About a third of the time, it feels like you are dying and there is no rational thought that can save you from that feeling. The rest of the time, it is merely discomfort in comparison.
I also have talked to many people have suffered from panic disorder. There are many different feelings that people experience, some from sweating and palpitations to somatic sensations that are indescribable.
I personally have sensory processing disorder, and for me, having a panic attack is sometimes like taking a hallucinogenic in some regard. There are sensations that I have never felt before that suddenly exist and feel very real. It is nearly impossible to calm down or rationalize the experience.
Overall, I assume there is no calming yourself down when your sympathetic nervous system is in full meltdown. You can't think yourself out of a flood of neurotransmitter release, no more than you could think yourself out of being poisoned.
In my opinion, the advice that people give to each other around panic attacks as being mind over matter is lacking perspective.
That's wrong, I certainly managed to calm myself down when going through panic attacks. When they first started happening I was very scared, they were like you were about to die. As soon as I knew what they were, just saying to yourself 'this is a panic attack, its ok, it'll pass' over and over stopped it getting out of control.
The trouble with panic attack advice is that most of the advice online is from chronic sufferers who often don't seem to want to be cured.
It is mind over matter for panic attacks. You can say 'this is just a panic attack' and the symptoms go away. Exercise actually works. Eating right works. Cutting out alcohol/caffeine works. Meditation works.
Mine are gone. I occasionally have mild anxiety attacks when stressed, but recognise them for what they are now. But the things that I thought were heart attacks, the massive overwhelming, dread-inducing panic attacks? Gone.
About a third of the time, it feels like you are dying and there is no rational thought that can save you from that feeling. The rest of the time, it is merely discomfort in comparison.
I also have talked to many people have suffered from panic disorder. There are many different feelings that people experience, some from sweating and palpitations to somatic sensations that are indescribable.
I personally have sensory processing disorder, and for me, having a panic attack is sometimes like taking a hallucinogenic in some regard. There are sensations that I have never felt before that suddenly exist and feel very real. It is nearly impossible to calm down or rationalize the experience.
Overall, I assume there is no calming yourself down when your sympathetic nervous system is in full meltdown. You can't think yourself out of a flood of neurotransmitter release, no more than you could think yourself out of being poisoned.
In my opinion, the advice that people give to each other around panic attacks as being mind over matter is lacking perspective.