The best way i can describe my panic and anxiety attacks is like this...
I'm in the middle of the ocean at night trapped in a small crate thats slowly leaking water inside.

I had a panic attack when i was driving years ago. i forced myself to drive 9 more blocks. MISTAKE. I couldn't breath my vision became blurry. My hands gave up so I had to steer with my elbows. I felt like I was drowning in my own car. I drove through peoples lawns to get back home. When I got back I told my mother about it but she was annoyed that I woke her up. From then on my struggle with panic attacks became worse.

oh my goodness dan, that had to be horriable.
mine were not physical,no rapid breathing,no heart attacks. i never told anyone i was having 1. was afraid to talk about it. i later described it as someone having a knife at my throat. my worse one lasted 2 mo. i checked myself into the hospital. good luck dude,kp

Wow....I was trying to think of my worst panic attack ever and I think it had to be when I was 20. I was driving on the freeway during rush hour traffic in Los Angeles in my brand new car. I honestly thought I was going to die. Like have a heart attack or something. I pulled over and got out of the car and kept trying to stop people to help me.......nobody stopped, except of course a highway patrolman. He gave me a ride home and told me that I would be fine. It cost a fortune to have my car towed, and after that driving became such an issue that I quit my job. I then decided that I had to move away from the city. That was 20 years ago, since then I have had many more bad situations, but I thought it would be interesting to keep this post going. Look forward to reading more and realizing that I am not alone out here. Thanks for sharing.

I think I've got all of you beat. I stopped my car on a bridge and got out. I walked off the bridge and called someone to get me. Held up traffic for hours.

Dan,
I suppose I could share my "worst" panic attack. But as i thought about it, what purpose would it serve? I used to relive it daily for years, and it kept me bound to my fear. The more i obessesed over it, it kept me from healing, or moving forward. I wanted to dwell on the moving ahead, beyond the fear, and regain what it felt like to be without anxiety. I hope that for each of us

My first one had to be my worst. I felt fine and i had just gotten home and sat down to watch tv. I began to feel real funny. Hard to explain, but my whole body was shaking, my heart started racing, i got real dizzy, my legs went weak and started to feel numb. It was the most scared i ever felt. I wanted to call 911 but instead called my mother. She came home and took me to the hospital and they couldn't find anything wrong. Since then i have been running to doctors trying to find out what is wrong but nothing is coming up. They say it's panic attacks but it's hard to believe sometimes that anxiety can actually do this to you. Been that was about three months ago and been trying to deal ever since. It's the hardest thing iv'e ever had to deal with in my life.

The idea about writing about your panic attacks here is to help you get everything out of your system just as journaling does. Second, By reading other experiences helps you lose that "I'm all Alone in this" attitude. Which took me a while until i heard about a friend's experiences. I hope that sharing personal experiences also produces shared positive triumphs and personal techniques to remedy the solution.

Girlynae : I live in a city in Texas where there is alot of traffic. Its hard for me at times. El Paso does not compare to LA. Give yourself Mucho credit that you drove, in my opinion the worst place to drive, Los Angeles. I know people who drive all over the US and tell me they would rather not drive in Los Angeles. Too many cars and streets = traffic galore.

I was in a pretty big arcade in 8th grade. Out of no where I felt like I wasn't in realty. I panicked, my heart starting beating so fast and the words coming out of my mouth starting sounding like someone who had had a stroke and wasn't able to make sense when speaking. I was with two guy friends who stood there and looked at me like I was a freak and laughed. I ran to the payphone and called my mom to come and get me. I explained to her and my dad what I had experienced and neither one of them knew what to do so they took me to the doctor the next day and she told me it was a panic attack. From then on I have always been scared that my words would come out all jumbled again but it hasn't happended since.

Mine have been several....the worst ones seemed to start out of the blue, I would suddenly think I couldn't feel a part of my hand or leg, then I would think I was having a stroke, and I would not even be able to breathe...It spiraled fast...the body symptoms used to torment me.....

Chrystal

Although my first one was horrible, it wasn't my worst. My worst was in December of last year in a movie theatre (my first one also happened to be in a movie theatre - needless to say, I'm a movie rental kind-of-guy now). The theatre was completely full and I was sandwiched between my then-wife and a stranger. I started freaking out inside and thought I was going to scream at the top of my lungs. I didn't want to run - the movie had just started (some Matt Damon spy movie) - so I just sat there and took it. It lasted 5 minutes but it felt like a lifetime. Walked out of the theatre after 2 hours trembling and sweating profusely - in December! Haven't had one like that since, although the anxiety is there from day-to-day.

Jen, I remember when my panic attacks were bad i was afraid to talk sometimes. I would get out of breath and fear that I will stop breathing. This fear only lasted for about 6 months.

Chrystal, I'm like you I used to hate the symptoms.

Devark, I hope you gave yourself alot of credit for sticking through the panic. Some would run away. It says alot about your inner strenght.

Hello everyone:

Worse panic attack was 2 weeks ago. I woke up from my sleep and I just felt I was on fire, my heart was punding so fast I dialed 611 instead of 911. Paramedics showed and I was taken to the ER. I had a heart rate of 155. I panic even more when I was told.

That is the worse you can do PANIC. It makes things worse. I love the relaxation CD because that way you learn breathing technics and apply them when you think you are about to have a panic attack. Breathing and distracting your mind (even though it can be hard at times) is very helpful.

JenJen, i beleive what you experienced are called night terrors. There is a technical name for it but can't remember..nocturnal..something..something.
To me it felt like waking up under water.
really scary sometimes.

I always remember my first attack because I didn't realize what was happening. My house was in chaos as usual. My anxiety was high and all of a sudden I was dizzy and sick to my stomach. I thought my blood sugar dropped. I got to the floor and elevated my feet. I had my daughter get me chocolate and milk. Things only go worse. My head was pounding and my heart racing so bad I could feel it. I was sweaty and shaking. I was sure I was having a heart attack. My daughter got my shoes on and took me to the er. I was on klonopin at the time so they figured I was an addict and treated me this way. No real help came until they did a drug screen and found out I wasn't. By then I slowed my breathing by myself and started to get it under controll. The doc came in and I looked up and said "I had a panic attack?" He confirmed this . The funny part is the fact I was working as a psyc. nurse.
I did not believe a panic attack could do this. I then went on the medical quest for the answer. I was ok medically. It has been years and I had to make big life changes. I had to divorce my husband. I am doing well today. I still have to work on myself but I have not had a major one in some time.
I found this program very helpful in addition to the other things I do.

Nataleif, so they thought you were an addict at first. They should put their personal ideas aside and work on trying to help you. When I had an asthma attack the interns didn't take me seriously until the REAL doctor came to check on me and found that 75% of my lungs were closed. He got mad at the interns and ordered them to get me meds.