Morning! I had searched and found other threads on ptsd but wasn’t sure which ones were more current. Counseling has been tough lately and uncovered some trauma and with it I feel my fight or flight switch has been turned on. Some mornings- most mornings lately- I wake up with that tight chest. Still sober- four months yesterday. But so uncomfortable and hard to navigate through this not only sober but also simply not knowing what to do with these intense emotions. I’ve had a few panic attacks and called my counselor from rehab, therapist from iop, and current counselor because I simply didn’t know what to do. Helpful of course but any other tips, strategies, coping mechanisms you find helpful? Reaching out here on those tough days would be nice as well. 
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I have panic attacks too and would prefer to work through them and not take the medication route although sometimes medication seems like it would be helpful. Sometimes my attacks are very scary and feel like I’m going to just keel over and die. The way I handle is just breathing through them and remember it’s temporary and not going to last forever. I say mantras like “you will get through this” “this is temporary”. I know it’s sometimes scary and difficult to do, but I just try to trust in the process and things get easier.
Thank you so much I don’t take medication for them either. I think they’re so new to me that identifying what it is first helps because the first one or two I had I had no clue what was going on. I just felt like I was going crazy like my body and my mind were completely out of control. Appreciate your advice a mantra would be helpful because it’s something I can concentrate on for a bit and not too complex that I won’t be able to focus!