[_eric]

> I spent a few months largely crippled by panic disorder

Yeah, that's kind of what happened with me too. Only that the panic attack itself was only 2 months ago; Out of freaking nowhere. I remember I was reading a piece of code and then suddenly I felt my hearting beating faster and just couldn't breathe properly; you really just feel like you're going to die - right where you are. And then, after it has passed, you are left with the anxiety of it all and all the bad thoughts. I had to take medications for high blood pressure because mine was like 16/9, and my normal is 12/8 (I'm 29 and I exercise daily).

After 2 months visiting doctors I can say I'm "normal" again, but I have to be aware of the "long fuse" thing, because that seems to be the real killer.

[Tharkun]

> then suddenly I felt my hearting beating faster and just couldn't breathe properly; you really just feel like you're going to die - right where you are

That's exactly my experience. I didn't know what was happening. I'd never had a panic attack before and it came totally out of nowhere. Someone ended up phoning an ambulance. By the time they got there, all that remained was the shame of having to say "I'm fine, please just ignore me". It wasn't until much later that I realized that I'd been stressy and anxious for a good while.