I think I may have just had a panic attack...

[Reverend_Smitty]

I'm not sure since I've never had one before but anyway...I have been crying on and off all day (which is really out of character for me) and I had to go cover the women's soccer game (I'm an athletic training student) at the College of New Jersey tonight so I tried to get my mind off of this election and do my job. I was doing fine until I sat down on the bus, some of the girls in the back were talking about the election and one of them started chanting 4 more years. Well all of a sudden I got that weepy feeling and I started to sweat and I was having difficulty breathing...at this point my training partner was like go home right now and get some sleep, you need it. I took his advice and walked back to my house, trying to fight back the tears all the way back. Once I got up into my room I just let loose with the tears.

I am just now regaining my composure (30 minutes later) right now my head hurts, my eyes are puffy and my sleeves are soaked with my tears. I have a pit in my stomach that no food will satisfy and a dryness in my throat that no drink will quench. I'm young so I don't know what it was like to be alive in the 60's but I'm finally able to empathize with you people who thought your world was crashing down in 68 after the death of RFK. I had so much hope about the future yesterday, and today it's all gone...Sadness, total sadness.

I want these feelings to end so I can pick myself up and carry on because I think this country needs us more than ever

[Phillycat]

1. The shortness of breath, nausea, and sweating are like a panic

attack. But the crying is just grief. You will be okay. It will get better after you've had some sleep and eaten a bit. Take care of yourself today.

[deminflorida]

2. Calm down....Everything is going to be all right...

Together we will all get through this....

I feel terrible too....but I have my health and family to think of...

Think about yourself for a few minutes... It will get better.

[TexasBushwhacker]

3. Yup, that's a panic attack

I've had one before. If you have another, just know that it will pass.

Even though I'm not religious in a traditional way, the Serenity Prayer becomes my mantra in times like these.

(God) Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change

The courage to change the things I can

And the wisdom to know the difference.

[aquart]

4. The death of RFK?

Oh, dear. You've been taught to believe that he was our candidate, our hope for the future? Uh, no. We had our own candidate, our own Howard Dean who galvanized us to travel to other states to do outreach. His name was Eugene McCarthy. After the assassination, SS were assigned to primary candidates. It wasn't possible any longer to get close enough to McCarthy to feel the focused attention that had evoked commitment in the rest of us. So he lost.

[sugarcookie]

5. the worse thing about panic

attacks is the fear of getting another. It is almost crippling. I would not drive or sit in a theater for almost 2 years. I felt like I was going to pass out.

[Bossy Monkey]

6. The one indicator you don't mention is racing pulse

Obviously, we aren't medical professionals here and if you're really concerned about it you need to consult one. I echo the point above that this sounds more like an attack of overwhelming grief, perfectly normal and perfectly understandable.

[clover]

7. i'm fairly old & lived through johnson, nixon, ford, reagan,

bush1 and one term of bush2. while these times feel uniquely scary, i do recall feeling like i do today many times in the past. the clinton years were an anomaly, a time when i rarely gave a thought to the ruling class; i felt free to live my life as i wished and all of my anxieties were centered on myself and those i loved. my daily world was much smaller than it is today, partly due to the internet, i am tempted to think globally, rather than being concerned with my own tiny piece of the world.

this is not advice, but i'll tell you how i am working to feel once again at peace on this planet: when i imagine the world as a whole, i am reminded of my ludicrous prosperity--and i earn less than 12thousand a year--as evidenced most obviously by the fact that i am now sitting at a computer writing to you. then i frankly ask myself this question: why do i believe that my life should be free of hardships and restriction, when this is the norm for most of the world and much of this nation?

there is a reason that the theme of most enduring works of art is triumph over oppression: it is the essential stuff of this life. yes, the world feels many degrees more dangerous than it did 24 hours ago, but do consider keeping your focus on your own small community as you continue with the work that you have chosen to value, whether it pays or doesn't pay.

and when your grief turns to anger, as i'm sure it will in due time, have a plan in place for a mission or a goal that requires the energy of a righteous anger, someplace for you to take that energy for your own good and for the good of others. and this helps me to maintain perspective: half of this country bothered to vote. of that half, half chose kerry and the other half chose bush. i'm very bad at math, but it seems to suggest that only a fourth of this nation backs gw.
in any event, breaking plates on the sidewalk does wonders for my wife in times like these. on my way home from work i stopped at the goodwill store and bought her a box of old china so she can unwind tonight while i throw paint at a canvas on the wall. do whatever works. as for your panic attack: there is nothing wrong with you; you are not alone in these feelings, which merely prove you are a living, breathing, compassionate person. i worry about those who never admit to anxiety, because its expression lessens its intensity.

[Reverend_Smitty]

9. Thanks man...

That post made me feel a little better...I grew up in the 90's (born in 84) so the feel good era of the Clinton's are all that I knew...I know these feelings will pass, and I will get back up on my horse and I will work for my future along with the rest of the young people who tried to change the system this year. I just don't know where to go from here, hell I'd start campaigning for 08 tomorrow if I knew it would help

[clover]

10. yer welcome, and please

accept my thanks for
1. bringing meaning to my dark years as a paranoid freek-street-kid (the concept of and the word "hippie" is a corporate label and a demeaning myth: we were Freeks back then) everything is redeemed that gives comfort to others

2. eloquently stating your concerns: i hadn't understood at all what this day must feel like, what it must represent to those younger than me, and you showed me the way to call my daughter (22) and invite her to talk over her thoughts, which are so much like yours

thank you. there is nothing new under the Sun, just fluctuating intensities. now i'll call my boy and see what he has to say.

peaceloveunderstanding
clover

[Reverend_Smitty]

12. We are all here to help each other

:pals:

[mlawson]

8. I had a bad panic attack the day after the 1984 election.

This was made worse by the fact that I had a hangover from hell that day. We had tried to drown our sorrow the night before, but we were so traumatized by Ronnie's landslide, plus losing the Senate, that no amoun tof alchohol couls faze us. I remember pacing from one room to the next, unable to breath properly, and with other bad symptoms of an attack. But it went away later that day.

If you get another attack, try this: Go outside and walk around in some pleasant area. Try to forget about last night, and 'get into' nature for a while. You are young; this will pass, believe it or not, it WILL.

[Ilsa]

11. A good cry really helps.

So does screaming at the cars with W'04 stickers as I'm driving down the highway alone. I've called them every dirty name I know. Texas bastards.

Keep an eye on those panic attacks. They'll probably fade as the shock wears off. But you might need help if they continue.