My niece is 45 and she has had panic attacks ever since she was in junior high school. Her mom or dad had to go to school many, many times to pick her up because she would get uncontrollable panic attacks. I also have picked her up from school on my days off when her mom or dad couldn’t leave their job. To this day, she still has panic attacks and also suffers from acute Agoraphobia.
When she gets an attack, she thinks (and swears) that she is dying. She lives at home because she is afraid to go away from her home where she feels safest. I was at my sister’s house on one occasion and she went into a panic attack. She swore that “This is it. I’m dying. Please call the Priest.” It took us almost an hour before we could calm her. The only psychotic medications she is on is Xanax and Tranxene (Clorazepate).
I feel terrible for her and she has been seen by several different psychiatrists and specialists in panic attacks. The one psychiatrist told me that she suffers from a rare firm of anxiety that there is no cure for. He also said that she will either get better one day or die with this illness. No medication or exercise will relieve her anxiety. I never told her any of this. She is a slim, trim beautiful red headed girl that the guys turn their heads when she walks by. She won’t date anyone, again because of her Agoraphobia. She can’t even work to support herself.
We are at our wits end and she has even contacted the ADAA (Anxiety and Depression Association of America) and had long discussions with them. They gave my sister a lot of ideas to try, plus sent her a lot of information about anxiety, Agoraphobia and panic attacks, but nothing works, not even a little. Her mom and dad just don’t know what else to do.
