I am having a full blown panic attack. I can’t stop crying and shaking. I can barely catch my breathe. My mind is convinced that the mistakes of my past are going to catch up with me like someone has recorded me or taken advantage of me and I don’t even know it. Straight paranoia that I’m convinced is fact. I’m SO scared I’ve never felt like this before to this extreme.
HELP PLEASE
To begin with sync your breath with this. Both tempo, and expansion and contraction of your body. Take your time with it. At least ten times, preferably more.
Thank you! These are kind of helping but I am still really struggling to get my mind to a safer place and it makes my physical panic attack symptoms come right back.
Try holding your right hand over your heart and your left arm across your chest. Breathe deeply, yeah? Feel your stomach expand. Your heartbeat in your right hand. Repeat outloud to the rhythm of your long exhale, “you’re okay. You’re okay” over and over again.
Remind yourself you’re not dying. You’re physially okay right now and it’s your brain fucking with you. You’re okay. Next mental step is for AFTER you take care of your body first and are grounded 
Thank you! This did help a lot!
I think part of the issue is that if what my brain is convinced happened is true, then dying doesn’t seem so bad.
Im not in danger like that or anything but its difficult to care about my physical well-being when my mind is being paranoid like this
What’s interesting (to me) is that you can explain very well what you are panicking about. And that you understand yourself it’s unreasonable too. Could you expand maybe a little bit about what’s causing your panic?
Yeah I totally get that, same here. After a while I’ve just learned that once I somehow obtained some form of physical control, it provided a bit of a cushion to be able to move on to the mental shit cause mind and body both misfiring is where it literally seems impossible lol
I’ve always had anxiety about people taking advantage of me when I was using or recording me using or both tbh.
My therapist thinks it stems from the fact that my ex actually did do that to me years back so what may be paranoia to other people is like confusing in my mind because maybe it is just paranoid but it has happened so maybe it’s not. I was never able to draw those lines again in my head.
Idk if I’m explaining that well but rarely do these worries lead into a full blown panic attack until td of course
Definitely! I’ve calmed down quite a bit now but I’m trying to keep myself busy on here cause I’m scared if I move onto the mental stuff, my body will go back into panic attack mode
Well done, it sounds like disassociation, conversion reaction of the brain. Keep breathing, just like drinking or not drinking you have a choice to go there or not. Just learned it myself. You’re safe now, I’m with you, hear you and support you🙏
What helped my week long panic attack was listening to the soundtrack of an old nostalgic video game I used to play. I think nostalgic stuff can help a lot bc often times were simpler back then so your mind associates that sound/show, movie , whatever w calm. Just what helped me, maybe u have some old shows or games that are a comfort to you? Hope u feel better. Also very soft blanket while being naked and an ice pack on the head helps me too. Hope u feel better
Also the nostalgic stuff often I feel reminds us we are allowed to just be.
I’m sorry you had this episode and I’m glad you’re feeling better now.
I had panic attacks at my worst when I was still drinking. It was horrendous. The breathing, grounding exercise and hand on my chest repeating I was ok were the tools I used to calm back down, but like yourself, it started escalating again quickly.
Now that I haven’t had a drink in months, I don’t have those episodes anymore. When anxiety starts creeeping in, I use HALT to figure out the best way to stop things from getting to a point when I cannot control. Maybe this can help you too?
I hope you don’t have any more of those 
Thank you! I often rewatch the same few movies over and over again. People have told me they think it’s weird cause it takes a lot for me to try a new movie or show. It definitely makes sense how you explained it.
Thank you for responding! It is very comforting to know that things can and will get better. It is difficult to see light at the end of the tunnel at times like this.
Maybe you could look into Asperger’s: “high functioning” autism. The need for “repetitive behaviors” is a symptom of that. Not certainly, just something to look into if you’re interested esp on YouTube. Autism is NOT what most ppl think it is. It’s very complex . I never thought I’d be autistic til I learned what it rly is.not saying you are, but it’s a possibility! Either way fr it’s just easier to dive into something familiar. Me personally I can’t get into any new movies esp if they aren’t animated bc I just can’t stop thinking ab how the actors are acting and it’s not real and it’s cringe in my mind 
but I can watch Lilo and stitch or labyrinth (caus wits from childhood) a million times and not b tired of it. And I do! Lmao
Omg thank you! I totally forgot about lilo and stitch
I don’t have a lot of friends (or any at all rn) (my therapist thinks it’s due to my history of trauma) so it’s nice to feel like someone understands me even just a little! 
And my brother has Asperger’s so I’m familiar with it but I never thought to see if I fit in that category also. I guess because I’ve seen so many psychiatrists and therapists that my brother had also seen that they would have told me by now lol but I’ll still look into it!
Girl if ur brother has it you might too. It’s not a bad thing, it just means our brains develop differently and therefore our bodies and thought processes can be different. Some awesome autism YouTubers are Paige Layle, Olivia Hops & Asperger’s From The Inside, if you’re interested. I truly feel more people have it than we realize, it just has such a negative connotation and most are miseducated bc the tests for it were only based on baby boys at first, so autistic girls are really good at remaining hidden bc we’ve adapted, as we do.
I’ll totally check it out! I would never feel shame over something like that either. I’d be more happy if anything to have an answer. Do you think your Asperger’s contributes to whatever addiction you’re dealing with? Or is it separate? I’m only asking because my brother never struggled with drugs or alcohol.
