How to describe what I felt/feel...

by Kathy
(USA)

I have had several attacks of what I assume are panic attacks. The first time was on an airplane. I was being forced to sit on a window seat in a small jet with very close walls. For some reason this triggered the thought in me that I need to get off of this plane immediately...I didn't care if we had taken off or not. Fortunately, there were two empty seats I could move to on the aisle and the attack subsided. The second time was driving home on a 10 hour road trip. Out of nowhere I started panicking while driving and had to pull over, thinking I couldn't continue to drive or do much of anything else. I hated the feeling and thought I was losing my mind or having a heart attack. Similarly to so many other people on this site, I started having symptoms similar to a heart attack...shortness of breath, light headedness, tingling in the hands, and a general feeling of panic I couldn't control. I pulled over and got some sugar and food into my system thinking it might be low blood sugar or something similar. After about an hour I am able to finish the drive home. The third and last time so far I was in the book store checking out a book (I was sitting)when the feeling hit. I started thinking "I am going to faint" and then stood up to move, as I was mainly concerned about fainting in public and making a fool of myself. I walked around and sat in the car for about an hour (again) after which I finally was able to drive home. Through all of these attacks, I was concerned about fainting or making a fool of myself while "losing it". I feel for everyone who has to go through these feelings and hope the medical community can find a better way to help us control them. Thanks for letting me post.