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: enquire@samh.org.uk 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: enquire@samh.org.uk 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: office@stresswatchscotland.comWeb: 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: info@WASPedinburgh.org.ukWeb: 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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