I’ve had a few bad anxiety attacks (well, they’re all bad, right?)
It begins with heart palpitations and then moves on to a rapid heartbeat, around 160 bpm and sweating.

Breathing exercises don’t work. Sometimes a Clonazepam or Xanax will help, sometimes not.

I’ve went to the ER twice with these symptoms, once with hospital admittance, and they find nothing wrong.

The other day it occurred to me that several of these attacks aligned with bad news, for friends and relatives, not me personally!

~My neighbor who grew up with my sons and I consider my adopted son, was telling us in great detail about the end of his marriage and divorce.
An attack.

~My Mother in law coming down with a fairly serious illness.
An attack.

~A family friend who’s husband has dementia and attacked her one evening.
Another attack.

There have been others, but I only recently made the connection.

None of these events with friends and family were even on my mind! I didn’t consciously think about them at all after hearing the news, and they didn’t occur until later in the evening, hours after the news was delivered.

What does everyone think? I’m very surprised that this has affected me this deeply.