7 ms·

I suppose my own experience differs from the symptoms of a chronic sufferer, but I used to completely dismiss notions of "panic attacks". My thought was "why ca

I suppose my own experience differs from the symptoms of a chronic sufferer, but I used to completely dismiss notions of "panic attacks". My thought was "why can't they just take a breather and calm down?" Then one day I smoked too much marijuana and then had to go to a kids birthday party whose family I didn't know. About 10 minutes in I had what I can only describe as a panic attack. My face turned gray. My heart was probably beating somewhere around 190bpm. I was sweating profusely. I had to leave the party and on my drive home I was worried I might suddenly die and then veer into traffic. I nearly drove myself to the emergency room because I thought I was going to have a heart attack. If that was a panic attack, I can't imagine what it must be like to suffer something like that chronically. It was utter hell.

peteretep 8y ago
It seems very human to extrapolate from our own mental health to assume other people experience things like we do.
DanBC 8y ago
Yes. People dismiss anxiety as "just mental ill health" or a mild problem. For some people anxiety disorders mean years of life lost to disability.
tossaway4567 8y ago
Using a throwaway due to subject matter, but I also learned the hard way that cannabis just doesn't agree with me the way it did in my younger years. I had what I now know to be panic attacks a few times after smoking a bit of weed and it's not worth the risk for me anymore. It's a bummer because I used to occasionally smoke when I was in my 20s with no issue other than maybe feeling a bit groggy in the morning but now it's a tossup whether it will mellow me out or leave me a wreck off a few puffs. Had a couple of panic attacks unrelated to any sort of mind-altering drug as well and I actually did drive myself to the ER because I didn't know what was going on. I thought I was having a heart attack or a stroke or something (which of course doesn't help the panic attack). Heart wouldn't stop racing, blood pressure through the roof, dizzy, trouble speaking, etc. I kept the rest of the handful of Xanax I was prescribed in case I have another one someday. No desire to pick up a benzo habit but the few times I thought I felt something similar coming on in subsequent years, half a tablet (whether through placebo or drug effectiveness) made it fizzle out before ramping up into a full panic attack. It's weird because I had thought knowing it's a panic attack and not a heart attack/stroke/whatever would "disarm" the process but it doesn't seem to matter. Still interested in figuring out what can cause that to happen seemingly out of nowhere. Feels like a feedback loop where normally mild anxiety comes and goes in the course of daily life but in rare cases, instead of "turning the mic off" it stays on and the feedback builds to a point that is overwhelming.
- thecatspaw 8y ago
  > Using a throwaway due to subject matter Exactly due to the subject matter, I choose to use my regular account. Mental health issues are not pretty, just like physical illness can be ugly. But we do not shy away from the people who have terminal cancer, we help them out the best they can. For mental illness helping can mean admitting that you have issues too. Displaying that they are not alone, that these issues are not as uncommon as everyone makes out to be.
  - nickdandakis 8y ago
    I think they meant the weed and xanax.
    - tossaway4567 8y ago
      Ding ding ding!! Not so much the drugs I was prescribed, but cannabis is still not legal for recreational use where I live and either way, there's a stigma. My usual username is easily traceable to me (at least by people who know me) and I don't necessarily want family or employers searching out a known username and running across tales of weed and panic attacks.
- wolco 8y ago
  Certain strains are better for younger people. When I was young things seem boring or slow and sativa would make things fun/exciting. Now that I'm older I'm never bored I usually need more time. Indica works better. Hybrid strains are even too much.
- merinowool 8y ago
  Depending on cannabinoid profile, intake, strength it can help with or potentiate panic attacks (which sometimes start with omg I comitted a crime. What if someone finds out? Or by the unfamiliarity of the feeling - was my drug laced with something?) For the exact reason it should be legal, so people know what they take. As a sufferer of panic attacks I can attest that cannabis had been a life saver at times, although I don't medicate (with cannabis nor prescription drugs) at all now.
byproxy 8y ago
For anyone wondering what they feel like...imagine that feeling of when you're just about to fall back in your chair...or when you trip and think you'll fall...or when you're surprised by someone walking in on you. That initial 'gasp', sustained. For up to hours. I'd also feel a tightening of the chest, and on occasion the panic would crescendo and my limbs would start going numb and I'd start feeling faint. The first serious attack I had (it wasn't preceded by any trigger, I was just watching T.V. and eating) sent me to the emergency room, although I knew it was a panic attack and not life-threatening it got so bad that I thought it'd be worth it for my peace of mind (sidenote: it's not, and I got a nice bill). Drinking alcohol can help, but I would recommend to just endure the attack. I don't get panic attacks randomly anymore, but I may after a night of heavy drinking (which, ironically, might begin to stave off general anxiety). They are terrible. Fight-or-flight gone haywire. I'd know exactly what I was experiencing and could rationalize what was happening, but that made no difference. Thankfully, they are rare for me these days.
jackhack 8y ago
If you came fishing for sympathy, keep looking. In the future, if you're doped up, stay the hell off the roads before you kill an innocent third party. I don't much care if you get completely smashed on your own time, but risking others is criminal. And what's with showing up at a kids' birthday party stoned? Incredibly irresponsible and antisocial on so many levels.
- drb91 8y ago
  I dunno, some of my favorite humans make mistakes. I can’t begrudge a lesson learned, especially if nobody was hurt.
- chenning 8y ago
  I might be putting words into the op's mouth but, what I think the they were trying to say that this is what their life looked like right before experiencing a severe panic attack. So if you find yourself making decisions like this, you might be on a path that doesn't end well. I don't think the shaming was entirely necessary.
- tenaciousDaniel 8y ago
  In my opening sentence I admitted to disregarding a legitimate mental health issue that I didn't suffer from. In the next few sentences I described getting high before going to a kids birthday party. Not to come off as snarky, but if you interpreted my comment as looking for sympathy then I suggest you read more carefully.
- RandallBrown 8y ago
  Showing up at a kids party stoned seems like a pretty normal thing to me. It's completely socially acceptable to drink alcohol at kids parties. Chuck E Cheese's even sells alcohol.
- dang 8y ago
  Personal attacks will get you banned here. Please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and post civilly, or not at all—regardless of how wrong someone else is or you feel they are.

