How Can I Prevent Panic Attacks
Your healthcare provider can help you identify triggers that bring on panic attacks. During psychotherapy, you learn strategies to manage triggering events and prevent an attack. You can also take these actions to lower your odds of having a panic attack:
- Cut back on caffeine.
- Talk to your doctor before taking herbal supplements or over-the-counter medications. Certain substances can increase anxiety.
Signs And Symptoms Of Panic Attacks
If your child experiences a panic attack, they might feel out of control with whats going on around them, scared that their body is in danger or even like they are dying. Our bodies can react in different ways to panic attacks. Some of these reactions include:
- Breathlessness, quick breathing or finding it hard to breathe
- Light-headedness or a feeling of fainting
- Finding lights brighter and more intense
- A rapid heartbeat and a tightness in the chest
- Sweating more than usual
- Being teary, like they cant stop crying
- Feeling stuck, like they cant move
- Stomach cramps or feeling sick.
What To Do When Panic Strikes
So when panic strikes and a trigger in your head slams the pedal to the metal without any apparent reason, what do you do? Well, first of all, I don’t like the term “panic attack.” The reason is that nothing is attacking you . What’s happening is that your mind has triggered a DEFCON 5 alert without there being any threat or danger at all.
So first thing to realize is that there is no need to be terrified and you will need to get your PSN system in play to get your mind and body back in balance . Here’s how to do it.
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Starts With A Feeling
Usually an anxiety attack begins because someone notices a feeling in their body. Anxiety attacks – or their more common name, panic attacks – cause what’s known as “hypersensitivity.” This is when your mind essentially monitors your body, so that it notices any change no matter how slight. Whenever your mind notices a change it focuses on it, which amplifies the experience. Many of these are changes that those without anxiety wouldn’t notice, or would generally ignore, but a person with anxiety may be more aware of these changes.
Once the feeling is acknowledged, most people report they experience a flood of anxiety. Usually one of the following two thoughts occurs:
- “Something is wrong with my health.”
- “Oh no, another panic attack is coming.”
Sometimes the fear is health related, sometimes the fear is panic attack related, sometimes it’s a little of both. One of the characteristics of those with panic disorder is that the fear of the anxiety attacks are often just as overwhelming as the fear for their health.
However, the main thing to realize is that these are physical sensations. The person with anxiety attacks isn’t imagining these thoughts out of the blue. Rather, they’re noticing physical changes in their body in a way that those without anxiety rarely notice. These physical sensations can begin subtle and become more pronounced, or they can be strong from the start, such as the case of heart palpitations.
Triggers include:
What Is Panic Disorder
People with panic disorder have frequent and unexpected panic attacks. These attacks are characterized by a sudden wave of fear or discomfort or a sense of losing control even when there is no clear danger or trigger. Not everyone who experiences a panic attack will develop panic disorder.
Panic attacks often include physical symptoms that might feel like a heart attack, such as trembling, tingling, or rapid heart rate. Panic attacks can occur at any time. Many people with panic disorder worry about the possibility of having another attack and may significantly change their life to avoid having another attack. Panic attacks can occur as frequently as several times a day or as rarely as a few times a year.
Panic disorder often begins in the late teens or early adulthood. Women are more likely than men to develop panic disorder.
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Step : Understand Your Bodys Emergency Response
Most people who experience panic attacks would describe themselves as feeling instantly out of control during panic. They primarily complain about losing control of their body: all of a sudden, physical symptoms come rushing into their awareness, and they feel overwhelmed.
Although panic seems to occur instantaneously, in actuality there are a number of events that tend to take place within our mind and body leading up to panic. If we could magically slow down this physical and mental process, we would typically find that a persons anxiety involves a number of stages. The tricky part is that some or all of these stages can take place outside your conscious awareness. And they can all take place in a matter of seconds. Thats why panic can feel like such a surprise: we are not consciously aware of the stages we go through prior to a panic attack.
Several of these stages also serve to instruct the body on how to respond. For instance, let me explain to you one possible way stage one Anticipatory Anxiety could unfold. The panic cycle begins as you consider approaching a feared situation. Quickly your mind recalls your past failures to handle similar situations. In the last example, Donna, while sitting at home, considered entering a grocery store. That thought reminded her of how she had experienced panic attacks previously in grocery stores.
What about the body? Exactly how does it respond to these messages?
Here’s What Happens To Your Body During A Panic Attack
Your mind suddenly explodes in a hyper-aroused state of intense fear. You breathe faster, you think faster, your heart beats faster, your hands are sweating and trembling, your chest cries out in pain and you may even feel like you are losing control of yourself. As a specialist in clinical neuropsychology, I hear such stories increasingly more often in my clinical practice. Even in the general public, research suggests that the rate of anxiety-related concerns has spiked in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic American Psychological Association. Read on to learn what is happening to your body when you are having a panic attack.
