On March 27, 2019, my whole world was turned upside down once again, four days before my birthday and two days before vacation.
I had a panic attack at the wheel during work and totaled my car which resulted in me losing my job.
I’ve not been able to get another car since because I can’t afford it but even if I could my insurance company put me on a high risk list so I couldn’t afford the increase.
It wasn’t the first time I’d had a panic attack, but I can probably just count on one hand how many I’ve actually experienced in my life. Therefore, this doesn’t qualify me as having a panic disorder because that would involve having these episodes frequently to the point that they affect my life on a regular basis.
However, I have experienced fear and financial problems that are a couple of the long-term effects of panic attacks.
When I totaled my car five years ago, I had been working for a pet sitting company for seven years – the longest I’d ever held a job. I’d had two decades of pet and house-sitting experience, having worked for two other related agencies and had some private clients. I have played it over and over in my mind through the years about that day in March regarding what I could have done differently to prevent the panic attack. While there was something I could’ve done, for what ever reason I had a knee jerk reaction and didn’t think through what I was doing before it happened.
The results of that accident were not only devastating to me financially but emotionally and mentally. I had to give up a job I loved because you had to have a car to get back and forth to clients’ homes. One of my private pet owners had been using my services for 11 years so this was even more jarring for me. Before I had to concede that I couldn’t keep my job, I tried to keep going using Uber but it was costing me more than I was making, as my boss aptly pointed out.
Since that time, I have had a panic attack on a plane while sitting in the middle seat flying to see my sister. I’ve been traveling to see my sister once or twice a year since the 80s so it wasn’t a fear of being in the air. I honestly don’t know what happened but because I wear a neck pillow when I fly I put it up against my chest instinctively and used the calming techniques I learned for anxiety attacks and after what seemed like forever, the panic attack subsided.
Last November I wound up in the back of an ambulance, convinced I was having an asthma attack even after two breathing treatments, one right after the other. Much to my embarrassment, the paramedics told me all my vitals were good and it was a panic attack. They let me spend some time talking to them and I felt better. Now when I get that panicked feeling I can remind myself that it’s not my breathing difficulties but it’s in my head. It turns out that Albuterol, which I use in inhaler and liquid form for my nebulizer, can make the heart race if used too much at once which can result in a panic attack.
This type of mental distress is defined as a brief period of intense anxiety happening unexpectedly and suddenly, peaking within minutes which causes physical sensations of fear. These incidents typically pass within 30 minutes.
My mentor has taught me to keep my brain where my hands and feet are. I can think about words from a song also, focus on the positive, and remind myself it’s not life threatening. Stay where you are when you’re having a panic attack, if possible and remind yourself that it will pass. After such an occurrence, rest somewhere quietly, eat a protein packed snack, drink something non-alcoholic and without caffeine, or take a nature break. A hot shower can also soothe the physical effects of stress on the body.
Cognitive behavioral therapy and other types of counseling are also helpful.
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