Stop Panic
Attack
My First
Panic Attack Experience
,How it All Began & How
I Got Rid of It
I was 17 then. At that time I wasn’t sure what it was. I
doubt though if I would have known what it was if I were any
older. It came so suddenly and without warning. I was in the
locker room dressing up for a cheerleading exhibition practice.
I was to take the front line on our first formation as I always
have. I wasn’t able to make it out that day.
Even before I could step out of the locker room, a wave of
fear washed over me. I thought I was merely having the jitters
because we were to be critiqued that day. I struggled to keep
calm but my apprehension rose when my heart beat began to speed
up and my vision began to blur. My chest hurt terribly and my
breath came in short gasps. In a matter of seconds, my body was
bathed in my own sweat and I was down on one knee, too dizzy to
even stand up.
I could have asked my teammates to call for help but I was
the last one out. There was no one within arm’s reach. I was
too confused and dazed to shout for my friends who were
assembled outside. After a few minutes though, I gradually
calmed down on my own. That was when some of my friends came
back looking for me. I told them I wasn’t feeling well and just
needed to go home.
I didn’t tell anyone at first. I thought I just had the
nerves. I was afraid they’d all make fun of me for getting cold
feet. I was also worried they’d say I still had teenage angst
when everyone else was growing up and getting ready to cross
the threshold of adulthood. I tried to forget the situation
ever happened.
Forgetting however was apparently not meant to be. I had
another bout of crippling fear in my first year in college.
This time it was in a quiet corner of the university library. I
was buried deep in my books when the chest pain, short breath,
clammy hands, dizziness and anxiety all descended on me in one
unexpected swoop. This time I had no excuse. There was no
cheerleading critique in sight. I wasn’t scheduled for a major
report. There weren’t even any people around who could cause
such reactions in me. This time I had a feeling that something
was wrong.
I grew expectant of succeeding episodes. Sometimes I felt
even more anxious over expecting a similar occurrence rather
than over a real episode. As I grew more and more worried by
the week and by the day, the episodes came at closer intervals.
All of a sudden, I simply wanted to just crawl away and hide in
some comfortable nook.
Eventually, it was a dorm mate who first noticed that
something was wrong. After a little gentle prodding, I was able
to tell her everything and how it all began. She wasn’t sure
but she thought I was suffering from panic attacks. A slew of
medical checks that revealed nothing proved that she may have
been right. It was then that I decided that I needed help.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t in a therapist’s office that I found
help. My dorm mate who also used to have panic attacks told me
to try Panic Away. I couldn’t have made a better
decision in my life. I found out that dealing with panic
attacks lies in my own hands.
My attacks didn’t disappear overnight. It took a lot of time
and determination but it eventually did go away. Now, I live
without the shadow of irrational fear and anxiety. If you
suffer as I once did, it is about time that you seek help. You
owe it to yourself.
Click here for more information on
how thousands of people (including me) have dealt with their
panic and anxiety attacks.
Cathy Shermann
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