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Panic AttacksHow to Cope
This booklet was written by Anne Mathie (Information Officer) ©SAMH Information Service Cumbrae House, 15 Carlton Court, Glasgow G5 9JPTel: 0141 568 7000 Email: [email protected] Website: www.samh.org.uk£1
Panic AttacksHow to Cope
This booklet was written by Anne Mathie (Information Officer) ©SAMH Information Service Cumbrae House, 15 Carlton Court, Glasgow G5 9JPTel: 0141 568 7000 Email: [email protected] Website: www.samh.org.uk
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PANIC ATTACKS – HOW TO HELP
Panic attacks can happen to anyone at anytime and are commonly a
sign of stress.
A panic attack may hit you when you are outside in a wide open space,
inside, or in an enclosed space. You might be on a bus or just watching
TV. You could be standing in a shop and suddenly you feel you must
abandon your shopping and escape from the shop. Panic attacks can
strike at any place and any time, whether you are alone or in a crowd.
The act of leaving any of these situations is how your body copes with
this fearful feeling. If, for instance you stayed “put” rather than leave,
you would be resisting your brain’s way of coping with this, the fear
would mount and you would start to feel panicky. The panic attack is
now imminent, unless you can change your thought patterns.
Panic attacks, as the words imply, are frightening events. The symptoms
may be so severe that those who suffer them may fear that they are
having a life-threatening attack. Panic attacks however, are not generally
life threatening. Ironically, they are a result of one of the body’s own
defence mechanisms working. When we are very anxious or afraid, the
body produces more of a hormone called adrenaline. Adrenaline can
make us quicker, stronger and more alert. The body can interpret an
adrenaline rush in two ways. We can get ready to confront our fear or
fight it or we can retreat from our fear and take flight from it. This
is known as the 'fight or flight' response. The additional adrenaline
helps us 'fight' or 'flee' and then it disperses and our systems return
to normal. Working properly, adrenaline can help people facing
apparently insurmountable events to perform incredible acts. There
PANIC ATTACKS: How to cope
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HOW TO HELP – PANIC ATTACKS
is a case of a woman in the USA for example, whose child was trapped
under a car. The fight response kicked in and the woman found the
strength to lift the car and free her child.
If the stress producing the adrenaline is not relieved then more
adrenaline is produced, heightening the sense of fear or panic. Here
the system does not return to normal.
When you have a panic attack, your first symptoms are likely to be
feeling flushed or hot, sweaty palms, a feeling that you can’t catch your
breath or your are breathing too fast. When you are breathing in this
way what you are doing is reducing the amount of carbon dioxide that
is in your lungs which creates these symptoms which can be terrifying.
These may include:
A thumping heartbeat
Trembling
Tingling in hands, arms and face
Dizziness
A feeling you are about to die
Chest pain
Breathlessness
Feeling unable to swallow
Blurred vision
Intense fear
Cold hands and feet
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PANIC ATTACKS – HOW TO HELP
This fear prompts the body to produce more adrenaline, which in turn
lead again to all the above symptoms and over breathing. This over
breathing is called hyperventilating and once you start this, you can
quickly find yourself in a vicious circle, the more quickly you breathe
the longer you panic, the longer you panic the more quickly you
breathe and so on. To stop this process you have to raise the levels of
carbon dioxide in your blood. You can do this in two ways.
It will help to breathe in your own exhaled air, as this will
quickly increase the carbon dioxide. Get a paper bag and hold
it firmly over your mouth and nose so you can breathe out
and in into the bag, inhaling your own exhaled air. Try to
breathe normally but slow the breaths down. If you feel that
you are still breathing too quickly, then keep bag over your
mouth and make your lips form an O. Gently take in the air.
You may feel that the air wants to move quicker from your
lungs, try to count the air into your lungs. Try breathing to a
count of three, hold for a count of three and exhale for a count
of three. You will begin to calm down because of the carbon
dioxide you are inhaling from the bag.
If a bag is not available then you should try to control or slow
your breathing so that you breathe in less air.
A
B
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HOW TO HELP – PANIC ATTACKS
With your mouth closed, start to breathe in slowly and smoothly
through your nose (You could cup your hands over your nose) hold
it for three or four seconds if you can and then open your mouth
slowly releasing the air through it. You may start to take deeper breaths
but don’t keep that up as a deeper breath will increase the oxygen in
the lungs again. Go for slowing the breaths you take.
If you feel that you need to swallow the air, resist this. However if you
do swallow a couple of times, that should alleviate the need to gulp.
If it doesn’t and you do gulp hold it for about five or six seconds and
when exhaling try to do it slowly and gently through your mouth.
For example:
Once the body recognises the pattern of slow, even breathing you
should become more relaxed.
You can also try a cold compress on the pulse points. Icy water on the
face and neck promotes what is called the diving reflex. This slows
down the heart rate and makes you feel calmer. Maintain this by
breathing through the nose, releasing the air slowly through the mouth.
