Did I just have a panic attack?

Melvin'sWifey · 06-17-2009, 05:09 AM

Hi there - I'm not on any meds of any type and 23 weeks pregnant.

It was around 9:30pm and I was really tired. So I went to bed. Slept for a little over an hour. I woke up to the most peaceful feeling (I was alone, DH still up watching TV) and it was seriously the most amazing feeling in the world. Everything was in this indescribable perfect pattern. I don't know if I was dreaming or not but it didn't feel like it.

Then something snapped. I heard DH turning off the lights and TV and getting ready to come to bed. All of a sudden fear and panic overcame me and it was like I was trapped in some sort of cycle that I couldn't get out of. DH came in and I guess maybe I was breathing heavy he said "are you ok?" and I said yeah. Then he went back out to finish locking up and I started crying and sobbing uncontrollably. NOTHING WAS EVEN WRONG! I seriously have no idea what happened. No nightmares, the only thing I remember before freaking out, was that amazing peaceful feeling.

So I'm laying there crying and I feel like I might never stop crying. The fear that I might lay there and cry for the rest of my life is consuming me and I can't get out of it. DH is just laying there clueless as to what to do and it's like I just couldn't stop myself. Finally I get up and go to the living room, turn on all the lights and just sit there breathing heavy, sweaty, panic feeling. DH says I scared him and what is wrong with me?

Took me about half an hour to calm down and now DH fell asleep and I feel too scared to go back to sleep in case it happens again. WTF just happened to me? Maybe it's hormones? I have no idea but that was seriously scary

afwifek · 06-17-2009, 06:26 AM

I have had panic attacks for years. Did it feel like your heart was racing, adrenaline rushing through you? You get an overwhelming sense of fear with no where to turn.
It was probably a panic attack. The best thing to do if you get another one is to get up and do something distracting. Like cleaning, video games, get on the computer... whatever is distracting for you and it will go away much faster. Try not to focus on it or just sit there.
Don't be afraid to go back to sleep. It wasn't sleeping that caused it. It can happen anytime and it just chose right then.

kristen09 · 06-17-2009, 12:18 PM

It sure sounds like a panic attack. I have had them off and on for about a year and a half or so. For me, I feel dizzy, clammy, and like I'm about to throw up, and I get this terrifying feeling of panic and fear, and my heart starts racing. What I do is close my eyes and I have a mantra I say out loud to calm myself, I tell myself "you're ok, you're safe, everything is fine." I do this while taking deep breaths. This happened to me in the grocery store, I nearly fell on a shelf, and I happens at home, and often at work. But taking deep breaths, closing my eyes, and saying that mantra at least 10-15 times helps. I would also get more afraid b/c I didn't want to faint or throw up, and I talked to my therapist about it, and she said that I can calm down about that part, because people don't faint or throw up, so just that knowledge helps me deal with the attacks better when they come.

Melvin'sWifey · 06-17-2009, 02:40 PM

Thanks for the response girls

I knew I had to distract myself, which was why I got on the computer. DH just wanted me to lay in bed with him but it wasn't helping me get out of the panic feeling. Once I was on the computer I started feeling better. Then I went back to bed and slept like a rock! It was a scary night, I hope it's just related to pregnancy hormones and it doesn't continue to be a problem.