My one and only panic attack came when I was 24 years old. At work I became so sick and dizzy that I went home, and could barely make it to the living room couch without almost falling down. Mt father-in-law (along with my wife) drove me to the Emergency Room, with me lying on the back seat.
I was sure that this had to be a tumor or something, and began to hyperventilate. My hands and arms folded up tight to my body, and I could not move them at all. Convinced that I was dying, I kept saying ‘I’m sorry’ to my (9 months pregnant) wife,
The ER doctor gave me a shot which made my arms finally unfold and return to normal. He said that sometimes during a panic attack, people can breathe so erratically that they blow away the layer of carbon dioxide which surrounds and protects the brain, and the brain reacts by shutting down muscular control (this is why they tell people to do that ‘paper bag’ thing…..it helps retain your carbon dioxide levels).
I asked him to please go tell the very pregnant woman in the waiting area that I was not, in fact, going to die.
My imagined ‘brain tumor’ turned out to be a severe middle-ear infection, which can literally cause you to suddenly fall uncontrollably to the ground (and yes, on another occasion I did that….into two feet of snow….but this time I knew that I wasn’t dying…..)