Panic attack: a person’s actions during an attack

Calm your breathing

At the first signs of an approaching attack, you should switch to diaphragmatic breathing mode, i.e. try to breathe with your stomach. Try to breathe deeply and steadily, so that your stomach swells and deflates in rhythm with your breathing, while your chest remains motionless.

Follow this breathing rhythm: inhale quickly for 2 counts, and then, without holding, slowly exhale for 4-6 counts, relax, then hold your breath for 1-2 counts. Repeat until the attack stops or its symptoms decrease. Then breathe as usual and try to calm down.

When exhaling, it is important to relax not only the stomach, but also the entire upper part of the body: jaw, neck, shoulders, chest. There is no need to force the exhalation, just let the air come out freely.

Why is it better to breathe on a count rather than in seconds? Each person has their own breathing rate, so it’s better to count “one and, two and” to yourself than to focus on seconds. Plus, counting to yourself is also calming.

By breathing this way, you lower your blood pressure and normalize your heart rate.

General information

Before you think about how to cope with a panic attack, you need to understand the mechanism of its occurrence.

1. It is necessary to realize that during an attack there is a strong tension in all the muscles of the body. In this case, excessive weakness may be felt, for example, the legs become “wobbly” or aching joints appear.
2. As a rule, the duration of an attack is up to three minutes, but sometimes it can last half an hour. At the same time, it seems to a person that time is passing very slowly, an eternity is passing.
3. At the end of the attack, a feeling of severe fatigue and weakness occurs, aching pain occurs throughout the body, dyspeptic disorders, saliva may be excessively produced and sweating may increase. The individual feels too depressed, insignificant, and a feeling of uselessness appears.

When a person first experiences an attack, he may think he is having a heart attack or may feel like he is suffocating. It is not surprising that the first action will be to try to call an ambulance. The arriving team will take certain actions to relieve symptoms and will recommend contacting specialists, for example, a cardiologist. However, you need to understand that such actions will not be beneficial in the process of dealing with panic attacks.

You can try to cope with the help of folk remedies. A person can start drinking herbal infusions and taking soothing baths. It is necessary to understand that you will not be able to completely recover from attacks; you can only temporarily remove specific symptoms. At least in the initial stages these methods are effective.

Absolute inaction is unacceptable behavior in this situation. If the occurrence of attacks is completely ignored, serious health problems can develop. This will also increase the frequency of panic attacks, and the episodes will become longer and more intense. They will appear once a month, then a week, every two days, until a panic disorder occurs. That is why it is so important not to remain idle, but to engage in proper treatment in a timely manner.

Causes of panic attacks

Severe mental or physical stress can cause overstrain of the nervous system. Different people react to stress differently. Therefore, subsequent processes occurring in the body largely depend on the individual constitution of a person - on the structure of his nervous system, emotional sensitivity, lifestyle, and even on the course of his birth and childhood. One person copes with stress easily, another has a hard time with it, a third copes with it the first ten times, but breaks down on the eleventh.

Overstrain of the nervous system primarily affects the nodes of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) - it is this part of the nervous system that takes the brunt. The balance between the work of its sympathetic (exciting) and parasympathetic (calming) departments is confused towards constant overexcitation.

Clinical manifestations

Dizziness and pain in the temples are possible signs of a panic attack.
A panic attack has many characteristic symptoms. The main features include:

• lack of coordination;
• weakness;
• dizziness;
• cramping pain in the abdominal cavity;
• tremor of the limbs;
• dyspnea;
• muscle tremors;
• dyspeptic disorders;
• possible fainting;
• strong thirst;
• throbbing pain in the temples;
• hypertension;
• strong fear of death;
• cardialgia;
• loss of sense of reality;
• fever or severe chills;
• increased sweating;
• suffocation.

Basically, panic attacks can be diagnosed by the emergence of an overwhelming fear, gradually turning into a feeling of intense horror.

Symptoms

What are the symptoms of PA that a person experiences:

• feeling of doom;
• feeling of danger;
• feeling of loss of control;
• fear of death;
• heart rate increases;
• you start to sweat;
• shiver;
• chills;
• nausea;
• spasms, convulsions;
• headache or chest pain;
• weakness;
• dizziness;
• you have difficulty swallowing drool;
• dry mouth;
• compression and lump in the throat;
• numbness of the limbs;
• a feeling of unreality of what is happening;
• a feeling of being separated from yourself;
• difficulty breathing, the body's need for oxygen increases.

Actions during an attack

A paper bag helps cope with a panic attack

To prevent an acute attack, you need to listen to these recommendations.

