Panic Attack Stories: Five Lives Changed

Panic attacks rarely look the same from one person to the next. They can start in high school or in middle age, after a frightening experience or completely out of the blue. What these five people share is how panic slowly took over their lives, and how long each of them went before getting the right help. Their stories come from Dr. Granoff's book, Help! I Think I'm Dying! Panic Attacks and Phobias. Names are used as they appear in the book.

Is this you?

Rita: panic that began at a school report

Rita is a 26-year-old woman. She began having panic attacks in high school after trying to deliver a report in front of the class. She couldn't finish and had to sit down. Fearful of ever getting into that situation again, she became very clever at devising ways to avoid such situations. She wanted to go to college but was too fearful to even try. She found a job that allowed her to avoid interacting with others. Being very bright, she continued to get promoted and finally reached a level, as an insurance adjuster, where she not only had to deal with the public but also had to supervise other employees. The panic attacks increased to the point that she was on the verge of quitting her job when she came to Dr. Granoff for help.

June: housebound by fear

June was 21 when she had her first panic attack. She was happily married, the proud mother of a beautiful eight-month-old baby girl, and had recently started a good job. Everything was going great when suddenly, without warning, she began having difficulty taking a deep breath. Her chest felt heavy, her scalp felt tight, her hands began tingling and her heart began pounding. She felt like she was dying. She couldn't tell anybody, fearful that they would think she was crazy.

She became fearful of closed-in spaces. She couldn't eat at restaurants. She couldn't go to the grocery store and wait in line or write a check. She became so fearful of driving that she stopped driving and even became fearful of riding in a car. Her family and her first husband didn't understand what was wrong and gave her no support. She quit working and became housebound for two years. Her husband couldn't take it anymore and divorced her. She mustered all her strength and, out of necessity, forced herself to go out and work for the next ten years. The attacks went through cycles: long periods when she felt good, and other times when the attacks became frequent and severe. She married again at 32. The attacks returned and she couldn't control them. They became so severe that she was housebound again, this time for five years. Finally, June's internist referred her to Dr. Granoff.

George: afraid to ride with his coworkers

George, a 40-year-old man, had experienced panic attacks and phobias since his twenties. He had used marijuana and LSD on numerous occasions and had his first panic attack while smoking marijuana. George stopped using street drugs but continued to have panic attacks that waxed and waned for no apparent reason. He was artistically inclined and began painting. Unable to make a living at it, he became a contractor doing minor home renovations. He made a modest living, but the increasing frequency of panic attacks led to phobias. He became fearful of riding in a car or truck with fellow workers. He feared that if he had a panic attack they would see it, and that if he asked to be let out they would laugh at him. He found it harder and harder to work with anyone else and declined more and more work. He came to Dr. Granoff's office at the end of his rope, just squeaking by on a near-poverty income, desperate to get over these frightening attacks but afraid he could not afford private treatment.

Jimmy: a world shrunk to 15 miles

Jimmy began having panic attacks at 17, after he and several friends crawled through freshly buried sewer pipes. Every so often they came to a place where they could see the surface and poke their heads out. As they kept going, they reached stretches where they could not get out. They were completely in the dark, and Jimmy panicked. He turned and went into a "blind run" to get back to the opening, knocking down and running over the people behind him.

From then on he had panic attacks whenever he felt he might lose control and embarrass himself in public. It grew to the point that he could not travel more than 15 miles from home. He panicked in tunnels, elevators and other closed spaces, and would drive thirty minutes out of his way to avoid a tunnel. By the time he came in for treatment at 36, the condition had badly limited his life, though he was still able to function in a limited way.

David: panic after a family tragedy

David had several vague panic attacks in high school after using marijuana at 18. He stopped using marijuana and had no further problems until the birth of his second child when he was 29. The baby was born with major birth defects, including heart defects, and died within six months after several open-heart operations and many costly medical procedures.

David began having full-blown panic attacks every day and spent all his time thinking and worrying about them. The acute attack lasted ten minutes and then lingered for five to six hours. During an attack he had chest pains and felt he was going to have a heart attack and die. He had palpitations and felt he would go crazy and lose control. His fingers and arms went numb and ached. He had dizziness, sweating, diarrhea, poor appetite and a fear of vomiting. He feared going to doctors, being put in the hospital, having tubes put in his face, having surgery and dying. After a panic attack on a bridge he became fearful of bridges; he could cross them, but only with great discomfort. He disliked dark and crowded places and didn't like airplanes, though he would still fly. The panic attacks and anxiety finally became so intolerable that he had no choice but to seek treatment.

What these stories have in common

• Avoidance grows. Each person began avoiding the places where attacks happened, and their world got smaller: no college for Rita, no driving for June, no tunnels for Jimmy.
• The symptoms feel physical. Chest pain, a pounding heart, numbness and the certainty of dying are typical. See the full list of panic attack symptoms.
• Years pass before proper treatment. Panic disorder is too often misdiagnosed or inadequately treated.
• Help is available. An accurate diagnosis and proper treatment can change the course of the illness. Read about Dr. Granoff's approach to anxiety and panic treatment.

What happened to Rita, June, George, Jimmy and David after treatment? Find out in Help! I Think I'm Dying!, or start with the book's introduction, in which Dr. Granoff describes his own panic attacks. Several of his patients also tell their stories in their own words on the DVD Panic Attacks and Phobias Conquered: Patients Share Their Victories.

Ready to take the next step? Call 757-461-7571 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Granoff. The office is at 1604 Hilltop West Executive Center, Suite 309, Virginia Beach, VA 23451.

If you are in crisis: call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (available 24/7), call 911, or go to the nearest hospital emergency room.