Treatment of panic attacks using Eastern medicine methods
Treatment using traditional Tibetan medicine has a number of features that, at first glance, are incomprehensible to people with a European mindset. The disease is based on a certain (sometimes seemingly insignificant) change in the constitution of the human body. And this (even subtle!) change “feeds” the disease 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Eg:
An imbalance of “Mucus” in the body can cause a variety of disorders (obesity, cysts in the thyroid gland, ovarian cysts, joint pathology, excessive mucus discharge from the lungs, a lot of endocrine syndromes, weakness, apathy, increased blood pressure, eczematous rashes, etc.), then There is a huge list of common “Western” diseases.
The imbalance of “Wind” manifests itself in similarly varied ways. A violation of this constitution leads to pathology of the nervous, digestive, genitourinary, musculoskeletal and other systems of the body. Manifested by such complaints as: sleep disturbance, fears, pain along the nerve trunks, belching, flatulence, constipation, pain in the lower abdomen, decreased erection, infertility, joint pain, cold extremities, numbness of a part of the leg or arm, etc.
A disturbance in the “Bile” system leads to pathology of the digestive tract, tendon system (ligaments, aponeuroses), muscle hypertonicity, irritability, high blood pressure, hyperthermia, joint pathology, etc.
Correction methods:
Treatment of imbalance of “Mucus” as a “cold constitution of the body” comes down to various methods of tonifying “Yang-heat” in the body. This is a combination of various methods of heating (moxibustion therapy, hot stones, rubbing, acupuncture, etc.), drainage techniques (massage, vacuum lymphatic drainage, honey procedures, manual techniques and even hirudotherapy), herbal medicine (“warm” and “hot” herbal infusions of traditional Tibetan herbal medicine ).
To correct violations of the “Wind”, oily-warming-tonic procedures are used, since the essence of the “Wind” is cold, weakened, “thin and light”.
To correct “hot and aggressive” disorders of “Bile”, methods of dispersing “Heat” are used: acupuncture, drainage massage techniques, hirudotherapy, herbal medicine, etc.
A diverse combination of these disorders (“Mucus” - “Wind”, “Bile” - “Wind”, etc.) makes up many variants of the classic “Western” diagnoses, with which people are usually treated in clinics and hospitals.
By changing the method of applying the above treatment methods, the doctor can level out the disorder, eliminate the imbalance that has arisen, which leads to recovery of the body or remission and elimination of pathological symptoms.
Diet therapy.
This is a recommendation for a certain type of nutrition suitable for a person of a particular constitution. Certain products have the property of harmonizing the essence of “Mucus”, “Bile”, “Wind”, that is, those constitutions of “a kind of individual predisposing factors” that got out of control as a result of illness, or the disease was the result of their disharmony.
Prescribing a special diet is necessary to eliminate “Heat” or “Cold”, “Stagnation” or excessive anxiety by selecting products with the necessary properties. Especially the products will be selected according to their “Taste” and “Taste after digestion”.
Paraphrasing everything written above, we can summarize that the selection of a certain type of nutrition helps to eliminate constitutional factors predisposing to illness.
Don't panic
To cope with panic attacks, there are a number of practices and exercises developed by professionals. There are even special applications available on Android and iOC - they contain all the necessary instructions to cope with an attack.
Breath. First of all, you need to take control of your breathing. There are several ways to do this:
1. Close your eyes and concentrate on breathing. Inhale slowly and deeply through the nose, exhale through the mouth; 2. Inhale and exhale for five counts. Inhale - count to five - exhale.
The method is not so important - the effect is much more important. Concentrating on the breathing process allows you to calm down.
Water. Psychologists recommend drinking water during an attack in small, frequent sips - this process has exactly the same effect as concentrating on breathing. You've probably noticed: to calm a crying person, they give him a glass of water.
Guided imagination. This is the most popular psychological practice for overcoming panic; it is used, for example, for attacks of claustrophobia. It’s called “a good place” and involves imagining the most pleasant, relaxing and positive environment possible: a family dinner, your favorite room, the sea beach from last year’s vacation. You need to imagine this event and place in every detail, try to reproduce the sensations and emotions that it evoked. Maximum immersion in this fantasy will allow you to distract yourself, calm down and forget a little. True, this is a rather complex practice that is not always possible to implement - for example, it can be difficult in a public place.
