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I feel like nobody understands what my panic attacks are like.

User Profile: whatthehell
whatthehell February 10th, 2020

When I have a panic attack, or what I call a panic attack, it can happen out of nowhere. Theres almost no correlation between my mood and if I have one.

so Im sure you guys have woken up in the morning and felt like you had a dream but dont remember it. My panic attacks make me feel like I am in a dream I have had, but never remembered until just then. The room starts feeling like its changing to panoramic mode, like the room is stretching. But somebody will do something, and itll feel like I already knew it was going to happen even though I didnt. Or Ill see a random person and itll feel like yes! I never saw that person but now that I see them I remember they were part of my vision too!

the sad thing is, its now happening at work. Im a server. Last Friday it happened and I took an order and afterwards I looked at what I wrote down and didnt remember anything they said, just hoped I wrote down the right thing. The food runner brought their food and it was wrong, but it wasnt anything I did wrong but before I realized it wasnt my fault I was so sad inside and almost had to leave work bc of it. Nobody knew, just me. But I almost ran through the doors and basically quit over.... a deja vu feeling? It doesnt make sense. I call these my panic attacks but idk what they are.

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User Profile: SilentSerenityy
SilentSerenityy February 10th, 2020

@whatthehell

I'm no doctor or psychologist, but from what you've described, it sounds more like dissociation where you're mentally leaving the current situation, kind of like a mental escape because you're finding your situation a little too much to handle. Panic attacks often involve nausea, sweating, feeling faint etc.

It's often suggested to do things to ground yourself when you're going into one of these episodes. It involves become consciously aware of the sensations you're feeling. Thinking about the weight of your body on the floor/chair, the smells/sounds you can hear etc. can bring you back to the present moment.

If this is becoming quite a problem for you and affecting your day to day life, I'd suggest speaking with your doctor.