Skip to main content

How Not To Respond To A Panic Attack

A panic attack is one of the most complicated things in human experiences. You are panicking, yet relief is present. You are totally detached from yourself, yet you are hypersensitive to everything around you. You are numb, yet feel everything.
Panic attacks come with panic disorder and anxiety disorders, and present themselves in various ways. Some symptoms include;

Crying
Shaking
Fits of rage
Sweating
Irregular breathing
Spacing out

No matter what your panic attack is, it's usually very different to how a person acts. It's noticeable.
Personally, when I have a panic attack, I will sob, and I will shake, and I cannot breathe.
And people stare.
It's a horrible experience. I want to scream at these people to help me or to leave me alone, but I'm not in control of my body at that point.
You should never stare at anyone when they're having a panic attack. It dehumanises them. You're lacking any respect for their feelings, showing that you're viewing them not as a person, but as an event that's happening.
We can see you staring. We can see that you don't understand, that you're scared, that you're curious. But we are not animals in a zoo, we are not simply an intriguing phenomena occurring. We have feelings and you're trampling on the emotions that are already so sensitive.

Don't think that turning your head and walking away is an excuse either. If they are alone, at least ask if they're ok. I can't tell you how many teachers would look the other way when I had panic attacks in secondary school. That just makes us feel even more worthless that we were originally feeling.
It's not that hard to ask someone, especially someone you know, if they're ok. Nothing magically stops a panic attack, and no one expects you to be able to do so.

Bottom line, just see everyone as a human.

~~~~~
Come say hi!
justaoifethings.facebook.com
justaoifethings.twitter.com
justaoifethings.instagram.com
(Proper links to return in the next post! If this is inconvenient, proper links are two to three posts back)

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Unusual Coping Method

If you've read recent blog posts, you'll know I've recently finished my Leaving Cert (hence the erratic upload schedule). During it, I was surprising calm, and only cried over two exams. History failed me, unfortunately. But, I couldn't understand why I was so calm. Why wasn't Becky rearing her ugly head? When I thought about it, I realised something strange. All the exams I had done were a blur. I felt like I hadn't even done them. When I came out of an exam and was asked a question about the paper, I blanked. I just didn't remember. I was forgetting a lot of things in day to day life, and feeling numb. That's when I realised what I was doing, I wasn't being present. Feeling as if you're not present is a major symptom of anxiety, so I suppose it has become an unintentional coping method for me. I'd look in the mirror and think, Wow, I'm actually that person. That reflection is me! It's really hard to explain what this feeli
Post a Comment
Read more

Cycle Against Suicide

An organisation set up by Jim Breen, where thousands of people cycle through Ireland every year, to break the cycle of suicide. Cleverly placed pun. Today, the lovely Mr Breen came to my school and talked to all seven hundred plus of us. In the back, wearing a disgustingly bright orange shirt in support (and feeling decidedly Dutch), I was struggling not to cry. Not that he was being morbid. He didn't delve into details of his depression, or any gruesome details of suicide. He spoke in such a way that was amazing. He spoke to us in a way that reached all levels of understanding in relation to mental health. He was able to educate those who have never experienced a mental monster, without boring them, or frightening them off the topic. Though, even with such sensitivity, he was able to touch those who had suffered mental illness. It was like a little nod to us. We knew we were understood, that he understood. For me, that is always extremely emotional. For someone to understa
Post a Comment
Read more

Feeling Anxious

Having anxiety, I regularly tend to feel anxious. I've been asked if it's excessive or extreme worry or stress, but no, it's not. It's anxiety, it's very different. Right now, I'm feeling particularly anxious. When I say this to a person without anxiety, they assume I'm feeling worried or stressed, which isn't the case. I feel like there's something massive weighing my chest down. I'm making a conscious effort to breathe, because if I don't, I will forget to do so. I feel as if a snake is making its way up my throat, trying to twist my oesophagus while its head rests on the back of my tongue. My head is spinning. It goes from one thought to the next and back again in a couple of seconds. My mind is transfixed on one thing that I'm anxious on, and I know that anxiety is making me think it's worse than it is. (Or is it? I don't know.) My senses are heightened. Every noise is irratating, and I can feel things through just a bru
2 comments
Read more