My First Panic Attack
My first panic attack was in a restaurant. I had no idea what was happening to me other than my throat was closing shut, I couldn’t breathe and I needed to get out of there, NOW.

I was in college and my boyfriend was taking me to meet his parents. He was that “guy”. You know the one that you can’t believe is dating you because you aren’t even close to his level. We drove about 45 minutes to the restaurant and I was nervous. We walked in and went to find the table. Well, this was a HUGE table. Not only were his parents there, but his cousins, uncles, brothers, etc. This wasn’t just a meet my “parents” dinner.

I started sweating and not feeling well. I thought maybe I was getting sick or something. I kept going to the bathroom in hopes it would go away. Then I called my grandmother to try and figure what was happening. This was awful!! I wanted to be back in my dorm room NOW!!

This went on for what felt like years but wasn’t more than a couple of hours. I got a to-go box for my food because I sure could not eat. Finally, this was over and we were on our way home.

Unfortunately, it only got worse in the car. Instead of my boyfriend being compassionate and sympathetic to what was happening, I got chastised all the way back to the dorms.

How could I embarrass him like that? I left my food on the table and his parents paid for that. I was such an embarrassment.

Needless to say, that stuck with me for YEARS and YEARS. I was unable to eat out or in front of others well into my adult life. Panic attacks are no joke and they are super scary, but if you can pull out the root cause and clear it, they will disappear.

I am blessed to have learned how to handle my anxiety and panic attacks. In fact, to this day, they are almost non-existent. I found my root cause, did the emotional work, and persevered. I know what triggers them and avoid those foods and stimulants. There is a strong brain-gut connection with anxiety and panic attacks which I will be sharing in 2022.

Until then if you would like to discuss further or learn one of the tools that helps me please reach out.

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