A college sophomore gets his first panic attack right before a big exam and is bowled over by the symptoms of pounding heart, suffocation, cold sweats, dizzyness, nausea and certainty he was dying of a heart attack.. I am going into my sophomore year at the University of Illinois. I got my first panic attack late in the school year, the night before a major exam. It seemed to come from nowhere - I am a good student and do well on tests. My heart was pounding, I felt like I was suffocating. I sweated buckets. I also felt dizzy and sick to my stomach. I was sure I was dying of a heart attack, even though I am only 19! After that first time, I experienced two more. I also became preoccupied with a worry of when it would happen again.

A good friend I confided in showed me a web page where you describe these attacks as a cascade of survival biochemistry. You explain that this was why people feel so sure they are dying during a panic attack. This was extremely helpful for me to know. I have since gone to a hypnotherapist who trained me to relax and breathe slowly when I start to feel like I might be going into an attack. I have since bought the panic downloads from your site, which is similar to the training I got from the hypnotherapist. I now have the tools to fight this. I’m also glad to know why they feel so all consuming. Thanks for posting the information.

Jed