I wasn't even sure if I should have posted this under Mental illness.

Anyone who experiences this regularily in a serious way..meaning to a point where your breathing is affected and you're afraid to leave home because of difficulty in breathing?

My partner's daughter has had this for over a decade. But recently seems to be hit with this alot in past few weeks. She's lost sleep from these attacks.

I personally have never experienced anything like this. The closest was well over a year ago when my heart would be pounding a great deal from stress in the middle of night. It was stress-related because I was worrying excessively for a work-related thing. It went on for about 2 months until things at work improved for my department.

Since this problem has hung around for so long for her, my gut reaction is that cause maybe partially psychologically based for a number of reasons.

She has never been on drugs, alcohol -- a highly intelligent and articulate woman who graduated with her 2nd university degree a few years ago and now teaches/tutors other people for her paid job.

She does have few personal interests that she does pursue on her own that are probably at this time, helpful to her --loves animals/her pets and ..yes, she does enjoy painting on her own. The latter is probably one of the areas she and I can connect instinctively. It's great because if I have unused art supplies, I pass them onto her.

Sometimes she will phone up my partner in the middle of night and occasionally he will talk her through it or visit her next day. But now it is at a point, she realizes it's draining her energy and could affect her work.

I just hope she doesn't get into a drug therapy spiral... she herself doesn't want to get into this.

I had this issue over 20 years ago. Don't know what started it. It is very debilitating - you just can't reassure yourself that you're fine - your body has a "fight or flight" response and you feel like you must get away.

I ended up doing some counseling with anti-anxiety drugs. Those drugs can be addicting, so I only took them for a short time. (Xanax) This allowed me to get a handle on everything, be calm and discuss issues with my counselor, and try to learn how to handle these attacks.

I learned that the more I focused on the attack and what I was feeling, the worse it became. If I felt one coming on, I learned to relax my body (shoulders, hands, etc - my tense areas) and breath deeply, then focus mentally on something else entirely. Actually DOING something, instead of sitting there and letting the feeling take over, was key with me.

I had one once while getting my hair cut. For months afterward, I was afraid to sit in a beauty chair at the salon - I felt I would be trapped. It took about a year to get a total handle on these, but I have been fine for a long time now.

If I ever think I feel the tension building or the attack coming, I just remember to relax, breathe, and understand that there is nothing bad happening. Back when this happened, I actually missed work for about a week until the drugs kicked in.

The drugs are very helpful if monitored closely. You must do counseling along with the drugs to learn how to breathe and relax and get through this. PM me if you want more info, k?

Kathy

I had panic attacks many years ago too. It was horrible. I read a book called Hope and Help For Your Nerves, by Claire Weekes. Excellent book. I believe it was written in 1969. Many people still use this book because it explains so much about what a person feels during a panic attack and how to deal with it. It really helped me how to deal with the panic attacks and other phobias that one can develop from the panic.

orchid, I feel for this gal.

Like Kathy, I've experienced these but only for a brief time. It was after I was in a car accident. I had post traumatic syndrome. Mine were never full blown, but they were stifling.

I recall taking an anti-depressant at the time, but he also gave me a medication to take when I felt one coming on. It worked, but it really knocked me out.

Just know that they are real and give her any support you can. As far as the drug thereapy spiral goes. It's possible that a medincne could help. And then knowing she has the medicine if she needs it, may help her relax a bit because she knows help is close by. Maybe she'll have less as a result. Make sense?

I have them sometimes. For awhile it was difficult for me to go anywhere and the harder it got the less I went anywhere. Now, I can get out but have to make fast runs and only usually one place at a time. There and back home again. I decided to take a lot of time for ME for a change starting in March. I am not going to use up all my time on other peoples books. I will edit some, but no longer co-write or ghostwrite for anyone, these are thankless jobs at best. Learned my lesson on this last venture. I am going to spoil myself, and get myself in shape, finally! I will continue to do some writing of my own but only when I feel like it, no more deadlines etc. Wish me luck, I'll probably need it. I just have to learn how to relax instead of working 10 hours a day, everyday...

Nope but my breathing is fine normally. You see I worked from home for so many years, tied to the telephone that I rarely went anywhere. My ex did all the shopping, he loved spending money. Then when I was able to get away after leaving that job I found I was shakey and afraid to venture too far.

This is so unlike me because for all my life I was always out and about, sold advertising products outside and would jump in my car and drive cross country on a fluke. I was too bold! Working from home so many hurs made a recluse of me. Made me lazy and hating to have to put makeup on. Not a good thing. I am still afraid to venture up to the Vegas strip. The reason I was able to meet with Danita twice now is because she comes off the strip to the Casinos there. It seems strange but is a real affliction I fight with daily...

Chatty, I'll be praying you get to the strip when we're there! If not, paryt at chatty's.

I used to have anxiety attacks when I thought about getting in the car and traveling for a distance. This was stupid cause I love to travel and by far would prefer to travel by car! The Lord one day gave me a vision of four angels sitting on each side, front and back, of my car. I can still see them, and call on them if I feel anxious. I know one of them is my own guardian angel, my precious daughter I lost at birth. The others are just people that I am comfortable with their faces. One is St. Peter too, cause I always identified with him! Just my two cents, I normally don't have to call them up anymore, but know they are there if I need them!