1. Total control over your breathing. The person must do something to slow down their breathing rate.
2. Using a paper bag helps a lot. Therefore, you should always keep it at hand. When there is a feeling of an approaching attack, you need to press the bag to your lips and nose and begin to slowly inhale air until the bag begins to shrink. You also need to exhale gradually until it straightens. These actions must be repeated until a feeling of calm arises. If you don’t have a bag, fold your palms into a boat shape and make breathing movements through them.
3. You can attach a special bracelet to your wrist or a ribbon (made of rubber). When some disturbing thoughts arise, an attack is approaching, you need to pull the elastic band back and release it so that it clicks on your hand. A sharp pain that arises in a limb will immediately switch consciousness from a state of anxiety to these sensations.
4. Counting method. In order to calm down, a person begins to count numbers to himself, you can count the cars that pass by, the number of steps.
5. Use your senses to calm yourself. While in a room, try to find something that you like to look at. If this is not the case, then you can close your eyes and try to imagine these things in your mind. Stop, try to mobilize your hearing and hear sounds that come from afar, for example, the hum of cars somewhere on the highway or the buzzing of a bee in a clearing. Pay attention to the smells that surround you, perhaps lunch is being prepared somewhere or rain is approaching.
6. Surely, you have a favorite song that you often play while cleaning, cooking or driving a car. If you feel that an attack is approaching, then start humming it. Unless, of course, there are no strangers nearby and you are at home. If there are strangers present, you can sing to yourself. It is desirable that the song be funny, perhaps childish.
7. If the attack is accompanied by clouding of consciousness, high fever, then it is better to cool down. If you can’t get into the shower right now, you can simply wash your face, especially cooling the areas behind your ears.
8. Palm massage. To do this, you need to press on the membrane located between the fingers, thumb and index. Apply pressure, count to five, and then release the area. Actions should be carried out until complete calm occurs.
9. You can take chewing gum with you. The moment you feel panic approaching, just start chewing it. This will allow you to temporarily escape from disturbing thoughts. At the moment, your task is to switch to something else, to get rid of anxiety. For example, you can call a relative by phone.
10. Take panic attack medication. The easiest way to cope with an attack is to use sedatives, such as Diazepam. If the first manifestations of an incipient attack appear, then you can use mild sedative drugs, for example, motherwort tincture or Novopassit. You can also use herbal infusions, for example, brew mint leaves in 200 ml of boiling water (literally two tablespoons), leave for two hours in a closed container, then strain and drink before bed. But it is advisable to first consult a psychologist so that the specialist can prescribe a drug that is suitable for your particular case. It is possible that you do not need medications at all.

Categories of medications against panic attacks

There is no consensus on the pharmacotherapy of panic disorders. The selection of drugs is always made individually, taking into account personal qualities and the nature of the disease. The following groups of drugs are used to treat panic attacks:

• Neuroleptics (Chlorprothixene). Used in small doses to control the frequency of attacks as part of adjuvant therapy;
• Tranquilizers (Clonazepam, Alprazolam, Tofisopam). They are the main group of treatment drugs. It can be used both to relieve a panic attack and to reduce the frequency of attacks;
• Sedatives (Motherwort, Valerian). Rarely used for mild symptoms. The potency of action is significantly inferior to neuroleptics and tranquilizers;
• Antidepressants (Sertraline, Clomipramine, Mianserin). Always prescribed in combination with tranquilizers to eliminate anxiety and improve emotional status;
• Nootropics (Piracetam). They can enhance the effect of tranquilizers and antidepressants by improving metabolic processes in neurons.

There are contraindications, you need to consult a specialist!

Psychological techniques

Cognitive behavioral therapy can help relieve panic attacks.

1. The specialist will explain what is happening to you, tell you about the reasons for the panic and the feelings you experience.
2. He will advise you to write down the date and time of panic attacks in order to better identify the reasons why they occur.
3. A psychologist will teach you how to breathe correctly and what ways you can relax to prevent panic attacks from occurring again.
4. The specialist will tell you how you can rethink the situation that arises during an attack. This is necessary to return to reality.
5. The psychologist will tell you how to identify things that cause panic in order to learn how to react to them correctly.

A panic attack can occur at the wrong moment, so it is important to learn how to resist it using psychological techniques.

1. Correct breathing. When you feel like you are having an attack, start breathing, your breaths should be deep. You can also sign up for breathing exercises, so-called Pilates. Experienced specialists will be able to teach you how to breathe correctly and at what moment to prevent attacks.
2. Accept your emotions. A person must realize what is happening to him and decide what causes the attack. You need to try to resist this phenomenon so that the attacks do not conquer your mind.
3. Relax. If chronic fatigue is to blame, then it’s time to relax and unwind. You can do yoga or meditation, and it would also be a good idea to take a bath with herbal teas to help you relax. Maybe it's time to take a vacation.
4. Engage in self-hypnosis, affirm that you are a purposeful and strong person. Record your achievements and victories.

