Reply to Panic/Anxiety Attacks

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[quote=Anonymous]I went through a period of about a year where I was having panic attacks.  I actually went to the emergency room once because I was positive I was having a heart attack.  The most difficult part of this time was having to take care of my kids.  While I was alone with them I was terribly afraid of dying and leaving them uncared for which made the panic attacks even worse ( they were 5 and 3 at the time).  I avoid doctors like the plague and think psychiatry, for the most part, is a load of crap but in this case I forced myself to seek medical advice.   I got a prescription for Xanax which actually worked!  I only took it twice, but just having the pills in my pocket (I carried them everywhere) was like having a security blanket.  I knew that if things got bad I could just pop a pill and things would be good in 30 minutes.  I also got a full cardio work up.  This reassured me that my heart wasn't the problem.  I also started seeing a therapist.  Mostly I found the sessions and the "homework" to be ridiculous.  Cognitive Therapy was what the therapist called it.  The worksheets and books she had me read were, frankly, insulting.  I wasn't having panic attacks due to some irrational fear.  I was having panic attacks because, out of the blue, my chest would start hurting, I would feel faint, nauseous, be sweating  and basically be having every classic heart attack symptom.  It takes a lot of will power to convince yourself that all those symptoms are in your head.

The one thing that helped me the most though was just good old fashioned exercise.  It was incredibly difficult at first because I was actually afraid that exercise might trigger a heart attack.  So I started out running laps around the local hospital ( I know, it was nuts ).  Once I became convinced that running wasn't going to kill me I started running further and further.  Eventually I got myself into good enough shape that I was able to run a marathon.  Looking back, I think this worked for me because exercise desensitized me to some of the panic symptoms I was experiencing.  Just being spent, physically, also just tends to relax you.

Sorry for the long post.  Not sure if any of this helps.  One thing I would suggest to the OP is to be sympathetic towards your husband.  He's basically going through hell right now, and because he's a typical guy, he doesn't know how to ask for help.  He may need to reach his breaking point before he goes to a doctor.  I know I had to.  And let him know that there are many many people out there who have survived what he's going through and are perfectly fine now.[/quote]

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