Tips for soothing panic attacks that don't really fully feel like panic attacks?

[ChaiLatte137]

I started my first job about 2.5 weeks ago at a fast food restaurant.  I've been mostly liking it so far, (only one coworker who's awful to me) and most everyone is super nice.  But I consistently get awful stomachaches every night before work, paired with an overwhelming sense of dread and anxiety.  It makes my heart rate pick up and it isnt easily ignorable.

I spoke with my therapist about it today, and they think I'm having panic attacks.  I trust their judgement, and honestly, I'm notoriously horrible at pinpointing my own emotions/feelings (that'd be the autism lol).  Not to mention that the idea of a panic attack in media is just one (usually overblown) example of a reaction.  

We didnt really get enough time to talk about fixes for it today, and everything online is just deep breathing and stopping the 'what ifs'.  The problem is, its not presenting as hyperventilating and spiralling into worse-case-scenerios.  Its just a nightly routine of god-awful stomach pain, horrible anxiety/dread, a raised heart rate, and the looming (but unhelpfully vague) thought of having to go to work tomorrow.  No specifics of why I don't like work.  

I've been dealing with blackouts lately where I'll completely block out what's happening and I'll come to anywhere from 5-60 minutes later not knowing how i got there.  I'm mildly concerned that maybe something bad IS happening, but I'm completely blocking it out and thats why its such a vague anxiety of work.  That's probably a stretch, but idk.  

Anyway, TLDR: any tips for soothing panic attacks that don't present normally?

[Catsup]

11 hours ago, ChaiLatte137 said:

I started my first job about 2.5 weeks ago at a fast food restaurant.  I've been mostly liking it so far, (only one coworker who's awful to me) and most everyone is super nice.  But I consistently get awful stomachaches every night before work, paired with an overwhelming sense of dread and anxiety.  It makes my heart rate pick up and it isnt easily ignorable.

I spoke with my therapist about it today, and they think I'm having panic attacks.  I trust their judgement, and honestly, I'm notoriously horrible at pinpointing my own emotions/feelings (that'd be the autism lol).  Not to mention that the idea of a panic attack in media is just one (usually overblown) example of a reaction.  

We didnt really get enough time to talk about fixes for it today, and everything online is just deep breathing and stopping the 'what ifs'.  The problem is, its not presenting as hyperventilating and spiralling into worse-case-scenerios.  Its just a nightly routine of god-awful stomach pain, horrible anxiety/dread, a raised heart rate, and the looming (but unhelpfully vague) thought of having to go to work tomorrow.  No specifics of why I don't like work.  

I've been dealing with blackouts lately where I'll completely block out what's happening and I'll come to anywhere from 5-60 minutes later not knowing how i got there.  I'm mildly concerned that maybe something bad IS happening, but I'm completely blocking it out and thats why its such a vague anxiety of work.  That's probably a stretch, but idk.  

Anyway, TLDR: any tips for soothing panic attacks that don't present normally?

Hi, congrats on the job! It's great that you're taking steps to deal with your work anxiety sooner rather than later.

Sometimes our bodies alert us to anxiety before we are even conscious of it.  Sometimes too, there are things that make us anxious at work, that you might not even see as stresses until you are at home and trying to decompress.  If you want to share more about work here: What are the things that could cause stress for you there?  Every work has sources of stress, whether it be difficult tasks, customers, coworkers, or simply long hours.  If it's possible to figure out the more stressful parts of your day, it might be easier to address some of the anxiety.

Whether or not anxiety is identified as a panic attack or not, there are some ideas I personally have here that I hope could help:

• Journal to figure out exactly where the dread might be coming from, and to reassure yourself of whatever the source of stress could be. 
• Talk to someone about how you feel
• Try to have a fun life outside the job.  Having distractions, hobbies, and meaning to life outside of work can alleviate a lot of pressure. How would you say your work-life balance is right now?

Hope to hear from you soon!