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Effects Of Anxiety On The Body
Living with chronic anxiety can cause physical stress on your body, especially to your nervous, cardiovascular, digestive, immune, and respiratory systems.
Everyone has anxiety from time to time, but chronic anxiety can interfere with your quality of life. While perhaps most recognized for behavioral changes, anxiety can also have serious consequences on your physical health.
Read on to learn more about the major effects anxiety has on your body.
Anxiety is a natural part of life. For example, you may have felt anxiety before addressing a group or in a job interview.
You may feel physical symptoms of anxiety,
In the short term, anxiety increases your breathing and heart rate, concentrating blood flow to your brain, where you need it. This very physical response is preparing you to face an intense situation.
If it gets too intense, however, you might start to feel lightheaded and nauseous. An excessive or persistent state of anxiety can have a devastating effect on your physical and mental health.
Anxiety disorders can happen at any stage of life, but they between early adolescence and young adulthood. Women are more likely to have an anxiety disorder than men, according to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America .
Stressful life experiences your risk for an anxiety disorder, too. Symptoms may begin immediately or years later. Having a serious medical condition or a substance use disorder can also lead to an anxiety disorder.
Types Of Panic Attacks
There are two basic types of panic attacks, expected and unexpected. Expected panic attacks occur when you are facing a situation that has caused you problems in the past. Sometimes, expected attacks are triggered by a phobia or by a genuinely stressful event, such as taking a difficult exam. When unexpected attacks occur, you can’t identify an external trigger. Unexpected panic attacks account for about 40% of the total.
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What Happens During A Panic Attack
Panic attacks are one of the most frightening things that can happen to us, especially when we consider ourselves rational and intelligent human beings that are typically in control of our lives.
The first time or even the first few times we experience panic attacks, we feel like we are dying while our brain scrambles to make sense out of something that makes no sense at all.
Understanding what happens in our brain and our bodies during panic attacks is a critical step in gently accommodating ourselves while we learn the skills to share a life with panic disorder.
What Are The Symptoms Of A Panic Attack
Panic attacks trigger your sympathetic nervous system. This leads to the fight or flight response that you experience when faced with danger.
A panic attack can occur suddenly and without warning. Its symptoms may come on gradually and peak after about ten minutes. They may include one or more of the following:
- tingling or numbness
- feeling that death is imminent
In some cases, you may develop an overwhelming fear of experiencing another panic attack. This may be a sign that youve developed a panic disorder.
Panic attacks arent life threatening. But their symptoms can be similar to those of other life-threatening health conditions, such as heart attack. If you experience symptoms of a panic attack, seek medical attention right away. Its important to rule out the possibility that youre actually having a heart attack.
The exact cause of panic attacks is often unknown. In some cases, panic attacks are linked to an underlying mental health condition, such as:
- a major life change, such as having a baby
- losing a loved one
Living with a mental health condition, such as a phobia or PTSD, can also raise your risk of panic attacks.
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What Do Panic Attacks Feel Like
During a panic attack, physical symptoms can build up very quickly. These can include:
- a pounding or racing heartbeat
- feeling faint, dizzy or light-headed
- feeling very hot or very cold
- sweating, trembling or shaking
- pain in your chest or abdomen
- struggling to breathe or feeling like you’re choking
- feeling like your legs are shaky or are turning to jelly
- feeling disconnected from your mind, body or surroundings, which are types of .
During a panic attack you might feel very afraid that you’re:
Talking To A Health Care Provider About Your Mental Health
Communicating well with a health care provider can improve your care and help you both make good choices about your health. Find tips to help prepare for and get the most out of your visit at Taking Control of Your Mental Health: Tips for Talking With Your Health Care Provider. For additional resources, including questions to ask a provider, visit the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality website.
If you or someone you know is in immediate distress or is thinking about hurting themselves,call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline toll-free at 1-800-273-TALK . You also can text the Crisis Text Line or use the Lifeline Chat on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website.
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When Should I Call The Doctor
Some panic attacks have signs that can be confused with a physical problem like a heart attack. If you have chest pain or trouble breathing or lose consciousness, seek emergency medical care.
You should call your healthcare provider if you have panic attacks and experience:
- Chronic anxiety that interferes with daily life.
- Difficulty concentrating.
What Do We Do With This Information
The same techniques that help us manage stress and anxiety can help us decrease the frequency and intensity of panic attacks. Cognitive-behavioral therapy or CBT can help us learn to practice with small anxiety triggers to train ourselves and our brain to begin to slow down the panic process.
