Where or when did your first ever panic attack happen?

In high school, I accidentally cut my wrist open, fairly deep, and the blood wouldn't stop. I thought I hit a vain and was going to bleed to death, I remember my friend laughing because he initially thought I was joking, until i literally face planted.

I remember feeling like my brain went cold and that I couldn't breathe.

This was a one off thing for me, I don't have any disorders that cause it. I just had an overactive imagination at that point.

Cant help but laugh

A true panic attack is not just high anxiety, its one of those things that stick with you and you remember exactly where you were, what you were doing, who you with with etc when it happened. As a sufferer of Panic Disorder and a former sufferer of severe agoraphobia from PD, I find it interesting to hear about other people's panic attacks - how they began, where you were when you first got one, how do you calm down from them, are people supportive when you have one and all the other details.


My panic attack story happened in childhood to start but I never realised it was a panic tbh. They happened every so often. I was scream that I was dying, I felt smothered, I'd feel genuinely scared, I'd burn up, I would hyperventilate and shake and my mum had to calm me down. I had this from a very young age up until around 12 and no one really told me what it was, just anxiety and that I was highly strung. They scared me but I think as a child, you have more resilience and you believe someone more when they say you are fine since you don't really know much better. When you're an adult, you know a lot more and sometimes that can be a good thing but when you have an anxious mind, its more of a drawback.
I class my panics as starting at adulthood since that's why I felt the full throttle from them and experienced them multiple times a day, were more intense and became housebound from them and found out exactly what they were.

I'll never forget my first proper 'adult' panic attack when I was 19. I was sitting in biology at college doing my work, feeling fine and suddenly the room started spinning, I got tunnel vision, my heart started racing to the point I could feel the pounding in my throat, my skin felt as though it was on fire, my mind felt weird (I can't really describe the feeling ) and I wanted to collapse and puke. I ran out the room and I honestly believed I was drugged or something, especially because it was 100% out of the blue. Ever since that time, I got them in every biology class then it became any college class, then on the way to college on the train and then just any time I was outside then especially in crowds to getting major panic attacks multiple times a day and being housebound for 6 months to now, slowly getting my confidence back but still suffer from panics but I am not housebound any more and I don't fear them as much now. I still hate them though and wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy!

Its hard to describe a panic attack to someone who has never truly felt one. High anxiety is horrible but a panic another level and I never truly appreciated just how bad they were until I experienced them for myself, especially as an adult. My mum and gran both were agoraphobic from panics while I was growing up and part of me had the "it can't be that bad" thoughts but it certainly changes when it happens to you.

If any of you do suffer from panic attacks/panic disorder then its important to know that you aren't alone and there is a way out of them, which is the polar opposite of what you feel during it. My inbox is always open if you are having any anxiety issues such as PD, OCD, general anxiety etc

I was 16, parents were arguing with all of us kids in the room and it was escalating pretty bad, this had been happening every single day for about a month straight and I could not handle it anymore. Completely mentally broke down, fell on the floor, could not breathe, sobbing and shaking and screaming and mumbling incoherently and just completely inconsolable. It was pretty scary I'd never felt such a feeling of just dread all my siblings were looking at me more confused that concerned lol. My parents stopped arguing and were both trying to figure out how to fix me, I was then picked up and taken to my room where I passed out for like 15 hours. Good thing is it ended a situation which was probably going to turn real ugly.

Of course then it was a blame game of who's fault it is that the kids are being affected and back to square one

I had something very close to a panic attack in sixth form. It was during my Core 1 exam. My hand wouldn't stop shaking, I had to bite my hand really hard. I couldn't think at all. Its bizzare to me now how I stressed over something so little.

Wow that sounds like a horrible and such a stressful situation, no wonder it let to a panic!

Is that the only panic you've had or did they become regular after that? I hope it was just an once off for you

My first ever panic attack was when I was 10/11 but I didn't realise it was one until many years later. I was doing a presentation for the class and during the q & a part of the talk I went super hot and my vision just went. It was horrible I was staring at the clock but It was all blurred and I felt like I was spinning. Like people were talking to me but I felt like I wasn't really there and Idek how I managed to still answer questions. It's weird how they present in many different forms though. Like another time I was shaking and being sick with heart palpitations but I didn't feel out of it I just felt I was going to die and then another time I was just uncontrollably crying like once I had started I couldn't stop.

I'm so glad I've found this thread though because it's so good to be able to talk about things that no one really talks about in normal convo.