Dear Sami
Yes I have had some doozies in the past. Even ended up in hospital on a couple of occasions. Welcome to Beyond Blue and the comfort of knowing you are not alone.
Panic attacks are the pits. But you sound as though you have some coping strategies. The "I've been here before and survived" is great. Not sure what Jacko meant by "action conquers fear" but my guess is that when you are doing something the brain cannot maintain its grip on your fear. And that's true as far as I am concerned.
What do you think would have happened if you had called a friend or family member when you felt the panic starting? Talking for 10 minutes may well have calmed you down enough to beat it and move to the next thing to do. In this case, going to work.
Yes you feel a bit shaky afterwards, but there is no reason why you cannot make a cuppa and take a few deep breaths at work before you start your job. I have found this works for me and if I do it early enough I miss the worst of it.
Visualisation id great. I picture myself in a little boat floating down the river. I got that image from a book called Living With It by Bev Aisbett. 'It' is anxiety and the book is great. Very small and easy to read. I recommend it to you. Quite funny in parts too. It has some other good strategies.
Hope all of this helps.
Mary