peteretep 8y ago

It seems very human to extrapolate from our own mental health to assume other people experience things like we do.

DanBC 8y ago

Yes. People dismiss anxiety as "just mental ill health" or a mild problem. For some people anxiety disorders mean years of life lost to disability.

tossaway4567 8y ago

Using a throwaway due to subject matter, but I also learned the hard way that cannabis just doesn't agree with me the way it did in my younger years. I had what I now know to be panic attacks a few times after smoking a bit of weed and it's not worth the risk for me anymore. It's a bummer because I used to occasionally smoke when I was in my 20s with no issue other than maybe feeling a bit groggy in the morning but now it's a tossup whether it will mellow me out or leave me a wreck off a few puffs. Had a couple of panic attacks unrelated to any sort of mind-altering drug as well and I actually did drive myself to the ER because I didn't know what was going on. I thought I was having a heart attack or a stroke or something (which of course doesn't help the panic attack). Heart wouldn't stop racing, blood pressure through the roof, dizzy, trouble speaking, etc. I kept the rest of the handful of Xanax I was prescribed in case I have another one someday. No desire to pick up a benzo habit but the few times I thought I felt something similar coming on in subsequent years, half a tablet (whether through placebo or drug effectiveness) made it fizzle out before ramping up into a full panic attack. It's weird because I had thought knowing it's a panic attack and not a heart attack/stroke/whatever would "disarm" the process but it doesn't seem to matter. Still interested in figuring out what can cause that to happen seemingly out of nowhere. Feels like a feedback loop where normally mild anxiety comes and goes in the course of daily life but in rare cases, instead of "turning the mic off" it stays on and the feedback builds to a point that is overwhelming.

