I have suffered from panic attacks for a really long time.
- I can remember having panic attacks when I was a small child.
Panic attacks are a kind of response to fear that isn’t triggered in everyone. When I feel like I am going to have a panic attack, I experience symptoms like light-headedness, a racing heartbeat, nausea, and sometimes I even struggle to breathe. My legs feel shaky and I can’t think about anything other than the stimulus that is causing me to panic. Sometimes sitting in front of the AC can make me feel better. When I was a kid, I had a lot of panic attacks. My mom made me sit on the side of her bed. That was the side of the bed where the AC unit was located. I liked the cold air hitting me in the face and it made me feel much more calm. I still feel that way when I sit in front of the AC unit. In fact, when I have panic attacks that I can’t seem to shake, I often sit down in front of the AC and count backwards from 100. The counting and the feel of the AC hitting my face makes me feel more calm and relaxed and I can usually make the panic attack go away. It’s nice to be able to have some things that make me feel better without taking any medicine. My doctor insists that I could take a Xanax when I start to feel panic, but I don’t think it is necessary to take a pill as long as meditation, breathing, and cold air do the trick.