Remember that our amygdala contributes to the memory of dangerous situations and speeds up our responses. We can consciously plant new memories in our amygdala about things we previously perceived as dangerous to override the panic response.
We all experience anxiety and panic attacks differently. Working closely with a mental health professional can help us deepen our understanding of the brains processes and how we can influence them. Living life with anxiety and panic disorders is possible with the right tools and support.
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Dealing With Panic Attacks
If you are able to return to the situation or the scene of previous attacks without panicking, your prognosis improves. If, on the other hand, you have changed your life to avoid triggering experiences, you may need professional help. Treatment of panic attacks and panic disorder usually consists of:
Drug Therapy
Your health care provider may prescribe antidepressants or antianxiety medicines to treat panic disorder. Antidepressants have fewer side effects, but antianxiety drugs such as benzodiazepines may be more effective. Some patients may take both types of drugs at first.
Psychotherapy
Several types of psychotherapy can be effective against panic disorders. In exposure therapy, you are encouraged to confront whatever triggers your attacks. The exposure is gradual and controlled, so you can learn to handle the anxiety. In cognitive-behavioral therapy, you learn to recognize your unfounded fears and practice coping techniques such as slow breathing. In supportive therapy, you are educated about your condition and given emotional support.
Self-Help
It’s possible to learn to prevent a panic attack. Many people benefit from breathing exercises and other calming techniques. You can find apps to help you with these practices. These self-help methods are often used with other treatments. Proper diet and exercise can be helpful. It also helps to avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and caffeine, as these can add to stress levels.
The Bodily Effects Of Panic Attacks
The bodys fight-or-flight response is the culprit behind the intense physical symptoms of a panic attack. Adrenaline floods into the bloodstream in reaction to a perceived threat and puts the body on high alert. Breathing becomes fast and shallow, the heartbeat quickens, and the senses sharpen. All of these changes happen instantly, which gives the body energy to confront a dangerous situation or get out of harms way.
Its not clear what causes panic attacks, but they might develop in association with major life changes, traumatic events, and lifestyle stressors. They can strike at any time on an airplane, in the middle of a business meeting, or at a party. The experience of a panic attack can be extremely frightening. People who have these attacks often feel as if they are losing control, having a heart attack, or even dying.
While these episodes of extreme fear can last 20 to 30 minutes, they often happen without warning. Supporting a loved one through a panic attack starts with being able to recognize the physical signs, such as:
Panic attacks can have increasingly disruptive effects on a persons life. These may include:
- Social withdrawal
- Increased risk of suicidal tendencies
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Focus On Your Breathing
After you get to a safe space, the best advice is to start focusing on your breathing. It is usually quite easy to gain control over. Start taking deep breaths in through your nose counting to at least five and feel your stomach and chest filling deeply with air then breathe slowly from your mouth counting a bit longer to six or seven, and feel your stomach and chest empty completely of air. Bringing mindful focus to any of your sensory modalities during your hyper-aroused state will help you get more grounded and allow your PNS system to begin slowly down-regulating your activation level.
Your Body Is In State Of An Emergency
Each person experiencing a panic attack will describe a unique set of terrifying thoughts, feelings and physical symptoms. Even though there is no clear and present danger, your brain has tripped all the “Red Alert” switches to prep for an impending catastrophe.
The good news is that your body is working as it should in the face of an emergency the oddly “bad” news is that there is no emergencyit’s all a false alarm. The experience is terrifyingyou obviously don’t want it to happen again. Let’s check out what’s going on, what you can do about it when it happens, and what you can do to avoid it in the future.
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Types Of Anxiety Disorders:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder is characterized by chronic and exaggerated worry and tension, much more than the typical anxiety that most people experience in their daily lives. People may have trembling, twitching, muscle tension, nausea, irritability, poor concentration, depression, fatigue, headaches, light-headedness, breathlessness or hot flashes.
Panic Disorder: People with panic disorder have panic attacks with feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. During the attacks, individuals may feel like they cant breathe, have lost control, are having a heart attack or even that they are dying. Physical symptoms may include chest pain, dizziness, nausea, sweating, tingling or numbness, and a racing heartbeat. Some people will have one isolated attack, while others will develop a long term panic disorder either way, there is often high anxiety between attacks because there is no way of knowing when the next one will occur. Panic disorders often begin early in adulthood. Many people with panic disorder also suffer from agoraphobia . See more on Panic Attacks.
Phobias are irrational fears. Individuals with phobias realize their fears are irrational, but thinking about or facing the feared object or situation can bring on a panic attck or severe anxiety.