thecatspaw 8y ago
> Using a throwaway due to subject matter Exactly due to the subject matter, I choose to use my regular account. Mental health issues are not pretty, just like physical illness can be ugly. But we do not shy away from the people who have terminal cancer, we help them out the best they can. For mental illness helping can mean admitting that you have issues too. Displaying that they are not alone, that these issues are not as uncommon as everyone makes out to be.
- nickdandakis 8y ago
  I think they meant the weed and xanax.
  - tossaway4567 8y ago
    Ding ding ding!! Not so much the drugs I was prescribed, but cannabis is still not legal for recreational use where I live and either way, there's a stigma. My usual username is easily traceable to me (at least by people who know me) and I don't necessarily want family or employers searching out a known username and running across tales of weed and panic attacks.
wolco 8y ago
Certain strains are better for younger people. When I was young things seem boring or slow and sativa would make things fun/exciting. Now that I'm older I'm never bored I usually need more time. Indica works better. Hybrid strains are even too much.
merinowool 8y ago
Depending on cannabinoid profile, intake, strength it can help with or potentiate panic attacks (which sometimes start with omg I comitted a crime. What if someone finds out? Or by the unfamiliarity of the feeling - was my drug laced with something?) For the exact reason it should be legal, so people know what they take. As a sufferer of panic attacks I can attest that cannabis had been a life saver at times, although I don't medicate (with cannabis nor prescription drugs) at all now.

byproxy 8y ago

For anyone wondering what they feel like...imagine that feeling of when you're just about to fall back in your chair...or when you trip and think you'll fall...or when you're surprised by someone walking in on you. That initial 'gasp', sustained. For up to hours. I'd also feel a tightening of the chest, and on occasion the panic would crescendo and my limbs would start going numb and I'd start feeling faint. The first serious attack I had (it wasn't preceded by any trigger, I was just watching T.V. and eating) sent me to the emergency room, although I knew it was a panic attack and not life-threatening it got so bad that I thought it'd be worth it for my peace of mind (sidenote: it's not, and I got a nice bill). Drinking alcohol can help, but I would recommend to just endure the attack. I don't get panic attacks randomly anymore, but I may after a night of heavy drinking (which, ironically, might begin to stave off general anxiety). They are terrible. Fight-or-flight gone haywire. I'd know exactly what I was experiencing and could rationalize what was happening, but that made no difference. Thankfully, they are rare for me these days.

jackhack 8y ago

If you came fishing for sympathy, keep looking. In the future, if you're doped up, stay the hell off the roads before you kill an innocent third party. I don't much care if you get completely smashed on your own time, but risking others is criminal. And what's with showing up at a kids' birthday party stoned? Incredibly irresponsible and antisocial on so many levels.

drb91 8y ago
I dunno, some of my favorite humans make mistakes. I can’t begrudge a lesson learned, especially if nobody was hurt.
chenning 8y ago
I might be putting words into the op's mouth but, what I think the they were trying to say that this is what their life looked like right before experiencing a severe panic attack. So if you find yourself making decisions like this, you might be on a path that doesn't end well. I don't think the shaming was entirely necessary.
tenaciousDaniel 8y ago
In my opening sentence I admitted to disregarding a legitimate mental health issue that I didn't suffer from. In the next few sentences I described getting high before going to a kids birthday party. Not to come off as snarky, but if you interpreted my comment as looking for sympathy then I suggest you read more carefully.
RandallBrown 8y ago
Showing up at a kids party stoned seems like a pretty normal thing to me. It's completely socially acceptable to drink alcohol at kids parties. Chuck E Cheese's even sells alcohol.
dang 8y ago
Personal attacks will get you banned here. Please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and post civilly, or not at all—regardless of how wrong someone else is or you feel they are.