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Anxiety and Panic Attacks
Anxiety is a natural biological response which is triggered in situations of danger. It’s purpose is to prepare us for fight or flight when we are feeling threatened or afraid. Anyone can experience anxiety and many life circumstances can trigger it. Situations that commonly cause anxiety include relationship problems, health problems, money worries and work issues.
Panic attacks occur when your body physically makes you feel that you are in real danger.
Panic attacks often start off with an initial panic attack that is very severe, and sometimes people do not realise they are having a panic attack. They then become very anxious, and worry about the next one happening. The symptoms can be both physical and emotional, and for sufferers, they are incredibly distressing and debilitating. Perceived present and future ‘danger’ feels extremely real to them.
Panic cycles and stages can be experienced and seen in a broad range of ways. They can start very unexpectedly and in different situations. Some people may wake up with a panic attack, others can experience it while driving a car, or while shopping in crowded spaces. So in this respect, every individual can be quite different. But there are some common elements to panic attacks that people tend to experience.
People who have experienced panic attacks have often experienced a lot of anxiety in their life. They might not even feel anxious right in the moment before a panic attack, but the key is the culmination of chronic anxiety over a lifetime. Others, of course, might feel anxious just before a panic attack happens.
If you’re having a panic attack, you might:
- be afraid that you’re going to die
- have trouble breathing or feel as if you’re choking
- have numb or tingling sensations in parts of your body
- have chest pain
- feel lightheaded, dizzy, or as if you might pass out
- feel overheated or have chills
Anxiety leads to physical changes in the body. This is the body’s reaction to extensive anxiety. Common physical symptoms of anxiety include:
- stomach pain, nausea, or digestive trouble
- headache
- insomnia or other sleep issues (waking up frequently, for example)
- weakness or fatigue
- rapid breathing or shortness of breath
- pounding heart or increased heart rate
- sweating
- trembling or shaking
- muscle tension or pain
Why do people have panic attacks?
People who experience physical symptoms initially – such as heart palpitations, sweating, dizziness etc, then think that something really bad will happen to them. The symptoms are the body’s way of preparing for ‘fight or flight’. As a result of those thoughts, their body reacts with more dizziness and heart palpitations.
Eventually, they become even more worried about the panic attacks and they try to stop the situations that trigger them by avoiding them, or by trying to relax. A vicious cycle is the typical result.
When people learn to let the symptoms pass by themselves they start to see that those symptoms do not last for too long, and tend to drift off by themselves. Unfortunately, in the moment, the symptoms feel so real and threatening that sufferers find it difficult to ‘let them pass’.
It has been well established that there is a big link between the person’s thoughts and these symptoms. In fact, negative thoughts feed into the cycle of panic attacks, and the misinterpretation of symptoms leads to panic attacks. People experience panic attacks when they are anxious about something, and/ or something stressful has been happening recently in their life.
Concentrating, and noting what is going through your mind just before having a panic attack is an important step to managing and improving the situation. What are the thoughts you are experiencing when feeling anxious?
The good news is that panic attacks are very treatable. With the correct therapy, sufferers can overcome them. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) has been found to work best. It is based on the concept that “the way we think determines the way we feel and behave”.
Inducing panic attack symptoms can help people overcome them, as it gets easier and easier over time. It may seem scary, but practicing panic attack-like symptoms in a safe environment will help those who suffer panic disorders learn that those symptoms will pass, and do not last forever.
Another very helpful technique to overcome panic attacks is to concentrate your senses on the outside environment with as much detail as possible. Again, concentrating our own senses on something other than the inner part of us, changes our thoughts, and our thoughts determine our feelings. It is a bit like breaking a circuit, and re-routing it into more neutral thoughts which do not provoke the body to launch into ‘fight or flight’ mode.
It is true that anxiety and panic attacks can cause a great deal of suffering and misery for sufferers. But it is also true that both can be treated very successfully with the help of an experienced professional.
If you would like to learn more and practice overcoming panic attacks do not hesitate to give me a call on (07) 2113 4400 for a free, no obligation 15 minute consultation.
PS At Psychology Cove we offer our clients tailored individual therapy sessions as well as Health Retreats. The Health Retreats offer you a tranquil, relaxing environment and the opportunity to practise self care and self management techniques and engage in individual therapy.
CBT; What it is and how it works:
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy; what it is and how it helps you reduce and manage symptoms of Anxiety and Depression
Cognitive behavioral therapy (also referred to as CBT), is an effective form of psychological treatment that has proven to be effective for a broad range of issues including Depression, Anxiety disorders, alcohol and drug abuse issues, relationship problems, eating disorders, and other severe mental illnesses. Research suggests that CBT contributes to significant improvements in individual functioning and as a consequence, quality of life. Numerous studies definitively show that CBT has been proven to be as effective as, or even more effective than, other commonly used forms of psychological therapy or psychiatric pharmaceutical medications. Advances in CBT have been made on the basis of both international research and clinical practice. There is substantial scientific evidence that the methods employed by CBT actually produce positive change. For this reason, CBT differs from many other forms of psychological treatment. CBT is based on several core principles, including:- Psychological problems are based, in part, on flawed or unhelpful ways of thinking.
- Psychological problems are based, in part, on learned patterns of unhelpful behavior.
- People suffering from psychological problems can learn better ways of coping with them. This can result in both relief from their symptoms, but strategies with which to lead happier and more effective lives.