M6 Task

         For this week's experiential task I decided to interview two people that are very close to me. That would be my mom and her sister. My mom and her sister both share an anxiety disorder which is commonly known as panic attacks. 
         According to them they both discovered that they had panic attacks around the same time as each other. My aunt noticed that she was having problems with panic attacks about a year before my mom did. My mom was quick to mention that these panic attacks showed up for both of them around the time that their mother, my grandma, was diagnosed with kidney cancer. When my mom started having panic attacks they had just found out that their mother's cancer was terminal. My mom said she had no idea what was happening when she had her first one because she had never heard about them before. Although, my aunt had already discovered she was having them she did not tell anyone in the family so this is partially why my mom was still not familiar with them. 
         When my aunt experienced her first panic attack she immediately went to the doctor and the doctor was able to prescribe her with an antidepressant and an anti-anxiety medication, which she still takes to this day. However, my mom's anxiety attacks were not as easily fixed so she had to go from her regular MD to a psychiatrist who then prescribed her with a strong antidepressant and anti anxiety drug because "she couldn't even sleep at night." My mom said it was especially difficult for her because she had to go through a trial and error period of testing medications, which my aunt mentioned she did not have to do. 
         Both my mom and aunt said that they have a great quality of life now, living with this disorder. Both of them work about sixty hours a week in a "high stress environment" and have not suffered with any panic attacks since being put on their medications. When I asked them about who in their lives helped them to get through the rough times of having these panic attacks they both said that family helped them tremendously. For my aunt she said her daughter helped her get through it the most and my mom said that her whole family was crucial during this time.
         Through this project I learned a lot about my aunt that I did not know. I also learned that through this both my mom and aunt were able to have a conversation with their mother about this and they discovered that anxiety disorder runs in their family. I, myself, did not know this before this project so it was very intriguing to learn that about my family. I did record this interview, but it was just a screen recording from face time, so I do not really have any pictures or videos to add this time, but I hope that you enjoyed this blog nonetheless. I also encourage you to talk with your own family about any mental disorders or any illnesses in general that your family might have a history of because, it might be helpful for you to know in the future. (Below I have attached a link to a video that takes you through what it is like to go through a panic attack, feel free to watch it or not if you are wanting to know a little bit more about panic attacks.)
What a panic attack feels like.