Diagnostics

After a person complains of the symptoms described above, doctors initially conduct all the necessary studies to exclude pathologies of internal organs - blood vessels, brain, etc.

Diagnosis is based on determining the clinical manifestations of the disease, as well as determining the degree of anxiety of a person. For this purpose, a special scale for assessing panic attacks and anxiety attacks is used.

Adviсe

Art therapy helps relieve panic attacks

1. Art therapy - through creativity you can pour out your feelings, emotions and fears.
2. Establish a daily routine and strictly follow it. It is important to have enough time to rest, be active, do physical activity, regularly be in the fresh air, and take walks.
3. Particular attention must be paid to proper nutrition. It must be balanced. It is necessary to reduce your coffee consumption. It is important to give up bad habits, because they can also affect the human nervous system.
4. Learn to control your emotions, stop worrying about all sorts of trifles. Take life easier. If necessary, do breathing exercises or meditation to relax, both mentally and physically.
5. Great importance must be given to water procedures. They are the best way to help cope with stress, which means they will reduce the risk of developing panic attacks.
6. It would be a good idea to go to a sanatorium-resort treatment. A change of environment, as well as a favorable climate, will help improve your mental health and health.
7. There is no need to run away if the attack begins in a room where you are surrounded by a large number of people. Try to control yourself, collect your thoughts, understand that you need to avoid this state. If at this moment you simply run away, you will remember the information that it is unsafe to be there. It is possible that a phobia will develop.

Now you know what to do during a panic attack. A person can learn to control himself and cope with a panic attack without anyone’s help. If you can’t cope on your own, don’t hesitate to visit the office of a psychologist or psychotherapist.

At-risk groups

The most susceptible to PA and PS are:

1. Melancholic people. Their psyche is quite weak and susceptible to negative situations. Therefore, melancholic people are the first at risk.
2. People with a strong sense of responsibility. Such individuals most often do not know how and cannot relax, so they remain tense for a long time.
3. Holders of bad habits, as well as people leading a sedentary lifestyle.
4. People living for a long time in greenhouse conditions. This lifestyle can make a person sensitive to the slightest stress. People who live busy lives are more resistant to stress, as they have to deal with it regularly. Therefore, a kind of immunity to stressful situations arises.

Consequences if left untreated

If you ignore panic attacks, they can significantly ruin your life. Cognitive abilities are negatively affected, they decrease, and their quality suffers. Adaptive capabilities are declining. A person becomes irritable, unable to concentrate on work, or manage his emotional state even in serious situations.

Therefore, there is no need to delay treatment. You need to contact an experienced specialist who will prescribe complex therapy. It is impossible to do without medication, since a panic attack affects the nervous and endocrine systems. And additional help from a psychotherapist will speed up recovery.

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Breathing exercises for prevention

1. Relax, lie on your back, put your hands on your stomach (your left hand should be at the top).
2. The inhalation should last 4 seconds - hold your breath for 2 seconds - exhale also for 4 seconds and again a 2 second pause before inhaling.

After several workouts, you can increase the interval (inhale/exhale for 8 seconds, pause for 4 seconds).

1. It is important to breathe with the help of your stomach; your hands should rise on your stomach while inhaling, and lower with it while exhaling.
2. You should focus only on breathing and drive away any thoughts. The exercise is done for no longer than five minutes, daily.

This exercise will help you master diaphragmatic breathing, relax and calm the nervous system. But do not overdo it, so as not to cause hyperventilation.

Physical exercise

Running, aerobics, and even the most common morning exercises can also help in the fight against panic attacks and phobias. Physical exercise, in this case, helps release endorphins and reduce the level of cortisol (which is a stress hormone) in the blood. However, the pace of aerobic exercise should be carefully controlled so that breathing does not accelerate too much and does not lead to hyperventilation. Otherwise, the acceleration of heart rate and increase in blood pressure that occurs after physical exercise can create the impression that a person is having a panic attack.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapeutic treatment plays a supporting role in the process of drug treatment and continues for some time after drug withdrawal, greatly facilitating this process.

Most often, psychotherapy is behavioral, less often - cognitive. It helps reduce anxiety and eliminate the fear of expecting an attack. Also, in the process of psychotherapy, the intensity of neurotic symptoms decreases and self-esteem increases.