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Be Prepared

If you suffer from an anxiety disorder, panic attacks may be a part of your life. Even with medication, some patients may continue to suffer from panic attacks. Although predicting when a panic attack will happen may be a bit tricky, you can take steps to prepare for these panic attacks. In this way you can stop the panic getting the best of you and you can take back control of your life. In fact, you should make preparation the first step in your panic attacks treatment model. If you are prepared, you will feel more relaxed and able to cope if a panic attack strikes.

The first step to taking back control is to learn to breathe. This may sound somewhat simplistic to say the least. ‘What’s this guy talking about? Learn to breathe? I’ve been breathing since the day I was born, buddy!’ Let me explain. In our modern, hustle-bustle world, very few of us breathe correctly. Well enough to stay alive, but not really well enough to thrive! Basically, we breathe too quickly and too shallowly.

If you have experienced a panic attack, you will know how overwhelming it can be. When we get anxious it is a natural human reaction for our respiration rate to increase. This is part of what is sometimes called the ‘fight or flight’ response. Our body is getting ready to either stand and fight or to run away to safety.

When a person has a panic attack, this normal reaction can escalate to the extent that he or she may simply forget to breathe properly. This, in turn, can lead even higher levels of anxiety because the body sends the message to the brain that something is very wrong. ‘Hey, Brain! I’m not getting any oxygen down here!’

This is why many doctors and psychologists advocate learning slow, deep breathing practices as an integral part of panic attacks treatment. In the middle of a panic attack it is much more difficult to get your breathing back under control. This is why you need to learn and practice these breathing techniques before you are in panic attack mode. Have a plan — learn calm breathing techniques and practice at least twice a day.

There are other relaxation strategies that professionals may recommend as aids to helping you to gain control over your anxiety. These might include progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, visualisation and positive thinking. Of course, you might find it difficult to even consider meditation when you’re actually having a panic attack. But techniques such as guided meditation and progressive muscle relaxation can be used at other times to promote coping with anxiety in general. Panic attacks treatment does not necessarily occur during a panic attack! The calming thoughts and images you develop in learning meditation may become an asset when trying to calm yourself at the onset of a panic attack.

Another great way to prepare for a panic attack is to gain insight into your triggers. Do you have a specific phobia? Is excess stress your downfall? Do certain situations seem impossible for you? When you know what events trigger your panic attacks, you can do your best to avoid or minimize these situations. Even more importantly, this insight may help your doctor and psychologist to more appropriately target your panic attacks treatment so that, in time, you do not have to avoid these situations.

You could also prepare yourself for a panic attack in a more ‘logistic’ sense. In fact, this is probably good advice for all of us, not just for those who experience panic attacks! When you are going out, take with you a list of emergency contacts. This should include your doctor’s number, your local crisis hotline, and members of your personal support network. You can use these numbers yourself if you feel a panic attack starting. Alternatively, another person will be able to find this information in your purse or wallet if you are not capable of helping yourself. A few years ago, there was a media campaign which encouraged people to enter an ICE (In Case of Emergency) number into their mobile phones so that a relative or significant other could be contacted if required. Not such a bad idea, really!

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Please help! x
Also, this may help for your answer!! – I life with just my dad and i only get them when he goes away for the night out or something – my panics really only happen at night, like if i was to stay over my nans or a mates home.

AWW = [I’m sorry you are going threw this! I’ve recently recovered over panic attacks (anxiety) not so long ago. I had it over 1 year ago (when I was 17 b4 i turned 19)

The best advice I can give you is DON’T TAKE ANY PILLS HE/SHE MAY OFFER YOU. You WILL become depended on them.

just talk to your psychiatrist, tell him why you may think you might of had panic attacks, and he may give you more information as of why you’re having them, and give you methods(treatment) on how to deal, and become cured = D

panic attacks (due to anxiety disorder) may be brought upon you, due to STRESS. Stress being the main reason, and possibility the only (in my opinion) so just calm down, take a deep breathe, and take everything slowly.

you’ll be just fine ^_^

Also around a year ago my best friends dad died suddenly of a heart attack and I suffered the loss of a cousin to drowning while I was trying to save him. I know these two experiences have added to my symptoms.

Just to go a little deeper into my head I have always had a fear of crowded areas. Like in a restaurant I always look to see where the exit is and also the bathroom in case I get sick. I hated school for the same reasons and this also occurs at work every so often.

What are my next steps?

Why are you hesitant to undergo talk therapy? If you have already tried all the medical tests; maybe you can now explore a different option.

