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Sometimes I get so anxious I throw up, shake, can't breathe, and sweat profusely - what can I do?

141 Answers
Last Updated: 06/24/2019 at 6:23pm
1 Tip to Feel Better
United States
Moderated by

Elaine Kish, LMSW

Clinical Social Work/Therapist

My goal is to treat clients with respect and compassion. I am a supportive, strengths-based therapist with experience in treating mood disorders, grief, and trauma.

Top Rated Answers
littlefairythatcould
April 3rd, 2016 6:46pm
During this time you are probably experiencing a panic attack. One of the most helpful things to do it to try to lie down in a comfortable position, I prefer lying down on my back with my legs up against my wall. Not only does this help your body relax, but also brings more blood circulation to relax you. Hope this helps!
Anonymous
April 8th, 2016 8:07pm
Try to recognize in what type of situations you feel this way, and maybe talk to someone about it or even just write it down on a piece of paper to get som prospective on it. Take control of your breathing, maybe hold onto something you can squeeze, like a small ball or something else at hand, get som air and drink some water.
Anonymous
April 9th, 2016 6:23pm
take deep breaths. tell yourself it's okay. it may be hard, I know. anxiety is hard to have. but telling yourself it's okay will help. reach out and talk to others! rely on help!!
Anonymous
April 10th, 2016 9:49am
Take deep breathes and try to calm your worries, perhaps grab a friend as well. Dealing and treating with your anxiety will be an easy way to feel better as time goes on.
LuctorEtEmergo
April 10th, 2016 1:06pm
I experienced that in the past. First it is important to analyze what makes you so anxious. Then you can try meditation or breathing in and out to calm down, while thinking about what worries. Ask yourself if it's a rational fear ? If you can do something to fix this ?
Understandingfox
April 10th, 2016 4:03pm
A popular coping mechanism is to try and think of different objects in your enviroment and just think about the characteristics they contain. Anything like this can help distract you while your brain is pumping out adrenaline. If you do it long enough it can stop.
BatmanAtYourService
April 10th, 2016 7:50pm
drink water and rehydrate yourself and then close your eyes and try deep breathing. All you gotta do is Cool down w/o thinking about anything.
GorgeousMess88
- Expert in Anxiety
April 14th, 2016 8:39pm
First I need to realize this is just anxiety, it can't kill me I need to focus on taking breathes in and out. I also need to go for a walk to clear my head. If that doesn't help maybe I need to call someone so I can talk to them.
Anonymous
April 17th, 2016 5:58am
Talk to your therapist or look into calming exercises. There are many to read about online to choose
Readinger
April 17th, 2016 10:11am
Look at things that can occupy your senses. It's called the grounding techniques. Look at your surroundings and identify 5 things you can see. 4 things you can touch. 3 things you can hear. 2 things you can smell and 1 thing you can taste. It will distract you and keep you from the feeling that you've lost control.
thisrideisawildone
April 21st, 2016 12:56pm
This sounds like you are having a panic attack. First of all, seeing a medical professional may help because they can offer medical advice. However, when you are having an attack making sure you are taking deep breaths is vital. Focus and be mindful on your breathing, maybe call someone who can help and be there with you, drink water. It will pass.
Anonymous
April 22nd, 2016 9:17am
Hey. First you have to see what's making you anxious. Then you try and come to accept it. But if you can't. When you get into that situation you go and lie face to the side in your stomach on a bed or cold serface.
peacefulIris56
April 23rd, 2016 2:37pm
Sit down, take some deep breathes. Try to distract yourself if you feel the anxiety coming on. See a therapist and they will get you the right treatment.
Anonymous
April 26th, 2016 2:39pm
Take a deep breath, was a bad day but not a bad life! You'll find that you are on your way to feel fine and happy!
Kiara240
August 23rd, 2016 10:46am
When I feel like this I try to take a step back and relax. Think about something that makes you feel calm. Take deep breaths and possibly try counting back from 100.
avocadoallyson
February 6th, 2017 12:50am
Minimizing anxiety can be difficult. When you start to feel anxious, remind yourself to breathe and start thinking about something that makes you happy. Sometimes, you have to remove yourself from a situation and that's OK too. Breathe slowly and close your eyes to take a mental break from whatever is making you anxious.
JenniM123
June 12th, 2017 9:06am
This can be an incredibly scary feeling. The key to dealing with this is DEEP BREATHS. It sounds too easy to be true? Well it is. When you are experiencing a panic attack, regardless of if you get them all the time or never before, they are scary and your body is going into panic mode. There are physiological changes going on while you are having a panic attack that you don't experience day to day. By taking deep breaths in and out, very deep and very slow, it re aligns your body to its normal breathing rate and gives your brain a second to breathe without a load of information rushing to it. Once your breath becomes regulated, you will feel okay. This is a way to deal with this feeling, and it will get easier. I swear to you it will get easier. Other options include going on medication. But before doing that, I recommend meditation and mindfulness practice. We are the controllers of how we feel.
Katie2611
October 24th, 2017 6:08pm
Try to keep a journal of when this happens and what has led up to the event so that you can begin to look back at your answers and be able to identify a pattern. By identifying this pattern you may notice that there's an action or behaviour that you can change to be able to prevent these anxious moments from happening as often.
Anonymous
October 8th, 2018 5:36pm
There are many methods people use in order to calm themselves down. I recommend checking the list of Mindfulness Exercises on 7 Cups - try to explore some different ways in which you can try to calm yourself down and find one that works for you. Besides 7 Cups, there are many resources out there on the internet. It can be really helpful to have something as simple as listening to a song or practicing controlled breathing. If that doesn't help, then I recommend you seek professional help. You could contact a counsellor or a therapist online if you don't feel comfortable doing so face-to-face. I hope this helped!
Peaceoftrees
May 13th, 2019 8:54pm
contact a doctor would be the first thing. ask for help besides us we can only refer you. the best thing to to is contact your main healthcare provider and see what couslers you can go to try one if you dont like them try another. dont ever be afraid to move from counsler to cousler till you feel comfterable. their job is to help you. just remember everyone needs elp once in a while. and for us here on seven cups we can help the best we can to get you to a counsler but theres only so far we can go.
Anonymous
June 24th, 2019 6:23pm
What is do when my Anxiety is that bad is I take a deep breaths to try and help me calm down or I listen to music that is calming and just sit by myself. This works for me because breathing helps to calm me down and also when I read it’s a silent activity which can really do the trick. Not the same thing works on everyone, but once you find the thing that you can do to calm you down don’t stop doing it. You are the expert of your body and only you know what you need.