My First Panic Attack Experience: How it All Began

I was 17 then. At that time I wasn’t sure what it was. I doubt though if I would have known what it was if I were any older. It came so suddenly and without warning. I was in the locker room dressing up for a cheerleading exhibition practice. I was to take the front line on our first formation as I always have. I wasn’t able to make it out that day.

Even before I could step out of the locker room, a wave of fear washed over me. I thought I was merely having the jitters because we were to be critiqued that day. I struggled to keep calm but my apprehension rose when my heart beat began to speed up and my vision began to blur. My chest hurt terribly and my breath came in short gasps. In a matter of seconds, my body was bathed in my own sweat and I was down on one knee, too dizzy to even stand up.

I could have asked my teammates to call for help but I was the last one out. There was no one within arm’s reach. I was too confused and dazed to shout for my friends who were assembled outside. After a few minutes though, I gradually calmed down on my own. That was when some of my friends came back looking for me. I told them I wasn’t feeling well and just needed to go home.

I didn’t tell anyone at first. I thought I just had the nerves. I was afraid they’d all make fun of me for getting cold feet. I was also worried they’d say I still had teenage angst when everyone else was growing up and getting ready to cross the threshold of adulthood. I tried to forget the situation ever happened.

Forgetting however was apparently not meant to be. I had another bout of crippling fear in my first year in college. This time it was in a quiet corner of the university library. I was buried deep in my books when the chest pain, short breath, clammy hands, dizziness and anxiety all descended on me in one unexpected swoop. This time I had no excuse. There was no cheerleading critique in sight. I wasn’t scheduled for a major report. There weren’t even any people around who could cause such reactions in me. This time I had a feeling that something was wrong.

I grew expectant of succeeding episodes. Sometimes I felt even more anxious over expecting a similar occurrence rather than over a real episode. As I grew more and more worried by the week and by the day, the episodes came at closer intervals. All of a sudden, I simply wanted to just crawl away and hide in some comfortable nook.

Eventually, it was a dorm mate who first noticed that something was wrong. After a little gentle prodding, I was able to tell her everything and how it all began. She wasn’t sure but she thought I was suffering from panic attacks. A slew of medical checks that revealed nothing proved that she may have been right. It was then that I decided that I needed help.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t in a therapist’s office that I found help. My dorm mate who also used to have panic attacks told me to try Panic Away. I couldn’t have made a better decision in my life. I found out that dealing with panic attacks lies in my own hands.

My attacks didn’t disappear overnight. It took a lot of time and determination but it eventually did go away. Now, I live without the shadow of irrational fear and anxiety. If you suffer as I once did, it is about time that you seek help. You owe it to yourself.

Click here for more information on how thousands of people (including me) have dealt with their panic and anxiety attacks.

Cathy Shermann