An effect of trauma

Panic attacks

A panic attack is not just anxiety turned up. It is your nervous system firing a full emergency alarm when there is no emergency. Heart racing, chest tightening, unable to breathe, convinced something catastrophic is happening right now. It comes out of nowhere, peaks fast, and leaves you exhausted and afraid of when it will happen again. The anticipation of the next one can become its own prison. For many survivors panic is the body's way of carrying what the mind has tried to set aside.

It can sound like

“I have panic attacks.” “I feel like I am dying or having a heart attack.” “They can come out of nowhere.” “I am afraid to go places because it might happen.” “I have to know where the exits are.”

If any of those sentences live in your head too, you are in good company here.

Experiences this often follows

Effects do not come from nowhere. These are some of the experiences that people who carry this one often describe. You do not need to have been through any of them for what you feel to be real.

Nothing on this page is a diagnosis, and nothing here decides what is wrong with you, because nothing is wrong with you. Something happened to you. This page exists so that when you are ready, you can find people who understand it from the inside.

You do not have to carry this alone.

Bridge of Hope Recovery is a free, anonymous, peer-led fellowship for trauma survivors. Meetings run throughout the week by phone, by video, and in person. No cost, no waitlist, no one asking for your real name.

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