As someone younger than you quite possibly suffering with the same thing, that’s saddening to hear. Is there anything you did that you wish you’d done sooner? Have you tried any (pharmaceutical) medication?
I have a few things I wish I'd done sooner if you'd indulge my ranty and highly personal list:
* Moving out of the city and into the country. I know this one is not feasible for most people, but it helped me to get out of the hustle and bustle and back to an environment similar to where I grew up.
* Reducing caffeine and increasing water intake. I limit myself to one cup of coffee in the morning and no caffeine afterward.
* Quitting my high-stress job in favor of a job at a startup and taking more breaks.
* Daily cardio exercise for at least 30 minutes.
* Talking about how I'm feeling with my partner. It seems simple and silly, but this one is crucial for me. I tend to lock up when I'm feeling crappy and lash out. Overcoming that and talking about how I'm feeling has helped enormously.
* Going to therapy.
These are all helping me cope, so I still have panic attacks, but not as often as a decade or so ago.
Not ranty at all; very helpful in fact!
It’s interesting you say cutting down on caffeine helped… I feel the opposite would be true for me. For some reason it seems to have a calming effect.
Anyway… good luck to you. I hope it continues to gradually improve.