One... Two... Three... Four.. HOLD ONE.. TWO.. One... Two... Three... Four...
One... Two... Three... Four.. HOLD ONE.. TWO.. One... Two... Three... Four...
IN OUT
IN OUT
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PANIC ATTACKS – HOW TO HELP
A further approach is to try to change your thought pattern to focus
your mind on something other than your panic. For example, you
might try to remember the dates of birth of all your family members.
Once you learn to change your train of thought, gradually what you
are thinking takes over from what you are feeling. With enough practice
it will become automatic when panic sets in. You will be able to transfer
attention away from the actual panic attack on to what you have
focussed on.
Try to occupy yourself at this point, do something that is simple but
requires a little concentration. It only takes seconds to change patterns
when in a state of panic and something as simple as filing your nails /
applying nail polish for instance, can have the desired effect. Some
people find it helpful to keep a diary of their feelings and writing down
how you feel whilst having a panic attack can also help you identify
and change patterns. Anything that takes your mind off the attack
will make the duration of the attack shorter.
Remember that if the breathing is kept slow and even, the panic attack
will not be able to take hold. This is harder to achieve once the attack
has started and you cannot even think straight. Making sure that you
have a plan or procedure that stops attacks from becoming so serious
is the first step to slowly taking control of them.
You may have panic attacks where hyperventilating does not occur.
You may feel you have to get away from a certain situation and in doing
this feel you remove the threat which was the trigger for the panic
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HOW TO HELP – PANIC ATTACKS
attack. You perhaps feel that something terrible is about to occur, that
you are about to die. By learning to stay in that apparently threatening
situation and changing the thought patterns, it is possible for you to
gain control of the attack. It can take time to master this, but it is
important that you give yourself credit each time you manage to stay
in the situation even for a little longer.
If the attacks are becoming frequent and you haven’t already consulted
your doctor, then you may want to seek advice.
There are a number of treatments that are available and treatment
does not have to be drug based. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
may be considered. CBT is a way of changing the way that you perceive
the things that make you anxious. It teaches you to change thought
patterns that have become routine when panic or anxiety set in. With
CBT you can eradicate the negative thoughts and replace them with
positive.
Psychotherapy is where you can speak to a suitably qualified therapist
and try to identify possible contributing factors and develop better
coping mechanisms.
Getting in touch with a support group or self-help group can be greatly
beneficial, because the people there understand from experience what
you are going through, and may be able to share approaches, which
have been helpful to them.
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PANIC ATTACKS – HOW TO HELP
A number of drug therapies may be used to treat the symptoms of
panic attacks. These include:
A mild dose of tranquillisers given until the symptoms
subside but there can be dependency problems if
tranquillisers are prescribed for a sustained period
of time.
Beta-Blockers, which are not tranquillisers and act by
blocking the production of adrenaline in the large
quantities that can set off panic attacks. Some people
are given a beta-blocker before a driving test because
it stops all the unpleasant symptoms of nervousness
i.e. sweaty palms, palpitations.
Some of the newer antidepressants, Selective Serotonin
Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) have sedative properties
in them and these may be prescribed. These drugs may
also have dependency problems.
Drug therapies alone will only suppress the symptoms associated with
panic attacks, not teach you different coping approaches, unless
combined with one of the above. They can have risks attached to them
- side effects, the risk of addiction and withdrawal. If you decide that
you want to take this form of treatment, discuss these elements of risk
with your GP.
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PANIC ATTACKS – HOW TO HELP
Many people find complimentary therapies such as massage and
aromatherapy helpful in managing stress, either on their own or in
conjunction with some of the treatments above. Decide what is most
helpful to you and in time you will find that you can cope. Once you
learn that the panic attacks are not going to harm you, the urgency of
fighting the symptoms is reduced and dealing with them practically
becomes second nature.
Stresswatch (Scotland)23 Campbell Street
Kilmarnock, KA1 4HWTel: 01563 570886Email: [email protected]: www.StresswatchScotland.com
Provides advice, information and Support to sufferers of panic attacks
Anxiety, phobias and other stress Related problems
No Panic 93 Brands Farm Way
Telford, Shropshire
England, TF3 2JQTel: 0800 808 0545 (Information line only)Helpline: 01952 590545
No Panic aims to aid the relief and Of those people suffering from Panic
Attacks, Phobias, Obsessive Compulsive Disorders, Other related anxiety
disorders, including Tranquilliser withdrawal. They also offer Support
to sufferers, their families
and Carers.
USEFUL CONTACTS
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PANIC ATTACKS – HOW TO HELP
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HOW TO HELP – PANIC ATTACKS
WASP- We Are Seeking Progress
The Secretary
PO Box 12400
Edinburgh, EH12 8ZATel: 0131 336 5252Helpline: 0131 334 3171Email: [email protected]: www.WASPedinburgh.org.uk
This is a group for people suffering from Agoraphobia, Social Phobia,
Panic Attacks And stress related disorders.
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