having anxiety attacks

Anonymous #1

Some times throughout the days I get panic attacks

How can I calm myself down?

anyone else in the similar boat?

Reply 1

GodspeedGehenna

Kinda vague there. In what situations do you have panic attacks?

Reply 2

Danny the Geezer

I've only had three panic attacks, if you feel one coming on go for a jog.

Reply 3

Anonymous #1

GodspeedGehenna

Kinda vague there. In what situations do you have panic attacks?

Usually when I feel my heart beating faster I get abit worried and the panic sets in

Reply 4

PinPin

you need to work out the cause of them.

i used to have panic attacks every day going to school. to get over them, instead of concentrating on the journey or where i was going, i'd concentrate on what was on the radio, or take my breakfast in the car and concentrate on that.

when you know what's causing them, you can work out how to avoid them.

Reply 5

anyarian

breathe into a paper bag, if you you can't stop yourself getting one.

Reply 6

Thud

Ok just stop, maybe close your eyes and focus on a safe thing (liek the word calm, or a nice beach etc), drop sidewards your shoulders, take deep slow breaths from your stomach not your chest, count to 4 as you breathe in then concentrate on breathing out, nice and slow. Should be breathing about 10 to 12 breaths a minute. Don't run away from the situation because it'll justmake it worse in the long run.

This takes practise so try at home first and slowly build it up until you can enter the relaxed state quicker.

Reply 7

anna_spanner89

A panic attack is an exaggeration of the body’s normal response to fear, stress or excitement. When faced with a situation seen as potentially threatening, the body automatically gears itself up for danger, by producing quantities of adrenalin for 'fight or flight'. This would have prepared our cave-dwelling ancestors to fight or run away from danger, but it’s much less appropriate to the stresses we encounter today.

Adrenalin has the following effects on your body:

The muscles tense up.
Breathing becomes faster to take in more oxygen, which muscles need to help them transform sugar into energy.
The heart pumps harder to get blood to where it’s needed.
Blood is diverted to the muscles, away from areas that don't need it, so you become pale.
Digestion slows down and salivary glands dry up, causing a dry mouth.
Your senses become more alert; the slightest sound or touch provokes a reaction.
Sweating increases.

When adrenalin floods your body, it can cause a number of different physical and emotional sensations that may affect you during a panic attack.

These may include:

very rapid breathing or feeling unable to breathe
very rapid heartbeat
pains in your chest
feeling faint or dizzy
sweating
ringing in your ears
tingling or numbness in your hands and feet
hot or cold flushes
feeling nauseous
wanting to go to the toilet
feelings of absolute terror
feelings of unreality, called depersonalisation and derealisation.

A high level of adrenalin is not in itself a bad thing. It can give you the extra energy to deal with difficult demands and challenges. The damage is done when the levels of adrenalin don't fall, naturally, after a stressful event. Stress becomes prolonged and tension becomes a habit. For many people, their first panic attack comes out of the blue and creates a state of arousal. You may find yourself becoming more nervous, impatient and irritable as you feel, understandably, apprehensive about having another attack.

If you experience panic attacks over a period of time, you may develop a fear of fear. Because you have become hyper-aware of the sensations associated with fear, sensitised to them, you tense up whenever anything at all reminds you of the original panic. This can include your own bodily sensations. So someone feeling hot, or with sweaty hands (perhaps because they are in a meeting in a warm room), may assume, automatically, that they are in for another panic attack. Anticipating this makes them tense up and produces the very panic response they feared.

During an attack, you may fear that the world is going to come to an end, or that you are about to die or go mad. The most important thing to remember is that, however dreadful you may feel during an attack, this is not going to happen. The bodily effects of panic attacks, such as breathlessness, are just part of the panic. If you would like further reassurance, see your GP, so he or she can rule out any physical cause for your symptoms.

There can be a number of causes, Personality tratis, physical causes (eg unstable blood sugar levels, caffeine, drugs)

SO, now you understand what they're about..what can you do to help?

well...

