The Diary of Panic Attacks

My first panic attack started in the movie theater when I was 18 years old. I was sitting there, watching a comedy of all things, when my head felt a little "strange." I am sure you know the feeling I am talking about, something is off but your not sure what. I thought that I was possibly pinching a nerve from sitting in an awkward position in the theater chairs. I re-adjusted my body and thought things would feel better within minutes. After a while, I noticed that my legs started to feel tingly and my head started to feel woozy. I stood up and walked into the lobby. It was then that a flood of terror, and I mean full-blown I am running from a tsunami terror, rushed into my body. I started screaming to the popcorn guy that I couldn't breathe. He looked at me with this startled look and proceeded to call 911. In that moment, I really believed I was going to die. I was certain that my final moments on this earth were going to be spent in a movie theater lobby with paramedics frantically trying to figure out what was wrong. I was rushed to the emergency room, where after hours of observation, I was told that I was having a panic attack. No one explained what they were and I was sent home. After numerous doctors visits, trying to convince myself that I had a brain tumor, I was told that yes, it was really just a panic attack. It was then that I began to fear I was going crazy. I was certain that I had bi-polar or schizophrenia. How could anyone feel like this without being crazy? I had gone from a fully functioning, jovial teenager into a terrified person, afraid to do anything. I was afraid to be home alone, I was afraid to drive, I was downright afraid. My life has never been the same since that night in the theater lobby but I am determined to get it back. I hope you will follow me on my journey as I gear up to fight this thing called panic attacks.