Coping with Panic Disorder without medication

Hello all,

Does anyone have tips for coping with Panic disorder symptoms without medication?

And or does anyone have tips for managing a panic attack while driving and or out in public?

I trialed a few medications and they did not work well with my body (I had sensitivities that were severe).

I am mostly past the withdrawal from the medicines now, but I am struggling to go back into public places, leave home and drive my car. I was doing these in small amounts prior to trialing the medicine, and I know my brain needs to see me do it, I am just feeling so much fear and panic about doing things due to the medicines made panic attacks and disassociation feel much more intense then they did prior.

I decided not to try more medicine and to start talk therapy again, and I am wondering if anyone can relate to this feeling of extreme fear and wanting to break through it after withdrawal and without medication.

Please note, I know that medication is needed for and helpful for some, but I am choosing to not take any, for me.

Thank you!

[Sugaree]

hi Greatskies, I admire your willingness to handle panic attacks and anxiety without the traditional meds. I am probably a bit older than you. My anxiety and panic attacks started when I was 6. It wasn’t until much later in life that it became really bad and I developed health problems.At that point I began an anxiety medication. As long as your anxiety is not causing major health issues hopefully you can manage it. I wish you good luck and peace.

[-Charlie]

Hi Greatskies, I took antidepressants and benzodiazepines for over twenty years for panic attacks. They never helped much and caused brain fog so I weaned off of them. What I practice religiously is deep breathing and daily aerobic exercise. And I educated myself on all things anxiety related. If I feel I’m working myself into an attack I resist the urge to fight the panic and have learned to let it flow through me. I also came to terms with the fact that a panic attack won’t kill me, as that was a fear I had. Don’t believe what your body and mind are telling you. The fear is unwarranted. The less you fight it the quicker it subsides from your fight or flight response mechanism. I hate using the word acceptance as it seems too simple of a term, but that IS what it really comes down to. I admire you for going the non-medication route if that’s possible. Being in a medication brain fog wasn’t conducive to me understanding how much I was in control of my own thoughts all those years. Everyone reacts differently to anxiety meds but they were a detriment for me.. (Driving gets easier when the overall anxiety level starts to diminish. Music and audiobooks help me as well as windows down or AC blowing on my face. Water and chewing gum are permanent fixtures in my car.) Hope this helps some x

[majones_0608]

I have been on many different meds for my mental and have had side effects with almost every one of them. Now I am on great med that seems to be helping. However, I appear to be sick and have no idea why. I use talk therapy. I have tried going off my meds a few times in the past and it did not turn out so good. But then again, I do also have schzoaffective disorder and depression too and not just anxiety. I went a little nuts when I was off my meds. Now things seem ok.

[Beepbeeped]

A M.H nurse told me distraction is a good deterrent. Fortunately, I still get 15mg Diazepam a day too. But that's also for excruciating tinnitus, which combined with G.A.D is a toxic cycle of elevation.

[Lamly]

I am in your position, I have scary feelings and terrible panic attacks,manage to drive around and go in local shops, and now walking my dog in the park, it is very hard indeed, I used to go all over the place + garden centres, but I feel limited and feel a nervous wreck when I go anywhere outside my comfort zone, it is as though I have a glass screen in front off me, some days are better than others, l am on 5 mg Amitryptiline once a day, meditation actually makes me worse, finding it almost impossible to get of that small amount, it is so hard. I am beginning to feel depressed about the whole thing. I know exactly how you feel.

[designguy]

I found that talk therapy was helpful in being heard and validated but wasn't helpful for panic/anxiety. What helped was learning that panic/anxiety is really a paradox and the more we fight, struggle, deny or try to out think it the more it persists so if we can learn to tolerate the panic feeling, which is from a burst of adrenaline, it will flow through our body fairly quickly and dissipate. The other important thing is to try not to feed the panic with more anxious thoughts knowing and reinforcing to yourself that they are lies. It takes commitment and diligence but it works.

I suggest you read any books by Dr. Claire Weekes, she also is on youtube and the one that helped me the most was the DARE Anxiety book and their youtubes and I also used their phone app for a while. The DARE program is built on Claire Weekes work but takes a more proactive approach that I found helpful.

Another helpful thing is to learning and practicing simple mindfulness meditation to be able to become more aware of your thoughts and be able to disengage from them and not by into or attach to them. The truth is that anxious thoughts are lies that were originally designed to protect you but as an adult you no longer need that kind of protection.

[Hidden]

Thank you everyone for your replies and for sharing your experiences with me. I truly appreciate it!

This is the most difficult moment I have experienced mentally, in that I feel the feelings that prompted me to try the medicine, and I feel the exhaustion of the withdrawal, and the increased fear to step back into daily routines. There's a feeling like the world may close in on me if I try to go out and live daily life again. I've never felt anything like this before. But I know when I cross through it, I'll have a story that will help someone else, and that makes this worth every uncomfortable moment.

I pray that we will each overcome step by step one moment at a time, with God's help.

Best ❤️