[Nikko's_human]

It is so amazing that I should come across this topic on here of all places. Lately, I too have been struggling with panic attacks. Mine have been triggered by the subways. At the risk of sounding like a maniac, I have to share my experience with you all. Last week, the northeast and much of the country was experiencing a very strong heat wave. Power failures were a constant threat and the subway platforms turned into saunas. It was estimated that the temps down below were well over 110 degrees. I have always been clausterphobic (sp?) and my greatest fear is getting trapped in a subway tunnel. Friday was the worst day for me. The train got stalled for a few minutes between stations and I had the worst panic attack ever. I felt like the walls were closing in on me, my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest and my legs went numb. Even though the a/c in the train was blasting I started sweating and everything started getting blurry and dark. I broke myself out of it by going in my purse and getting a book to fan myself. Slowly my heart returned to normal and I was able to make it to work without fainting. I was terrified and suffered 2 more panic attacks that very same day. Since then I am taking the bus. It is twice as expensive and twice as long a ride but I am so terrified of the trains that I can't even bring myself to go in them. I have been riding subways all my life and this is very upsetting to me. My husband probably thinks I am being dramatic and sometimes I get angry at myself for "making myself sick". It is comforting to know that I am not alone in this and that there are other people out there suffering through the same thing. yougetthesmiles, thank you for bringing up this topic at the very time when I needed most to talk about it.