My friend Chris wrote a very funny and very useful article about dealing with panic attacks. I assume, like he does, that many people reading this are creative nerdy types who are prone to anxiety and worrying (this is where I point to myself, but act like we’re all supposed to pretend I’m not really doing that) so I present it here as a public service, and as a way to introduce you to one of my favorite people in the world:
If you frequent this site I’m going to guess that at one time or another you may have enjoyed the crippling embrace of a panic attack. How could I predict such a thing??? Because people who suffer from anxiety tend to be smarty-pants-creative types, aka NERDISTS. Folks not blessed with the gift of self-awareness don’t really understand the rush of liquid fear that floods the body. They just think we’re being “kooky.” I have a joke in my act about trying to describe the feeling of a full-blown panic attack: “Imagine being F*CKED in the HEART.”
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[After a severe panic attack while in college] a friend of mine pointed out, “Oh yeah, that’s a thing. Lots of people have those.” The sheer knowledge that I wasn’t a freak helped ebb the panic tide for a while but every now and again I’d still get the hilariously familiar, “No…wait…THIS time it’s something fatal.” I’m here to tell you that not only are panic attacks NOT fatal, but I don’t get them anymore. THAT CAN ABSOLUTELY HAPPEN FOR YOU. In this article I’d like to share a few tips that I’ve learned over the years while navigating the anxiety steeplechase.
Chris is hilarious, and if the two of us got together to do a Podcast, it would be awesome. In fact, I’m going to call him now and bug him about doing that. You can follow Chris on Twitter, if you enjoy amusing tweets. He’s @nerdist.
Whoa! New layout to the page!
Nice.
Also, now following Chris on Twitter.
Thanks for the heads up.
Cheers.
I thought I was having panic attacks for years, but I was experiencing irregular heart rhythms brought on by a Magnesium deficiency. Go figure.
WHOA. I had a mildly-severe panic attack when I first logged on to see the new design…but then calmed down significantly when I quickly realized the blue made me feel all soothed and happy and whatnot.
I do miss the actual photo of you in the clown sweater, though – perhaps one of the singular funniest photos I’ve ever seen. Heh.
Whoa… Wil…. you’ve gone all minimalist! freaky.
for a second there I though someone had slinked in and moved all the furniture!
How apropos, given our email thread this morning. 😉 I’ll go read it, thanks!
#1 I highly recommend you consider wordpress as a blogging platform if you were to ever switch. #2 Maybe you and your friend are members of that secret assassin club like in Wanted and not having panic attacks like you thought.
Thanks for linking that, panic attacks suck, and it’s nice to know we are not alone. I used to have them all the time, myself. Strangely, getting a divorce cured mine. 😉
Chris IS hilarious, and informative. Definitely a top tier nerd, if you know what I mean. And you do know what I mean! Know what I mean?
*blink*
Wow, great timing, after just coming down off a 36hr fun ride, complete w/ xanax that I haven’t touched in almost 2.5 years. Its full of great tips that I once learned but have gotten sloppy about. (it really works!)
I’ve had panic attacks for over 40 years, and I’ve never had them explained so succinctly or accurately. Of course, there is the kind one gets from fibromyalgia where your brain falls out and THEN you panic, but the somatic symptoms are the same, so the result and cure are similar. Many thanks to you, Wil, for leading me to a funny, empathetic, and useful post on a problem that shames and confounds more of us that the average population — whatever that may be.
Funny… I don’t think I’ve had any panic attacks since Wil switched out that pic on here of him in that gawd-awful clown sweater. 😛
Other than that, I’ve found it helps to always bring my towel along. (That could sound pretty bad, taken out of the proper context…)
Dude, you KNOW the best way to prevent panic attacks is to make sure you always have your Guide and your Towel.
I like the new look on the blog, but the pixelated clown sweater is going to give me nightmares … I’m just sayin’.
I’m so glad you shared this!!! Thank you. You’ve provided me with a huge sense of relief knowing that you and other ‘successful’ nerds go through this too. I’ve only had 3 panic attacks. With one, I had to call a friend I knew who had them and ask her what they felt like. She taught me the breathe-in-a-bag technique for the hyper-ventilating kind of attack. Once I self-examined enough to figure out that there is no line between me feeling anxious and me feeling excited (except that one feels good and one feels bad–all other symptoms are the same), I learned to choose excitement. We can choose to feel worried about how things appear now, or we can use the power in the now to get excited about what’s to come. We have no idea what is coming. So why not imagine it being good? Take that anxiety and pretend you’re waiting in line for your favorite amusement park ride. I am excited to read the article. ;’)
Wil, thanks for sharing Chris’ article. Not only are his tips helpful, just reading the article and all the responses to it let me know there are other folks suffering the same thing. And that I don’t have to suffer anymore.