Sensory impressions. This is one of the so-called “stabilizing” practices. Pleasant tactile sensations, sounds and smells help to return to normal after the acute phase of PA. Favorite music, soft blanket, warm, fragrant chamomile tea. And even better - a hug from a loved one. By surrounding yourself with comfort and creating the most relaxing atmosphere, a person can easily cope with the consequences of a panic attack.
Acupuncture for panic attacks
The acupuncture method allows working on the heart “C” channel, spleen-pancreas “RP”, pericardium “MC”, kidney “R”, liver “F”, stomach “E”, ren-mai “VC”, du-mai “VG” and others, normalize the activities of the relevant bodies.
Harmonization of the channel energy current has a positive effect not only on the diseased organ, but also on the part of the body reflexively associated with the surface course of the channel. Thus, the method of acupuncture can influence the projection of the anatomical course of the meridian (the line that unites acupuncture points).
On each meridian, on each part of the body, there are points of various functions, namely: “Si” - analgesic, energy entry and exit, “Lo” - gateway, “Shu” - sympathetic, “Mu” - signal, action points on the energy of “Yang” and the energy of “Yin”, the points of “Heat”, “Cold”, “Wind”, “Humidity”, “Dryness” (translations of terms into Russian are indicated).
The acupuncture system is a kind of “keyboard” of the body. Simply put, it is a tool for “tuning” the human body.
How to win
Almost everyone has experienced a panic attack at least once in their life, but if they recur, even if it is not associated with stress or overwork, then you need to consult a psychotherapist, since in this case a panic attack is a neurotic disorder.
Of course, psychotherapy will help here, because any disorder is the result of prolonged emotional stress associated with experienced or unresolved personal problems. It sounds boring, but having survived an attack once, you will do anything to get rid of it once and for all.
Massage and manual therapy for panic attacks
Firstly, this is the best diagnostic method. A way to find out where and what a person has pain, tension or spasms, limited movement.
Secondly, it is a universal way to eliminate violations found by any other diagnostic methods.
Elimination of venous hypertension by relaxing the muscles located along the vessel. Elimination of increased intra-abdominal pressure due to general elevation of organs with lordosis of the spinal segment (this is especially useful for the pelvic organs, since they are located at the very bottom). The ability to influence the sympathetic tone of a certain segment of the body through manipulations in the projection of sympathetic zones. Stretching of tissues, ligaments of fascia, aponeuroses gives freedom to the organs and muscles enclosed in them, which has a very beneficial effect on their functioning and eliminates that hidden link in the pathogenesis of the disease, which is often so difficult to establish.
Acupressure (acupressure, shiatsu) is a way to influence the acupuncture system without the use of needles, moxa, etc.
Relieving myofascial tension improves blood supply to the corresponding segments of the body, has a positive effect on the frequency and depth of breathing, increases the strength of muscle chains - that is, it enhances all “vital”, “vital” functions of the body. This is a classic example of a combination of treating a specific segment of the body and improving the health of the body as a whole!
What you need to understand about PA
When I began to practice my method of stopping PA, which, by the way, happened to me in a variety of situations: on the street, in a store, lying in bed, visiting, etc., then I already had an awareness of what was happening. By this time, I well understood that attacks occur solely from thoughts. Also, by this period, I had already read several useful books on psychology and managed to understand a lot.
Many people will now disagree with me and want to claim that PAs happen suddenly and thoughts have nothing to do with it. Who would want to deliberately cause such a disgusting state on their own?
But I am convinced of something else. We cause panic attacks on our own, with our “mental stirrer”. The problem is that most thoughts, especially in a state of neurosis, rush through our heads at the speed of light, so that we don’t even have time to be aware of them. But any PA is always triggered by a thought.
It happens something like this: I’m walking calmly down the street, good weather, sunshine, birds. Suddenly I catch myself that my heart is beating quickly (which is actually normal when walking at an accelerated pace). I begin to listen to my pulse, which makes it quicken even more. This worries me, I begin to listen to other sensations in the body, and now it seems to me that I am too hot, there is not enough air, it’s hard to breathe…. Well, and then you know, PA in all its glory.
If you are not aware of this whole process, it will seem as if PA began on its own. But this is by no means true. The trigger thought was: “my heart seems to be beating fast.”
