Weird experience: Felt like the rooms in my house were too small and nothing was right?

Question

I was walking around my living room picking up dog toys when I got this sensation that the walls were closing in on me and there was too much furniture/stuff in my house. I sort of panicked and started trying to space everything out and even take things outside. I thought what an idiot I am for trying to put so much stuff in my house and I needed to get rid of it now or I'll never be able to live there and I'd have to leave. At one point I even got angry at the radio playing upstairs because it was making the air too cluttered with noise. I've never had anything like this happen to me. I don't suffer from claustrophobia in the least and my home really is quite roomy and airy. I don't use drugs or drink alcohol. There was no physical reactions besides the panicking and me feeling the need to hurry. What was this all about?

Answer 1

I don't know what you were thinking about, but it kind of sounds like a panic attack.  Are you stressed out about something or something big is on your mind?  Something triggered a physical reaction and the causes are usually stress.  Sometimes when people are tense or stressed they don't breath properly and, their heart beat picks up and the body releases a lot of stress hormones.  Breathing is a big issue because if you're not breathing the brain doesn't get enough oxygen and that's when you start acting drunk.

In the future, try sitting down and focusing on your breath - 4 long deep beats in and 7 long beats out until you're calm (about 5 - 30 minutes) and your regular breathing is normal.  Or, stop what you're doing and take a cold shower, that's a quick way to shut down the stress hormones.

Answer 2

You'd better have this one checked out by the doctor, see if they can tell you what it is.