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Scary Incident
12 years ago
⭐️ be rootin, be tootin, and by god be shootin ⭐️ So, my panic attacks used to be very bad back in highschool but for the most part have settled down. Now if I get one it's just a slight rush of 'omfg' and I'm somewhere pretty safe. Last night I had a huge one while driving on the interstate at night.
No huge trigger. Just panic.
Suddenly feeling like I was going to pass out. I couldn't breathe in, I couldn't see properly, I really should have pulled over. I don't think I could have even taken my foot off the gas if I tried for a moment. It scared me something awful. I didn't have my meds with me and all I could think about was that I couldn't breathe. My body was legit forgetting it needed to and not breathing in. Any second I could have passed out.
I talked myself trough it, put my hand slightly out the window and turned off all other music or distractions that might be over-stimulus. Cool air on my hands usually helps, but... the panic kept relapsing. I finally made it to my exit but... god, I was terrified... And then I had to go back later, of course....
I tried later that night to go home on the interstate because... hell. I lived 40 minutes away and the surface roads made it an hour and a half. It was 3 in the morning, so I was a bit anxious to get home. I only made it a few exits before the panic came back and I was shaking and about to black out.
I should point out that I've been driving three years without a wreck (though I've seen plenty as they happened...) and am a very safe driver. Something else was forcing the panics, though I didn't know what. I tried calling foff to talk me through it but he was busy and... well... who else could I call?
So I took an exit to get on surface streets but I was STILL panicking. I finally thought... maybe... just maybe.... Oh, wait.
I hadn't eaten a real meal all day. A sandwich over 14 hours ago, but no real food. I immediately stopped and got drive-through, but then it sparked another question entirely; why wasn't I feeling hunger?
I rarely ever feel hunger anymore. If I do it usually is roaring, painful hunger out of nowhere, but my body doesn't give the subtle pangs like everyone else does... It's starting to really worry me that I went an entire day without much food and nearly died on the interstate because my body went into fight/flight mode.
Does anyone else have this problem of not feeling hunger?
I know a lot of people are going to suggest I keep a food schedule, and i'll try, but that doesn't explain why it happens.
No huge trigger. Just panic.
Suddenly feeling like I was going to pass out. I couldn't breathe in, I couldn't see properly, I really should have pulled over. I don't think I could have even taken my foot off the gas if I tried for a moment. It scared me something awful. I didn't have my meds with me and all I could think about was that I couldn't breathe. My body was legit forgetting it needed to and not breathing in. Any second I could have passed out.
I talked myself trough it, put my hand slightly out the window and turned off all other music or distractions that might be over-stimulus. Cool air on my hands usually helps, but... the panic kept relapsing. I finally made it to my exit but... god, I was terrified... And then I had to go back later, of course....
I tried later that night to go home on the interstate because... hell. I lived 40 minutes away and the surface roads made it an hour and a half. It was 3 in the morning, so I was a bit anxious to get home. I only made it a few exits before the panic came back and I was shaking and about to black out.
I should point out that I've been driving three years without a wreck (though I've seen plenty as they happened...) and am a very safe driver. Something else was forcing the panics, though I didn't know what. I tried calling foff to talk me through it but he was busy and... well... who else could I call?
So I took an exit to get on surface streets but I was STILL panicking. I finally thought... maybe... just maybe.... Oh, wait.
I hadn't eaten a real meal all day. A sandwich over 14 hours ago, but no real food. I immediately stopped and got drive-through, but then it sparked another question entirely; why wasn't I feeling hunger?
I rarely ever feel hunger anymore. If I do it usually is roaring, painful hunger out of nowhere, but my body doesn't give the subtle pangs like everyone else does... It's starting to really worry me that I went an entire day without much food and nearly died on the interstate because my body went into fight/flight mode.
Does anyone else have this problem of not feeling hunger?
I know a lot of people are going to suggest I keep a food schedule, and i'll try, but that doesn't explain why it happens.
That's about all my inexperienced health knowledge.
I've just made do by keeping track of when I eat and how often, for the most part. But I am underweight, so clearly I could be doing a better job. (5'9" and around 100lbs). So I suppose the best I can offer is that you can get used to it? Not very helpful, I suppose.
This has some possibilities for what might be ailing you
I hadn't had any issues for a good 5-6 years, and about 2 months ago I had an attack so bad that I ended up passing out in-motion and faceplanted into a door frame (like an idiot I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and when I realized it was too late I tried to make it to the bedroom...in hindsight, I should've just gotten down on the floor).
My face hurt quite badly, I still have a bit of a scar there, and it took a good few days before I felt like my fine motor control was back up to par.
Because of said experience, I would say that you should really, really just pull over in instances like that. You don't want to put yourself (or others) in danger, even if you're wanting to get home. That being said, I'd maybe try keeping a bottle of water and crackers in the car maybe?
I have medication I'm really going to start keeping on me. ;n;
Hopefully it doesn't happen again for you!
I get issues with not being hungry a lot actually. I've been generally following the system of eating when my body asks for food unless its been over a day or two, though from reading this I should probs make it twelve hrs. I'm not prone to anxiety attacks unless its stage fright related (hate people staring at me), but I never wanna give my body a reason to start having them randomly.
I think a food schedule is a good idea, even if you're not hungry. Just don't try to force more food into it than it can handle. It's also possible you were feeling the effects of a vitamin deficiency. You did recently change your eating habits. Somethin to think about as well.
Seriously thinking of ordering a pizza tonight. wonderful, unhealthy pizza. mm.
When my sugars gets low, i get blurry vision, and that feeling which comes from it, reminds me from a panic attack.
Heart is racing and it's hard to breathe. sweating,, etc etc.
I get those times when i won't feel hunger, it's depression/ mood related mostly, but on summers i won't get the feeling of being hungry that often.
Be careful while driving.
Dark leafy salad, nuts(pistachios is a recent fav. Super healthy too), and I buy those organic non-GMO juices.
Taking a good multivitamin will help too.
Sounds like your body is getting shitty food and isn't getting the proper nutrients, which can go right through you or turn to fat.. which will essentially be depriving your brain, organs and muscles of proper nutrients. Fast food was a bad choice for emergency food. Your body demanded nutrients in an emergency and what did you give it? Hope you don't mind my attack on your personal eating habits, lol. But that's the truth. You literally are what you eat.
Others have suggested that this might be low blood sugar, which seems like a possibility. Low blood sugar plus anxiety attack is a pretty horrible combination.
I don't know if you have a trader joe's where you are, but the little cereal fruit bars they have are handy and keep for a long time. I try to always have some in the car with me.
You tend to worry about other people, but you need to remember to take care of yourself :)
Shit, I even did it again today by accident. Had toast for breakfast, got a little carried away with work, thinking 'I'm good, I'm not hungry, I'll order pizza later'. 8 hours later, come on pizzaman or I will gnaw the flesh off your bones.
I have vertigo so I have this tendency to pass out at random times. It has caused me to pull over several times when I feel it coming and I let myself temporarily black out until I'm all good again.
Though usually this is only triggered by sudden head movements and with all the mirrors in the car I don't have to look around too much.
I usually pass out in stores trying to reach something on high shelves. I dunno, I'm short and I guess looking up like that really sets me off. It's super embarrassing to wake up in a chair with people fanning you, but I try to just laugh it off.