vivalarev:When Severus has a panic attack, he usually breaks down crying and dives into a self loath
vivalarev:When Severus has a panic attack, he usually breaks down crying and dives into a self loathing episode afterwards. The after effect of the panic attack makes him emotionally fragile and jittery yet physically lethargic. His thoughts go into high speed to spew hate at him yet also continuously warn him of danger when there is none. With the conflicting emotional attack along with the physical weakness that comes after a panic attack, he shuts down. He stops talking, stops moving, and can’t bother to do anything - including shielding himself from these thoughts with occlumency. He just can’t care at that point - about anything. He has comfort items for these times (and some other scenarios of course - like when he’s anxious or has just woken up from a nightmare again) and the most prominent of these is his scarf. It’s long as has stripes of dark red, muted yellow, green, bronze, and grey. He received it from Minerva two years after he received his head of house position - also the same year she began to acknowledge him as a colleague instead of a student. It’s soft and the tiniest bit stretchy - perfect for him to wrap around his neck and mouth. There’s tassels of yarn on the ends that he can fidget with and it’s thin enough for him to breathe through but thick enough to keep him warm and put a grounding weight on his neck. He feels as though the feeling of something - soft or not - wrapped around his neck should be unnerving but it’s the most calming feeling in the world. With his comfort items and his scarf wrapped around his neck and mouth, the world slowly gets a little easier to deal with. @snapeloveposts -- source link