Millions of Australians have reported experiencing a panic attack at some point. Learn to recognise the symptoms and get ready with your own plan to fight back.
Have you ever experienced some of these symptoms – or all of them at once?
- Feeling breathless or as though you are choking
- Feeling restless
- Sweating, shivering or trembling
- Wanting to run but not being able to, or feeling as though your legs have turned to jelly
- Racing heart, palpitations
- Dizziness, disorientation and a lightheaded feeling
- Feeling nauseous
- Experiencing a feeling of dread
- Thinking “I am going to die” or “I am going crazy”.
These are symptoms of a panic attack, which is often caused by a prolonged period of stress. If you have experienced some or all of these feelings, you might be one of the 9 million Australians who have experienced a panic attack at some time. During a typical attack, a range of strong physical sensations may be accompanied by fearful thoughts.
The good news is that you need not simply surrender to a panic attack – you can stand up for yourself and fight back. There are several helpful strategies for dealing with a panic attack.
Because such attacks often feel like they happened out of the blue, people usually start to worry about it happening again unexpectedly and so feel very stressed out. This stress experience can lead to people having difficulty relaxing, making them irritable and edgy and their bodies tense as they await the next panic attack. This dreadful sensation of being helpless and of not knowing what to do can be debilitating, so take steps to prevent it from happening again.
It may feel very unfair that panic attacks can happen to the healthiest people – those who eat well, exercise and work very hard to succeed in life. It can be difficult to accept the strong debilitating discomfort that is caused by a panic attack. However, your first step is to acknowledge that you have experienced a panic attack and then you can look at protecting yourself from future ones.
At this point you must develop your own plan for dealing with a panic attack. Prepare to attack back.
- Accept: First, obtain medical clearance from your doctor that there are no underlying medical conditions. Accept that you have experienced a panic attack. It was highly uncomfortable, and perhaps you felt like you had no control over what was happening. Also realise that you do not have to continue suffering from panic attacks. Acceptance does not mean surrender, it only means that you recognise what you are dealing with and that you will take steps to deal with this issue.
- Learn about panic attacks: Learn about panic attacks and what happens to your body when you experience them. For example: “It feels as if I am going to suffocate” can be rationalised: you are not going to suffocate during a panic attack. Although you might feel tightness in your chest and restricted breathing, this is because under stress the muscles of your neck and chest tighten temporarily and reduce your respiratory capacity. This tightening sensation will pass. Although it is highly unpleasant, it is not dangerous. Another example might be: “I feel weak in my knees, I am afraid I will stop walking”. During a panic attack, the adrenalin flashes in the blood vessels in your legs can interfere with blood circulation, causing blood to accumulate in your leg muscles. This might result in you feeling weak in your legs. Once again, this sensation is going to pass. Remember, it is only temporary.
- Learn to breathe: It might sound obvious, but sometime our breathing can cause us to feel as if we are losing control and exacerbate the feelings of anxiety and tension. Often when we experience a sensation as if we are going to suffocate we try to breathe faster in order to get more air, and it results in letting off too much carbon dioxide, which might result in you feeling agitated and weird. Try abdominal breathing for a few minutes. When you breathe abdominally your abdomen expands as you breathe in and contracts as you breathe out. Just focus on your breathing because it is the only thing that matters right now. Try it for the next few minutes: do it slowly and just focus on breathing in. And out.
- Learn to relax: Learn new ways to relax, for example, you can practise progressive muscle relaxation, conduct a body scan, or practise mindfulness relaxation. Learn to incorporate relaxation practice in your daily life. You will benefit from frequent practice
- Let it pass: It is only natural for us to experience a range of emotions and physical sensations as your emotions and thoughts change. Remind yourself that this experience is only temporary. It will pass, so do not get caught up, let it pass you. Imagine that you are just observing the sensations come and go, they are not dangerous, they are simply uncomfortable and they will pass. Notice if you find yourself drawn to interpreting your increased breathing and making yourself even more worried. Just pause and focus on your breathing and remind yourself that these sensations will pass.
- Evaluate: Pause and look at your lifestyle, your stress levels, the quality of your relationships, career stress and your overall physical and mental health. Needless to say, many different factors can have a detrimental impact on the way you feel and increase your stress levels and your vulnerability to future panic attacks. Take steps to look after yourself well, aim for a healthy balance and engage in pleasurable, meaningful activities.
- Acknowledge your efforts: Acknowledge all the steps you take to deal with a panic attack. Recognise that you will work hard, learn new information and take the necessary steps to control your panic attack. Every time you take a step to deal with the panic attacks you are getting stronger and the attacks are getting weaker.
Follow these steps, and fight back against the panic attacks. If you do not take a stance against them you risk living in fear and excessive worry about when they are going to strike again. It might be difficult to imagine it right now, but by keeping the focus on health and wellness, and on adaptive and effective strategies, you will win this battle.
What steps will you take today to deal with panic attacks?
Today I will focus on:
- Learning about panic attacks
- Practising abdominal breathing
- Learning progressive muscle relaxation
- Conducting a body scan
- Practising mindfulness
- Reviewing causes of stress (such as an excessive workload or a difficult relationship)
- Going to the gym
- Attending a yoga class
- Other:
Posted October 15, 2014 by Yuliya Richard.
Image: Flickr.com
License: Creative Commons Copyright
All rights reserved by Jim Linwood
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