1.Take control
Start by really looking, in detail, at your panic attacks. When did they happen? Where were you? What were you thinking? See if you can identify particular thoughts that trigger a panic reaction.
You could try and accept the panic attacks when they occur and that it may in fact be most helpful if you try and ride out the attacks to learn that no harm will come to you. This may sound strange, but fighting them only increases your level of fear and allows your panic to take on tremendous proportions. Accept that a panic attack is unpleasant and embarrassing, but that it isn't life-threatening or the end of the world. By going with the panic, you are reducing its power to terrify you.

2. Visualisations and affirmations
Creative visualisation and affirmations are techniques that may be helpful. You can use them to re-train your imagination and to get yourself moving in a more positive direction. Many people who suffer panic attacks have a vivid imagination, which they use to conjure up disaster, illness and death. You can train your imagination to focus on situations that give you a sense of wellbeing. You can imagine you are in a place that symbolises peace and relaxation for you, such as drifting on a lake. You can practise this anywhere but, until you have got used to doing this, try sitting in a chair with your limbs as floppy as possible, and think of calming images.

3. Breathing
Hyperventilation (over-breathing) commonly leads to panic attacks. Many people get into the habit of breathing shallowly, from the upper chest, rather than more slowly from the abdomen. Put one hand on your upper chest and the other on your stomach. Notice which hand moves as you breathe. The hand on your chest should hardly move, if you are breathing correctly from the diaphragm, but the hand on your stomach should rise and fall. Practise this breathing, slowly and calmly, every day.

4. Diet
Unstable blood sugar levels can contribute to symptoms of panic. Eat regularly and avoid sugary foods and drinks, white flour and junk food. Instead, choose complex carbohydrates, such as potatoes, rice and pasta. Caffeine, alcohol and smoking all contribute to panic attacks and are best avoided.

Personally i've found a number of techniques helpful:

1. Take a deep breath in via the nose and hold for ten seconds, imagining your leaping every second on stones leading too a door, at ten..open this door and imagine your somewhere relaxing, personally for me its lying on a beach and just breathe out slowly and relax :smile:

2. Singing, singing controls breathing! Try singing positive songs
3. Distractions, go play an instrament, talk on the phone too someone? OR sit down with an notebook and concentrate on how you're feeling personally..
4. Breathe through your nose for 10 minutes

I hope this helps, i used too get really bad panic attacks..and since i've seen a hypnotherepist and my doctor my life has turned around, just PM me if you have anymore questions

Reply 8

GodspeedGehenna

lol ^^ You can tell which parts of Anna_Spanner's post is copy and pasted from the correct and incorrect usage of "to" and "too". :biggrin:

Reply 9

anna_spanner89

GodspeedGehenna

lol ^^ You can tell which parts of Anna_Spanner's post is copy and pasted from the correct and incorrect usage of "to" and "too". :biggrin:

yeah that gives it away, its from mind.co.uk, brilliant website plus charity..

www.nomorepanic.co.uk is a good source aswell

Reply 10

Saff

Thud

Don't run away from the situation because it'll justmake it worse in the long run.

This ^^ is very good advice! Don't get into the rut of avoiding situations where you tend to have panic attacks.

There's some good advice in the above posts... however... DON'T breathe into a paper bag. I know it's common advice but it can actually be dangerous. Instead, concentrate on breathing techniques for the same purpose. :smile:

Reply 11

anna_spanner89

Saff

I agree..the paper bag thing is dangerous, a doctor told me lol :cool:

Reply 12

icedsarcasm

The going for a run thing might seem a bit flippant, but actually doing something active (I usually just go for a brisk walk) helps to work off the adrenalin before your body goes into overdrive. Try to pay attention to your body and learn the signs that you're getting anxious so you can do that before you get to the panic stage.

The National Phobic's Society also has some useful advice about panic attacks.