Panic Attack

[Randy77]

Hi all,

Couple of weeks ago, I had to do a very short presentation over Skype in front of 40 Senior Managers. I had no issue doing this and I knew the subject very well. However, when it was my turn to present, I froze, my words were not coming out. I started to shake, my hands were shaking and I really don't know what came over me. I couldn't talk and was VERY nervous, so I pretended I had technical issues and luckily they moved on to the next person.

I really don't know what happened. I didn't even know it was panic attack until I googled it. I work in a corporate environment and have presented before with no problems. I am a confident person and this has knocked me back. I lost control and having no thoughts.

I am so worried that this will happen again and I have been on edge ever since. I'm not bothered about the audience, I am worried about me. What happened for me to act like this. I can't shake the feeling off and feel quite vulnerable. There was no warning this will happen. I'm still shaken by this event.

How can I overcome this? How can I ensure this doesn't happen again?

Your advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Magee]

You can’t ensure this doesn’t happen again if you can’t recognise the build up to a panic attack to nip it in the bid before it happens.

I am in no way a medical professional but recently a close friend had CBT for 8 sessions and I was surprised to hear she was having therapy because she’s always on top of her career, does triathlons, busy social life etc. She told me about high functioning anxiety which might be something for you to read around;

What High Functioning Anxiety Feels Like

High functioning anxiety is a hidden problem faced by those who live with anxiety but manage to excel at work and in their relationships.

www.verywellmind.com

.

It’s natural to be apprehensive and put your body through stress but when your body shuts down and hinders your performance, something is a miss. Be kind to yourself and allow yourself some time to heal from this, you may need to speak to a medical professional to develop resources to become more resilient. Mindfulness, meditation, CBT, talking, all good places to start.

 

[Randy77]

Thank you. I will look in to this.

 

[Sunraged]

Panic is a type of anxiety that causes people to believe they are going to lose control, die, or go mad. The symptoms are terrifying, but very, very treatable.

The situation you have found yourself in was very typical of Social Anxiety: the fear of being negatively judged or scrutinised by others. Again, it's very, very treatable.

CBT in both cases is the gold standard treatement, but see what you're like next time-this might never happen again. Having one episide of high anxiety happens to us all, but problems arise when it happens repeatedly, and it starts to impact on your day to day functioning.

Try not to psychopathologise it too much-anxiety can happen to everyone, and in many cases, it's functional. If it does happen again, refer yourself to your local IAPT service.

 

[Sunflower91]

I went through a period of time where I’d have daily random panic attacks that could hit at any point. Please don’t put pressure on yourself to make this never happen again- panic isn’t something you can repress or control and I bet there was a few people in that presentation who’ve been through the same thing. Like some of the others have said, understanding the signs is key- for me I get really itchy skin and my heart feels like it’s racing. When you feel panic coming on, rather than trying to talk yourself down, acknowledge what you’re feeling, recognise it as panic first. If you’re able to go for a walk, and try and pee (apparently helps with regulating the adrenaline in your system) or talk to someone who’s a calming influence.

 

[Penguinandthepinecone]

I wonder whether it being online, rather than in-person caused the new anxiety? When online, you’re looking back at yourself there on screen, perhaps this was distracting you and causing you to over-focus and critique your live performance. Whereas in real life, we can’t see ourself and are rarely filmed etc. Forty important senior people to present to IS a big deal, it’s normal to get nervous about this. I’m a teacher and pretty much all teachers feel the pressure if asked to do something in front of other adults, (1000 teenagers no problem ) but anything different to the norm and the nerves set-in. Don’t beat yourself up about it, see how you get on in smaller low pressure situations and for now hope it was a one-off.

 

[Emperor]

I don't know but didn't want to not post as the situation you described is familiar and bloody horrible. Personally I would look into breathing techniques and maybe explore mindfullness, but my first action would be (and has been) to tell my immediate manager that this is something that happened/happens to me so that they can at least look out to see if I appear ok. Sorry if this doesn't help, but as said, didn't want to not post. Hope you (and all) are ok.

 

[Randy77]

Thank you all. I think it was a mixture of Lockdown, home schooling, not seeing my family for a while, trying to hold down a busy career, working from home, trying to run a house.....I could go on but I will stop.

I have started to look after myself, I'm trying breathing exercises, more me time and just get my thoughts together. I'm losing confidence which is not good, so trying to build that up too.