Can Anyone See The Logic In This?

oldngrumpy

For years I have had a nervous disposition.

I have had panic attacks, but i have always put this down to a lack in confidence.

The reason I mentioned confidence is because most of my life I have had folks telling me I lack in confidence. I don't think I do!

Currently at 21.20 I am in bed on Saturday night.  I don't know why, but I just had a panic attack.

I have been told to breathe deeply when I get like this.....  But when I start to breathe deeply it sets off another panic attack.
Or I start to feel uncomfortable.

Could the deep breathing make me worse, as in ** I hope someone can see where I am coming from ** my mind knows I am having a panic attack because of the slow breathing.

And this in turn makes the panic attack worse. Or causes another one?

I have noticed this when lying on my front in bed. I sometimes have to do this because of Sleep Apnoea.

Thank you Folks

woodbine

Sorry to hear you are feeling like this, I must admit that I have only ever had one panic attack and it wasn't very nice,I have no words of wisdom to offer but I hope you feel better tomorrow.

chiarieds

Hi @oldngrumpy - posting just in case this helps. Like woodbine I've had panic attacks, so speaking from personal experience, but also from having taught breathing exercises as a physio student.

Now I could be wrong, but to me breathing deeply isn't natural, & perhaps, as you seem to be thinking, doing this isn't currently helping, & another 'perhaps,' your mind may be associating doing this deep breathing with, 'I'm doing this because I'm having a panic attack', which worsens things.

Now probably isn't the time to try the following, but try when you're feeling OK; in other words practise it. Please see: https://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/resources/patient-information/therapies/abdominal-breathing.pdf

You don't need a pillow under your knees, just try & get in a comfortable position. This is the way that babies & young children naturally breathe, but seems to be something that most adults have forgotten. I now have to think really hard how not to breathe this way, but it was something I concentrated on doing correctly when having a panic attack, & what I also concentrate on when pain becomes overwhelming, & when trying to settle my mind to get to sleep. To me concentrating on your breathing is key, rather than unnaturally taking deep breaths, counting how long you breathe in or out for, etc.

oldngrumpy

Thank you for this link. I shall read and try this. Thank you for responding to my question 

leeCal

I’ve had one panic attack though it felt like a heart attack frankly. It was caused by a mixture of new medications and it frightened me a lot. It happened just as I was getting into bed one night totally out of the blue. 

I have always thought that you were supposed to breath into a bag during a panic attack to increase co2 in the blood stream? Perhaps I’m wrong.

Tori_Scope

I'm sorry that you had a panic attack @oldngrumpy, as I know how unpleasant they are. Different people will find different methods helpful, so it's worth trying a few different breathing exercises out. I hope the one chiarieds has pointed you towards helps! 

Have you ever tried using any grounding techniques?