Panic attacks are actually quite common and so is a fear of crowded areas such as in restaurants etc. We all have buried insecurities which manifest itself in different ways — panic attacks being one of the more common ones. Talking to a professional may help you get the answers you seek.

Good luck!!

I also have a pain somewhere in my back, and I feel very much "off in the distance". I feel like I’m going to drop any second, but I know that I won’t.

It started this evening when I was walking down a dark road to the store. All of a sudden, right in front of me was a huge deer, with red glowing eyes. I got scared. I guess I might have thought it might charge at me. I don’t know. My mind was in a fog. All of a sudden, I began hyperventilating and I couldn’t stop. Then I began shaking and just trembling. Soon after, I was inside the store, and I lost almost all of my upper body strength. I had to lean my upper body on the handle
of the cart for support, and just use my legs to move myself about. I also noticed when I went to pick up a box of disposable plastic food containers, that my hands weren’t opening, and I couldn’t move them, so I used my wrists to pick up the light weight box. When I got home, some of it subsided, but I still feel very distant, and I’m having to type in a strange way because of lack of strength.

I’ve had panic attacks before, many times. However, I normally only get a tight, clamping feeling in my chest and I hyperventilate.

Do these sound like panic symptoms to you?
If not, do you have any idea as to what’s going on?
I feel like there’s something wrong with me.

Sometimes after a frightening event, like after a near-collision in my car, it’s hard to breath for a while and shaking and trembling would be expected. Maybe you just need to sit down with a cup of something warm and relaxing for a while. I think eventually you’ll feel normal again. If you still feel strange after an hour or so, maybe you should call your doctor, if you have one.

A lot of what’s going on with panic attacks is that you start to fear the panic attacks themselves, and that makes the whole situation worse. It becomes a whole vicious cycle that’s really difficult to control. You need a way to feel (and be) in control of the situation so you’re not living in fear of the next attack.

I’m a massage therapist, and I’ve worked with a lot of people who deal with panic attacks and anxiety. I don’t know what’s going on in your life, but stress is usually a huge component. You say this has been going on for 3 months. What happened in your life 3 months ago? Was there some traumatic experience? That’s just some stuff to look at.

On a practical level, caffeine can contribute to stress and anxiety, so if you drink a lot of coffee or soda, that’s something you could cut down on and see if it helps. Also, are you getting enough sleep? When you’re already stressed out, sleep deprivation can REALLY mess up your system. Try to get up and go to bed at (reasonably) regular hours. That could help regulate your body clock and system, which in itself could help with your attacks. I’m not saying that just stopping caffeine and getting enough sleep will stop your attacks, but while you have the attacks, it’s important to take care of yourself and reduce stress in as many ways as possible.

There’s a program I’ve recommended to a lot of my clients that’s helped quite a few of them. You might want to take a look at it. It’s called Panic Away, and it does a great job of teaching you how to regain control and stop living in fear of the next attack. You can get a free 5 part email mini-series that lots of people find really helpful all by itself. You can see what other people have to say about it at www.backfaqs.com/panicaway. I couldn’t figure out how to make this link clickable, so I also put it in the Sources area.

As far as the chest pain, you didn’t really describe it, but chest pain is quite common with panic attacks. Is yours sharp, and does it go away pretty quickly, or is it more like a "catch" that stops or interrupts your breath? Either way, as long as you’ve been checked out physically as you said, it’s nothing to worry (more) about. The pains are caused by the fact that your panic attacks cause really rapid breathing and heartbeats, and that can make the muscles in your chest contract. It’s not uncommon for a person’s chest to be sore for several days after a panic attack.

Anyway, I hope some of this helps, and feel free to let me know if there’s any way I can help.

I wish you the best of luck! I know how awful it is to be in the grip of something you can’t control.

Jan

If not recognized and treated, panic disorder and its complications can be devastating. Panic attacks can interfere with a child’s or adolescent’s relationships, schoolwork, and normal development. Children and adolescents with panic disorder may begin to feel anxious most of the time, even when they are not having panic attacks. Some begin to avoid situations where they fear a panic attack may occur or situations where help may not be available. For example, a child may be reluctant to go to school or be separated from his or her parents. In severe cases, the child or adolescent may be afraid to leave home. This pattern of avoiding certain places or situations is called agoraphobia. Some children and adolescents with panic disorder can develop severe depression and may be at risk of suicidal behavior. As an attempt to decrease anxiety, some adolescents with panic disorder use alcohol or drugs.