melinda, i have spent more time and money at various ERs than i care to admit. since i was 18 (when my father died of a heart attack right in front of me), i have had panic attacks...they're less now that i'm 44, but i still get them on occasion. now i recognize what it is immediately, and can talk myself down from it. i've learned to deal with the stresses and worries by practicing meditation and yoga. i also made huge changes in my life, starting 4 years ago when i left my marriage of 16 years. he wasn't a profoundly bad guy, and i'm not a bad woman -- we were just bad together (although i have to say, the patient way in which he handled my panic attacks was commendable; he should write an essay for this group!). but telling the truth about that relationship -- how badly we were matched and how it wasn't going to change, and that i couldn't live with that for the rest of my life -- and about what i really wanted in my life, actually lessened the number of attacks i've had.