I repeat that when I started using one outrageously simple technique, I was already clearly aware that everything comes from my head, or rather from what I think. But by that time I still didn’t know how to quickly stop thoughts. I decided to first learn how to switch them.
If you are not aware of the trigger mechanism of PA, do not believe that everything happens solely from your own thoughts, and are confident in processes beyond your control, or that attacks have a physiological root, then the method may not be useful for you.
Hirudotherapy for panic attacks
The effects of using medicinal leeches can be divided into the following groups:
1. Effects realized due to enzymes. The leech injects more than 140 (and according to some sources, more than 200) groups of compounds into the blood, each of which affects the body in a certain way. For example, the most famous:
A. Hirudin and its fractions - affects the blood coagulation system, which leads to a significant change in its rheological properties. The blood becomes like a cleansing solution. Imagine that viscous jelly (blood) flows through pipes (vessels), and under the action of enzymes this jelly turns into water, which cleans this pipe of jelly. Something like this, in very simple words, can describe the change in the rheological properties of blood under the influence of the enzyme of a medicinal leech.
b. Hyaluronidase is a penetration factor that softens the connective tissue stroma.
V. Anestezin is an analgesic substance.
d. There are even small doses of neurotrophic factor - the very name of which speaks of its benefits for nerve cells, fibers and endings.
d. And many others.
2. Reflexotherapeutic effect. There is such a direction of medicine as hirudoreflexotherapy - a method of treatment with leeches through the acupuncture system of the human body. In this way, you can combine the effect of acupuncture with the effects of medicinal leech enzymes.
3. Immunomodeling effect. Since the leech introduces a large number of high-molecular compounds into the human body and most of them are of a protein nature, this tones up the nonspecific immune response. And a tense and strong immune system has never bothered anyone.
4. Antipsychotic effect. Placing leeches noticeably calms and relaxes a person. Makes his nervous system more resistant to environmental stressors.
5. Draining effect. The placement of leeches, due to increased blood supply, action on the vascular wall and changes in rheology, increases lymph flow from the interested segment of the body, which naturally has a positive effect on the trophism of soft tissues.
6. Anti-inflammatory effect. A number of substances in the secretion of the medicinal leech have an anti-inflammatory effect, while they do not inhibit cyclooxogenases I and II, that is, they do not have the side effects of traditional anti-inflammatory drugs.
Nothing to be afraid of?
Can a panic attack actually harm your health? Let's figure it out.
Heart. Despite all the sensations that a person experiences during a panic attack, nothing threatens his heart. Of course, if there are no congenital pathologies, previous heart attacks and if he is not 70 years old. Our main muscle is designed for enormous loads - and even very intense PA is not able to harm a healthy, young heart. It won't stop.
Breath. It’s also not possible to suffocate during PA, because our breathing is one of the few processes that can be controlled both consciously and unconsciously. The respiratory center is located in the medulla oblongata - it will make sure that you never forget to breathe, and at the right moment it will make it possible to regulate the depth and frequency of breathing at will. This is precisely the key to saving yourself from a panic attack, but more on that later.
Pain. Pain during panic attacks is psychosomatic in nature and has not been fully studied by doctors - there are actually no organic changes in the body that would provoke them. This is often confirmed in follow-up examinations of people suffering from panic attacks.
Madness. Mental disorders are usually divided into psychotic and non-psychotic. The integrity of the mind is damaged in psychotic spectrum disorders - when the nervous system undergoes degenerative changes, and the person remains disabled for life. So, a panic attack cannot lead to such disorders: neither schizophrenia, nor other similar diseases. However, it is also impossible to say that panic attacks occur without harm to mental health. Against the background of PA, non-psychotic disorders can develop: for example, agoraphobia or fear of open spaces; a person deliberately avoids the places where he experienced a panic attack. The development of depression and anhedonia, anxiety disorder, insomnia and prolonged depersonalization syndrome - derealization are also characteristic. All these diseases can be treated with medication and therapy, and the person can return to a normal, fulfilling life.
Often, panic attacks can be controlled, and their consequences for the body will not be catastrophic. However, if they appear, then the root cause needs to be found out by contacting the appropriate specialist. Do not forget that side by side with PA there can be completely other disorders or diseases that are not related to the psyche - and all of them require therapy and medication. So the first thing you need to do is visit a doctor and rule out more dangerous diseases.
