was just starting to do a little better over the summer and able to get out and drive myself places but a week ago I was driving home in the dark and rain after a doctor appointment and was halfway home when it all started hitting me again.  It just kept coming over and over again the rest of the drive home.  I felt so sick by the time I got back home I could hardly walk into the house.  Now I'm afraid to go out again.  I keep wondering to myself, are they really panic attacks?  Maybe it's some mysterious ailment I have instead.

I am in week 9 since taking my last dose.  I have fewer panic attacks.  I no longer have them in the supermarket or restersunts or on buses.  I do have them driving on highways or bridges.  This morning I feel panicky because of a long messy commute.  I have hope that it will get better.  8 weeks off is not a very long time.

I don't think it's honestly realistic to expect panic attacks to go away. I think it's more about going back from living in a panic attack/constant fear state (as a result of benzo and SSRI withdrawal) to just having and dealing with panic attacks.

 

Panic attacks won’t just go away without educating yourself on the subject. Try to be open minded, and not so negative on the subject.

 

I Lived practically my whole life “dealing” with panic attacks. (Struggling through life is probably a better way of describing a life of panic attacks, benzo caused or not.) Benzo withdrawals are the worst thing I have ever been through but in a way I am thankful for them. I finally had to face panic attacks without benzos. It’s a prefect time in my opinion to learn how to deal with anxiety and panic.

 

Let me just reply to you as if I were talking to myself before all of this: it’s much easier to think that the panic attacks will never go away. It’s somehow easier ( and common) to live with panic attacks than it is to learn about what causes them, and what can make them go away, and it is not “facing your fears”

 

Before judging, or thinking that panic attacks are a life sentence, just read the book.

 

 

I am in week 9 since taking my last dose.  I have fewer panic attacks.  I no longer have them in the supermarket or restersunts or on buses.  I do have them driving on highways or bridges.  This morning I feel panicky because of a long messy commute.  I have hope that it will get better.  8 weeks off is not a very long time.

 

Well that is encouraging for someone like me to hear! I had panic attacks after I went to see an osteopath. I only had them like 5 times before that in my life. Being on Ativan worsened the situation bc of interdose withdrawals.

 

I hope your situation keeps getting better - I can't imagine driving right now 

I feel for ya. I'm just about to begin a taper off clonazepam(2-2.5mg/day)

 

It's tough. I know, I have generalized anxiety disorder and PTSD, so my anxiety and panic attacks existed before medication was introduced.

 

I studied as a nutritional consultant practitioner and now I'm going back to school for psychology,  so I do have 20+ years in studying related topics. Also, this is proof positive it can happen to anyone, because I KNEW what I was getting myself into.

 

Lots of supplements can help in the treatment of anxiety, but results vary wildly. From cannbis, CBD,  magnesium bisglycinate,  l theanine, 5htp, l5 hydroxytryptophan, kava kava etc

 

Coping is the cure however. Rewiring the brain is the only cure, and if it doesnt cure, it will drastically improve your situation. CBT can work wonders in this area.

 

Rewire the brain is a good read for this. Also dr. Gabor mate has alot of good videos and books on various related topics.

 

One area to focus on, is proper rest. We take an absolute mental and physiological beating in these scenarios and sleep becomes a major issue. If you can find a way to sleep, again it varies wildly, but you'll improve alot just from that.

 

I wish you the best and sending love!

 

Rick

The only way out, is through.

You must face your panic attacks and ivnite them to give all they have. You have to ask them to give you more. The truth is you have already experienced the worse one you'll ever have  Running from or trying to distract yourself doesn't work. You need to strip away the power they have. It's intense and goes against everything you think, but trust me, facing your fear/panic is the only way.  I highly recommend the book called The DARE Response.

I've suffered from panic disorder for over 30 years, tried and did it all. Wasn't until I found this book did I learn to take the fear from them. They still happen, the initial sensation anyway ( stomach drops out, pulse skyrocket, dizzy, etc)  but I can shake them off and not OCD about it. I used to be keyed up for weeks after a panic attack.

 

 

 

Does anyone basically become bedridden after having a severe panic attack?  I do and it's especially worse the next day after I've slept.  When I get up I can hardly move and my muscles burn like lactic acid has built up in them.  It takes me at least 3 days to recover, sometimes longer.  All of those symptoms feed into my fear of having the panic attacks.

Thank you for the book recommendation!