Taming Panic

Those of you who experience panic attacks will know how horrendous and debilitating they can feel.

Often unexpected, panic attacks can provoke catastrophic thoughts: “I’m having a heart attack”, “I am going to lose the plot and go mad”, “Everyone is looking at me and thinking I’m stupid”, “I can’t breathe, I’ll pass out and no one will help me”.

It’s important to remember that you have more control than you think during a panic attack.

Let’s start with the breath. If you were to watch yourself breathing during a panic attack, you would notice that it’s rapid and that the top of your chest is moving. This is hyperventilating. When you hyperventilate you change the mix of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the bloodstream - there is a drop in oxygen reaching the brain and extremities, coupled with a decrease in carbon dioxide ( the small amount of CO2 that’s usually left in our lungs is pushed out by the rapid breathing).

Because this is a bit out of whack, you can feel some very uncomfortable but NOT dangerous symptoms:

• light-headedness / dizziness

• tightness in the chest

• muscle cramps

• nausea

• feeling faint

• blurry vision

• feeling out of touch with reality

• difficulty catching your breath

• feeling too hot, cold or clammy

Re-gain control:

• slow down your breathing - try to count in your head and breathe in and out for 4- let your breath work for you and focus on it

• shift the way you are breathing - move your breath to your stomach area and gently inflate/deflate -stop breathing from your chest

• shift your posture so you stand a chance of relaxing - shoulders back and down, unclench your arms, hands, etc.

• remind yourself that you are safe and that this will pass

Gradually, the carbon dioxide level will even out again. You won’t remain in the panic indefinitely. That wold be impossible.

Challenge your catastrophic thinking:

“I am going to pass out”. This is highly unlikely because your blood pressure increases during a panic attack - due to the hyperventilation. In order to faint, there needs to be a drop in blood pressure. Your blood pressure is going in the wrong direction! Feeling dizzy does not always mean fainting.

“I am going to go mad”. Think about the last time you went ‘mad’ after a panic attack. Yes, you might have felt anxious, low or tired, but you didn’t develop a mental illness. There are no studies to support this either.

“I am going to die”. Panic attacks are uncomfortable and distressing but not dangerous or life-threatening. If you’ve experienced a few, you will realise that they have not harmed you, or led to a heart attack.

Support for people experiencing panic attacks:

www.nopanic.org.uk

Find a CBT practitioner on the BABCP website. I am a fully accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist and work with anyone experiencing raised anxiety and panic. Please feel free to contact me for a chat about how I can help you overcome your panic.