Traditional Tibetan herbal medicine for panic attacks
Traditional Tibetan or Chinese herbal medicine is based on the use of medicinal raw materials of one nature or another, combined into mixtures for the treatment of a wide variety of syndromes (diseases).
Let's look at this using the example of collecting Bhi.ma.la (Bimala).
Ingredients: Dza.ti (Myristica fragrans Hort, nutmeg), amra (Terminalia chebula Retz, yellow myrobalan - fruit), spos.dkar (Shorea robusta Gaertn, Vatica sp., Sal tree, vatica - resin), a.gar ( a.gar.nag.po. a.ga.ru, ar.nag, Aquillaria agallocha Roxb., Eagle wood, Aloewood, gi.wang (ghi.wang, gi.vang, Bubalis bubalis , bezoar), shing.kun (Ferula asafetida, Devil's dung, devil's dung), li.shi (Syzigium aromaticum, Eugenia caryophyllata, clove, clove tree), cu.gang (Bambusa Textilis, weaver's bamboo), gur.gum (kha .che.gur.gum, Crocus sativus, Carthamus tinctorius, saffron - stigma), sug.smel (Elettaria cardamonium, cardamom - fruit), ka.ko.la (Amomum subulatum, large cardamom), go.snyod (Carun Carvi Linn , Fennel, sweet dill), tsan.dan.dkar.po (tsan.dkar, Santalum album Linn, White Sandalwood), ba.ru.ra (Terminalia bellerica Roxb. myrobalan belerica - fruit), skyu.ru. ra (Embilica officinalis Gaerth., Phyllanthus emblica, embilica officinalis - fruit), snying.zho.sha (Choerospoldia axillaris, Hog Plum, hog plum), seng.ldeng (seng.ldeng.khan.ta, Acacia Catechu, acacia catechu) , sgog.skva (Allium sativum, Garlic, garlic), li.ga.dur (Geranium pratense, geranium).
Nature: warm.
Indications, dose, method: wind (rLung) of the heart, the symptoms of which are: discomfort in the cardiac region, lack of concentration and forgetfulness, pain in the chest and upper back of the body, despair, fatigue, nervousness, shortness of breath with anger and hatred, cerebral ischemia. 2-3 g twice daily either in the morning or at night with hot water.
Vicious circle
During an attack, a failure occurs in two systems at once: nervous and vascular. And if we can recognize and accept fear and anxiety (even sudden ones), it is not so easy to recognize and understand a heart failure. One of the most common types of autonomic dysfunction during panic attacks is a type of cardiovascular crisis, when there is discomfort in the heart area or obvious palpitations with a feeling of “interruptions”, a feeling of rising blood pressure or even a real rise in it.
Simply put, your heart loses its rhythm, tries to jump out of your chest and everything is so pressing, as if you are flying from the 115th floor. There is a lump in your throat that prevents you from breathing, you are suffocating and then a secondary fear arises - what if your heart suddenly stops completely. And from this a new wave of panic appears. Vicious circle.
Vacuum therapy for panic attacks
Methods of active vacuum therapy (cupping massage) can further enhance the drainage of soft tissues, cause local vasodilation, and have a positive effect on the condition of skin pores and sebum secretion.
Carrying out vacuum procedures in the projection of any part of the spine helps to reduce local fat deposits, which has a positive effect on the range of motion of the corresponding segment, which, in turn, improves metabolic processes and reduces local congestion.
Methods of passive vacuum therapy, in addition to all of the above, allow the painless formation of scattered subcutaneous hematomas, which effectively replaces the immunomodulating effect of the good old autohemotransfusion.
Su-Jok for panic attacks
Su-Jok therapy, using the principle of “similarity”, allows you to influence a diseased organ, part of the body, meridian, point and even chakra! This is a kind of subtype of reflexology, which often allows for therapeutic effects without interrupting the patient from solving their own daily tasks.
We strongly recommend that you try to use some of the principles of Su-Jok therapy on your own (of course, it is better after consulting a specialist). Currently, a huge amount of literature on the Su-Jok system for “non-medics” has been published, where recommendations for the treatment of a number of pathological conditions are given in a simple and accessible form. Recommended source: books published by the Su-Jok Academy of Moscow (Twist for everyone, Thumb - head, Smile Yoga, etc.).
