Panic Attacks

[okie archer]

I have thought about starting a post like this in the past but always changed my mind. I have suffered from panic attacks off and on for years. For someone who has never had one you may not understand what they are and how they can affect you. To say that a panic attack is horrible would be an understatement. My point of this post is to ask if anyone on here has panic attacks and how do you deal with it on hunting trips?

 

[Hunting Wife]

I’ve had something a couple of times now that I’m not sure what they are, but they suck. Just feels like a huge adrenaline dump out of nowhere, heart starts pounding, cold sweat, overwhelming feeling of anxiety or dread for no apparent reason, then of course I start worrying about WTF is happening to me right now and that doesn’t help. The first time it happened it lasted just a minute, but another time it lasted for like 20 minutes. Kind of freaky. For some reason it mostly happens to me at night...I jolt out of a dead sleep. Since I got better about working out every day, I haven’t had another one. Never did see the doctor about it.

I know other people who have struggled with panic attacks at times. Several of them are young strapping guys who you wouldn’t guess would be dealing with something like that. I think it’s more common than you hear about.

 

[LCH]

I sometimes have a similar reaction to heights, when I'm hanging a tree stand or something like that. I'm fine when I get back on the ground though.

My wife used to struggle with panic attacks back when she was in school.

 

[WapitiBob]

Talk to your Doc, Propranolol.

 

[bobbydean]

I admire all that have admitted to panic attacks. Universal problem. Sorry for those having problem.
Propranolol works great for planned events. If you have 1 or 2 attacks a year, would not do on a regular basis. Will definitely lower your blood pressure.

If occurs regularly see a physician. If occasional. deal with it ( aroma therapy, relaxation techniques. back rubs).

No, I do not have this. I do have emotional spikes that I am extremely emotional. Have hid them well in my life!

 

[WapitiBob]

" If occasional. deal with it ( aroma therapy, relaxation techniques. back rubs)."


Yea, until you're driving down the Interstate at 80 mph and you lock up. A real good way to kill yourself and maybe others.

OP, make an appointment with a good doctor. You'll get fixed up with a prescription so you can fend off an attack when you feel one coming on.

 

[beginnerhunter]

Yeah I get them in certain situations. I have a fear of heights but if I'm wearing a harness it doesn't bother me.
My biggest problem is fear of fainting which is a common symptom of panic disorder. This happens in situations where I'm worried about losing control. It may happen when in front of a crowd during weddings or public speaking. But the worst is when I get them while driving, especially now that I have children. Combine that with the fear of heights and you can imagine how stressful mountain driving is for me. Familiarity helps.

 

[Mudranger1]

Just curious are these induced or you just walking around looking at birds and it hits? I've had a couple stress attacks but nothing I would consider panic

 

[WapitiBob]

My hunting partner has had a cpl. He doesn't suffer from anxiety stuff like heights, public speaking, they seem random so far. He has a cpl minutes after he first feels it coming on before his hands, arms, and legs will tense up enough you can't move them. If he had one while driving he couldn't control the vehicle. Scared the crap outta him so he went in to the doc.

 

[Nameless Range]

I have not had a panic attack in 10 years, but for a couple years in my early 20s I was plagued by them and it was awful. The first one I thought I was dying while driving and after calling 911 and barely being able to dial that and mumble into the phone, was hauled off to the ER in an ambulance. Some things I learned about panic attacks that I didn't know before.

-They can come with no warning whatsoever, without any other hints of anxiety preceding them.
-You cannot will them away. I think there is an impression that panic attacks are a failure of moral fortitude, and are a sign of weakness. That's not true.They happen to you, independent of your will.
-They are incredibly frightening. Your heart pounds faster than ever before, the blood rushes from your extremities and you can lose the ability to speak.Your brain is no longer in charge of the body.
-They cause a feedback loop, where your anxiety is exacerbated by worrying about another panic attack hiding in the shadows, which in turn can increase the likelihood of more panic attacks.

At the time I was working 70+ hours a week while at the same time going to school full time, while at the same time maintaining a relationship and my hobbies. I was consuming 800ish milligrams of caffeine a day in the form of energy drinks and pre-workout, and I was getting 3-5 hours of sleep a night. I lived this way for a couple years. I was told by a Dr. that my lifestyle wasn't doing me any favors. I quit caffeine and dropped down to one job and to this day drink no more than 2 cups of coffee a day. I haven't had a panic attack since then. I do know though, that for many, they cannot find easy solutions like I did, and for them I have compassion that comes from an understanding of how terrible a burden panic attacks are.

 

[El Jason]

I had ne in my mid 20s,stress induced. I thought I was having a full on heart attack. Scared the crap out of me. None since.

 

[LopeHunter]

Have a panic attack every couple of years of so. Usually extended, stressful situation and is like one of the posters said, an adrenaline dump for me with a tightness of lungs and pressure in skull that is distracting. Once I grasp is an intense situation then I focus on breathing in a controlled manner. I sit down or lay down if can. The intensity ebbs after a few minutes of me focusing on my breathing and being calm. Once is gone, is gone as fast as arrived. Adrenaline dump is my guess though not sure why triggers so rarely as I encounter intense stress a few times a week.

 

[okie archer]

I just attempted to reply with quick reply and it wouldn't let me so here I go again.
Nameless Range pretty much is spot on. Being a little nervous or stressed is NOT the same thing as a PA. For me a panic attack feels like a smothering sensation. Heavy labored breathing or a choking feeling. Most of the time for me it happens at night. I jerk awake out of a sleep feeling like something is in my throat and have a choking feeling. I honestly think that a little sleep apnea contributes to this at night. It is a sudden overwhelming feeling of losing control that makes it feel hard to breathe even though you are breathing good. BTW, if anyone reading this knows someone who has PA please be supportive and caring and not critical. Telling someone to get over it is equivalent to telling a diabetic to get over it.Telling someone to just get over it does not work it just makes it worse because believe me, a person who suffers with PA don't really want or chose to. I am thankful I have a very supportive and caring wife. Even though she has never had a PA. I have not taken medicine for PA in over 20 years and don't want to. I will say that I am a Christian and a man of faith and that has helped me tremendously, more than anything else.