I’m a total anxiety puppy. And occasional panic attacks. Thanks for being a kindred spirit!
It’s easy to be light-hearted about this now, reading this article, however when I was suffering through severe panic attacks back in ’92-’93, it was a frightening f**king experience indeed. Not knowing what was happening was the thing that made it so much worse, adding to the confusion and irrational sense that you are losing control of yourself. Fortunately, my family got me help. Instead of prescribing me handfuls of pills, though, the headshrinker who was seeing me specialized in anxiety disorders and led me to read Dr. Claire Weeks’ books about what she coined as “Nervous Suffering”. Those books were hawesomely helpful in educating me on the processes involved in panic disorders and how to learn to control, and ultimately conquer, them. One of the rare times I will proseltyze and say that some books changed my life. Knowing that I was not going crazy, was not the only one who ever had to deal with such an attack, and that what I was experiencing was easily manageable gave me the courage and conviction I needed to conquer my fears and cease the panic attacks.
All I can add is that those suffering with panic disorders should really try to do as much research about them as possible. Seek help and knowledge. As soon as I understood about how the fear-adrenaline-fear cycle develops in a panic attack, how the panic process plays out in your body, and how to ride them out, I was able to learn to control the scary episodes more and more until they eventually stopped altogether. Even when I had relapses during stressful periods later in my life, I got better and more confident in controlling the attacks until they no longer held such horror for me.
I’m not going to say I won’t ever have them again but, if I do, at least I understand what is happening and how to send it packing. In the case of panic disorders, knowledge is absolutely the most powerful tool you need. The more you learn about the problem, the more amazed you will be about how easy it is to rid yourself of it. It may take time but you can and will get better.
I did the whole panic attack thing from my early teens (14 or so) up until I was 35. Tumbled across a program based in San Diego called CHAANGE. Haven’t had a panic attack in 13 years. Definitely been anxious (who isn’t), highly stressed, even crazed, but panic attacks are DONE. The guy that runs it is pretty geeky (high praise in this forum) although he is a different sort of geek. Who cares? The program is pure gold, it doesn’t cost a zillion dollars, they give you a bunch of good stuff and you can practice and work on it in your own sweet time. Good book to get on Amazon too – “Free From Fears”. Definitely worth it. Thanks Wil for putting this up. You, as they say, rock.
I started having problems running the mile in junior high. We went to a Doctor and he said they were panic attack and he gave me a paper bag to breathe into when they came on. I did, and I passed out and threw up (not actually sure which one came first). We went to a different doctor and his question was, “Any history of asthma in the family?” We answered, “Yes, most of my aunts, uncles, and 3 out of 4 grandparents.” He then explained to us what exercise-induced asthma was and prescribed an inhaler. Problem fixed. What a difference getting the right diagnosis makes.
Bless you for sharing this, Wil. Chris’ diction is amusing and relatable, tho I’m still not sure how I feel about his open letter from Doc Brown to Marty…that was a mite awkward.
The Stray Girl, http://thestraygirl.typepad.com/the_stray_girl/
I’ve dealt with panic attacks frequently over the years as well.
I feared that it would completely be my undoing while in college. Thankfully, I was able to not only get a B.S. but also a M.S. in mathematics. Currently, I teach multiple levels of algebra, trig & calculus at a college campus. I am open with my students about my past anxieties and how this affected my education. Hopefully, some of them hear me and discover that they are not alone. That for me was one of the worst parts of having panic attacks. I honestly thought that I was a freak & this garbage did not happen to normal sane people. I now know that this is not the case. Thankfully, the students that seem to really need reassurance do come see me. Sometimes, my previous students even drag their friends to come talk with me. Don’t worry; I make it very clear that I am NOT a professional counselor. Mostly, I share my experiences with them and listen when they need to be heard by someone who has been down this road.
A couple of years ago, a friend told me about something called Combat Breathing. It turns out that the military often uses it to help soldiers regain/stay calm in extremely stressful situations. It has the desired side effects of slowing & deepening your breathing. In addition, it typically slows down a racing heart.
Combat Breathing:
Repeat the following steps 3 -5 times (do it at least for the 3).
1. Breathe in mentally counting 1, 2, 3, 4…
2. Pause & hold your breath mentally counting 1, 2, 3, 4…
3. Now exhale mentally counting 1, 2, 3, 4…
4. Pause & hold your breath mentally counting 1, 2, 3, 4…
Actually trying to see each separate number in your mind, may also help you regain control of the mental anxiety.
I have no idea if this will be helpful to anybody else, but maybe it will.
{There is one other odd bit of advice, but it sounds dumb. So, I haven’t included it here.}
Peace & calm to you all.