How do you deal with panic attacks?

[Mindprison]

Hi everyone

Recently i've been having panic attacks and onset of panic attacks almost daily. It always hits me at around evening time and i'm not sure how to deal with them anymore. I try the usual things that people suggest, breathing exercises and distraction but they always seem to affect me so badly that I can't take my mind off it. Right now i'm sitting with the numbness starting to creep into my chest, hands and nose. The self checking has started. I know it's panic and it can't hurt me, but it doesn't make it any less scary or unpleasant.

I think what i've been fearing the most is the panic attacks themselves since it causes my chest to shake and I panic at the sensations.

I'm due to see my doctor tomorrow about the panic attacks but i'm at a bit of a loss on what I should do next, I take mirtazapine but it's not been helping and i've heard the CBT wait time is quite long in my area at the moment.

I'd appreciate any replies to help me through this rough time :(

[Panicer]

Hi Mindprison

I feel your pain. They're horrible things I know, that I too experience unfortunately. I'd suggest CBT alongside meds is the best option, so I'd ask your doc if they can put you on a waiting list etc. I've had quite a lot of CBT recently so am happy to share some of stuff I've picked up if it helps?

You've already cracked the important one it's anxiety and can't harm you, although it does hurt like a ^%^* at times. :shrug:

First dealing with an attack. It's pointless my therapists have told me trying to think happy/calming CBT thoughts during an attack because Err hello I don't know if you've noticed or not but I'm having a bleeding panic attack at the moment :doh: So the first thing is sorting that panic attack nonsense out. Breathing as you know is key to avoiding anxiety spiraling into a panic attack, yet so many people don't get shown how to do it properly. If this doesn't apply to you please ignore the next bit but I found it really useful when I was shown how to do it properly by a therapist ...

Ensure when you're breathing in it's from your stomach rather than the top of your chest. This is really important. If you're not sure how then just hold your hand on the bottom of your stomach so you can check it's inflating, then..

In through your nose for a count of 4, hold the breath for a count of 5 then breathe out through your nose for a count of 6, then repeat. Doing this for only a minute or so will sort out your oxygen levels and start to ease you're anxiety. After you've done this for a few mins then you should be in a better place but as you know your body will have dumped a load of Adrenalin in your system because of the body's fight or flight response. We've unfortunately done neither because Err hello again we've been sitting down breathing, please see above :doh:, so there's loads of unused Adrenalin in our body to deal with. Adrenalin makes us strong and fast but if unused makes us jittery and uptight. So stand up, jump around a bit if you can, shake your arms, legs, ideally if you can go for a walk, jog etc. Not only is this good for our general physical health but it will also burn off the nasty Adrenalin and get us back to normal state quickly.

Now we've sorted that out, prevention is always better than cure they always say so it's CBT for anxiety next. Basically there's no secret wand with this as far as I can see, most of the CBT works on modifying thought processes and trying to stop negative thinking. You can do all these things on your own and there's a wealth of books available but the two things I've found that work are 1. Accept you've got anxiety, yes it's horrible, rubbish etc but try not to be scared of it. Even when you don't believe this at first, just keep regularly telling yourself you accept it. The second thing is whatever CBT you use, regular practice helps. Once a week for an hour isn't going to cut the mustard but five time a day for a few mins will show much, much better results. One to try is writing down how your typical thought process goes that leads to anxiety/panic attack. i.e. What's that funny feeling in my chest?, oh there it is again that's not right?, I'll just monitor it, oh it's getting bigger, stronger, more noticeable, it's probably something serious?, I know I've got anxiety but this is new, different, stronger, (insert irrational thoughts here) oh god what if???? and off we go on our merry anxiety hamster wheel, destination Panic Attack Central. By writing it all down we start to see how unlikely that heart attack result is, we've been here loads of times and we've never had a heart attack, all the evidence points to it being anxiety. Then we can write down an alternate story line. i.e what's that feeling in my chest, oh that's what anxiety has thrown at me today then, oh well I'm probably going to be anxious, that sucks, all the evidence, previous experience tells me this, right what's on telly? You can of course make this much bigger and more complicated but try it, write both stories down, note all your evidence, then look at them next time your anxiety starts to rise and it will help. Keep doing it and it starts to stick after a while, honest! That's only a quick intro but hopefully it'll help a little and if you want any more tips feel free to ask. :)

[Mindprison]

Hi Panicer

Appreciate the speedy reply! Feeling much better after breathing as you described so thank you very much for that.

I'm getting a little better at dealing with them I think, what would have been a crippling attack is now discomfort for 20 minutes or so.

Think i'll need to have a long talk with my doctor about where to go from here, I think 8 years is long enough and medication on its own doesn't seem to be cutting it :D

Thanks again for the help! Considering keeping a diary, either personal or public, to keep reminding myself that I AM making progress.

[Panicer]

Hi again Mindprison.

You're more than welcome. Both your ideas sound really positive! 8 years is long enough for anyone to be thoroughly fed up with it all so I think having a word with the doc is a great idea. The diary idea is also a winner for me. I have a public one click here (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=195214) if you're interested and a private one. The private one is a bit more detailed and I try to record both the good and bad. The idea being the good ones keep me motivated, the bad show me any trends. I just email myself each day with what's happened, so I always have a copy with me on my phone. I tidy it up every so often, then print out a slimmed down version so I can give a copy to my GP, psychiatrist, therapist or whomever. The average GP consultation at my surgery is only 10 mins and I always forget stuff. This way I don't forget and the health professional can see trends etc. Good luck

[Josh1234]

Get the book Hope and Help for Your Nerves by Dr. Claire Weekes. Changed my life and I used to have cripplong panic attacks.

[nomorepanic]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your issue.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.