I have been worried at times of going hunting and being a long ways from the truck and having a PA. It is one of the biggest reasons I have never flown. Actually, sometimes you have a fear of having a PA. So basically afraid of fear.
I don't want to sound like it happens all the time 24/7 because it don't. Most of the time I am fine. Both of my elk hunts were fine as well as my antelope and bear hunts. When I first started having pa at 21 years old I didn't have much experience on knowing how to deal with them. When it happens and I feel like I don't have control, it feels hard to breathe and I feel a smothering sensation it's hard but I try to tell myself that it's just a PA, though it's uncomfortable it's not dangerous and it will pass. It's like a massive dump of adreline and you can't process it. It just has to run its course. Thanks for the replies and the PM's.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Took a friend Elk hunting up top,drove into some fog banks and he said "something bads going to happen" and started seizing up.Set up camp,no better.Took him to our cabin-2000ft.elev.No change.I thought it was altitude sickness.He never improved.Drove him all the way home and the next day he was OK.Lost 3 days on my once in a lifetime bull elk hunt,came home empty handed.Do Anxiety attacks /panic attacks last that long?There is always another day/another hunt,I am glad he is fine.Are panic attacks triggered by "new"or stressfull situations?

 

[rtraverdavis]

Thanks for posting okie archer. Couldn’t have been easy. I had something similar about seven years ago. My life was a real mess at that time and I was under a tremendous amount of stress. I was working a long-term substitute teaching job at an alternative school for kids with extreme behavior problems and right as class was starting one day my chest clamped up and I felt like I couldn’t breathe, passed out, pissed my pants, and threw up. Gave the kids a hell of a show. When I came-to, I was on a stretcher being wheeled out to an ambulance. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before, and it scared the hell out of me. I was supposed to start my guiding job on the Deschutes River shortly after and I worried something like that would happen while pushing my drift boat down stream with clients. Haven’t had one since.

Only thing I can think of is the stress that I was under in my personal life at that time, combined with that teaching job which was the most challenging and painful job I’ve ever had, pitched my body over an edge I didn’t even know existed. I’m grateful it hasn’t been a chronic thing. I hope you get it sorted out.

 

[T Bone]

Had my very first one three months ago at age 45.

After a lengthy discussion\argument with the wife that included all options, I went and did a heavy workout followed by a run. On the way back home, the chest tightened up, my heart about jumped out of my chest, and couldn't breath.

I thought it was cardiac arrest and went to the ER. Hasn't happened again. Doc says if it does, I need to start meds or change something else.

So ya. Been there, don't want to go back.

 

[corndog1]

I used to get these frequently and hope nobody has to experience one. A trip to the doc and learning how to handle stressful situations and other life issues in a new way has worked for me. My new way of thinking and dealing with things in a proper manner for me has me off the medication also.

 

[Labman]

Told a Navy Doc one time that when I have a bull elk screaming at me 15 yards away my heart feels like it is going to come out of my chest. She gave me Propranolol and I can tell you the stuff is amazing. The prescription on the bottle actually says “take during elk season”.

 

[bomberdeer]

Go see a Doctor... they'll prescribe something probably, but don't be surprised if it doesn't work the first round - you'll need to take it for a couple weeks. You may have to try a couple different meds to find the right one to get things ironed out. You'll be aight...

 

[elkduds]

I used to get these frequently and hope nobody has to experience one. A trip to the doc and learning how to handle stressful situations and other life issues in a new way has worked for me. My new way of thinking and dealing with things in a proper manner for me has me off the medication also.

Good for you. Anxiety/panic is better treated by altering behavior and cognition (thoughts, beliefs, self-talk), than by medication alone.

Here is a basic technique for calming the adrenaline storm that is panic. It is effective because it defeats adrenaline by slowing breathing, directs attention away from external stressors and toward personal easing, and uses multiple senses to calm oneself.

Sit comfortably in a calm setting. Inhale naturally. Slow down exhaling by saying the word relax, or calm, drawing it out to last until total exhale: "reeeeeelllaaaaaaaaaxxxx," stretch the word out until lungs are empty.


Before inhaling, count to 4 by touching the fingers of one hand to the thumb, one @ a time, saying the # as you touch each finger to thumb, "one, two, three, four." The counting takes about 2 seconds. Then natural inhale as above, through the nose if you like; slow, complete exhale through mouth while saying aloud, "caaaaaaallllllmmmm" or "rrrreeeeelllllaaaaaxxxxx." Count to 4 on fingers, then inhale as before, and continue. 2-3 minutes of this breathing method = one cycle of practice.


This (or any) calming technique is only effective when one practices and learns it while calm, before applying it to reduce an episode of panic or anxiety. Most people learn this well enough to be effective against episodes of anxiety/panic by practicing the 2-3 minute cycle, 10 times a day, for 10-14 days. The method will not be familiar enough to overcome adrenaline and (-) emotions, without extensive practice while calm. This method requires focus, don't practice while driving. Before falling asleep, in the bathroom, w TV on mute during commercials, finding 10 or more times a day to practice for 2 minutes takes commitment, still it is doable. The benefit of being in charge of anxiety is worth the effort. If you recognize this from anger management or substance treatment you are correct, It has many applications.