Panic Attacks

Panic attacks are something that many of us suffer from during our lifetime. A mild panic attack can present itself as just a feeling of being severely stressed it can happen at any time and sometimes arrives at the speed of light out of nowhere. Panic attacks come from the unconscious mind; this is why they appear to come from nowhere.  You could be driving in your car or walking down the street and suddenly you feel very edgy and have a sense of "What's happening to me"? I am feeling really stressed uncontrollably stressed and I don't know why. The symptoms of panic attacks can be rapid heartbeat, fast and heavy breathing, sweating palms and a feeling of fear or "panic". You may never have a panic attack or you may only ever have one of these attacks in a lifetime. You are usually under stress at the time or everything is getting on top of you. 
Panic attacks can present more regularly and in a particular situations e.g. out in the open, in a shop, on a bus, The severity of the panic attack can be such an unpleasant experience that it can put a person off entering into that environment again and can create an avoidance behaviour which in turn leads to living a debilitating lifestyle.

Panic attacks are extremely unpleasant to have but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
The first thing to remember when you are having one is be aware that they can't actually hurt you. Know one has ever died from a panic attack. The panic attack will come to an end, you may feel shaken up but panic attacks don't actually last very long.

What's actually happening?
During a panic attack the body's fight or flight response is turned on, this is an evolutionary mechanism to keep us safe in times of danger. If we were to go back in time and found our self's standing face to face with a sabre tooth tiger the fight or flight response turns on and enables us to fight or run. We start to breathe deeper sucking air into our lungs in readiness of having to run or fight. Our heart is pumping blood to our arm and leg muscles again in readiness to fight or run. Adrenaline is being pumped around the body to make us active and hyper sensitive to danger. We start to sweat and warm up (we don't want to be running or fighting cold) these are all natural responses to danger. The problem in today's society is that our emotional responses haven't evolved fast enough for modern day living. We are not faced with the same dangers that our ancestors were but our primeval flight and fight response is still responding but to non threatening situations. It's as if we are being tricked into believing something is dangerous when in reality it isn't.

What can we do about it?

What else can we do?
Square breathing is a helpful technique to slow our breathing down, inturn reducing your heart beat and giving you something to concentrate on whilst going through a panic attack. See the diagram below and as you breathe envisage a square in front of you:

Do this technique before the stress builds into a panic attack or at the first sign you start to feel anxious or during a panic attack. The square breathing technique is beneficial for helping to regulate breathing so that any physical symptoms e.g. shaking, dizziness, sweating etc don't build up.

Also if you do this square breathing technique and focus on the counting 1--- 2 ---- 3 ------ 4 it takes your mind off the worrying thoughts that you are having and starts to diminish the associated panic symptoms.
Repeat this exercise until you feel more relaxed just stick at it for maybe 5 to 10 minutes or longer if you are really stressed.

Also remember you can do this exercise in public places it isn't a visually noticeable exercise. So if you are on a train, bus etc and you start to feel anxious remember this square breathing technique. Also it's a good idea to practice this exercise and do it to help prevent stress building up.

What else?  
Seek medical advice don't suffer this on your own let your doctor know they may be able to help.
Seek Psychological help CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy) can be very effective in dealing with panic attacks.

What else?  Relaxation techniques can be very beneficial there are many relaxation cds on the market.

Lastly but importantly If you are often feeling stressed and anxious try cutting out or reducing your caffeine intake e.g. cut down on coffee and tea and caffeinated drinks such as coke and red bull etc try the decaffeinated beverages for a while instead.

Look at your life style habits are you getting enough sleep? Do you take any exercise? Are you permanently worried? Counselling can be helpful!

- James Harris, 2009