Hi Steff and welcome.

Let me start by saying that you are certainly not alone in this although it does tend to be one of those things which some people are reluctant to talk about.

Not me though, I am 58 and I've suffered panic attacks for probably 30 years and only fairly recently have I started to understand why. Now this may not be the same for you, but I suspect from your last reply that it might be related. -  I used to be  very bad at talking to anyone about things that worried me, and not only big things, it could be anything at all. I also have a habit of taking sole responsibility for problems when often I don't need to.

But if you keep things bottled up inside you, eventually they will burst out and because it might be something which happend a week or month or even longer ago - you can make no immediate link to it, all you know is that suddenly you are very scared and don't know why.

So have a real good old think and if you can identify one or more things which are troubling you (or have in the past) then tell someone all about it and you might find it will help.

Good luck.

hello st0606 - welcome to Big White Wall. A member of my family has recently been getting panic attacks and he is going to do some CBT. Yet i feel it is vital you get some help in sorting out what is behind them - as they can be hereditary, lack of vitamin B, side effects of meds, phobic responses, lack of self confidence and more. Perhaps that is something you can explore in CBT - so long as you get the right practitioner for you.

The word panic comes from Pan - the god who could produce mysterious noises that stuck fear into the hearts of animals. So - i guess it is a bit about sorting out who or what is your 'Pan'. You say that they were first stimulated by fear of death and dying which is quite common and I guess your uncle's death has not helped with that. Somehow the Western world is not very adept at dealing with death - by seeing it as a natural part of life - just being ourselves with those that are dying and being open about our feelings when someone dies. It all gets very hidden - with people adopting hushed voices and turning their eyes away in fear of not knowing what to say or getting it wrong. Then we have so many images of violence and death around us these days. All of this takes us away from what death actually is - part of the cycle of life. 

Hiding away your feelings of anxiety and panic from those around you is likely to intensify them. Apart from talking here perhaps you can try to express some of those feelings on bricks. Here and listening, love roze