Whilst at the No Panic conference on Friday & Saturday I took some notes so thought I would pass some info on to you.
I attended a workshop on Panic Disorder run by Kevin Gournay so there are some notes about that as well.
Some of it is a bit dis-jointed as it is just one-liners but I hope some of it helps.
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When someone is having a panic attack it helps to ask the person what they fear the most. What is the worst that can happen to them? Most will say that they are going to faint, go mad, have a heart attack etc. Then you need to address these fears and what they really mean.
For example, if you think you will faint then you may think that it will be embarrassing and people may not even help you and you will be left there on your own. The reality is that it is very very rare to faint when panicking because the mechanisms of what is happening to your breathing. Secondly, if you did faint people wouldn't just run off and leave you! If you were alone and fainted the body would adjust its breathing accordingly and then you would come round on your own.
Another example is the classic "I will have a heart attack". Kevin said that he has never ever know anyone in over 30 years of dealing with Panic attacks to have a heart attack whilst having one. Also the heart tends to be stronger in Panic Attack sufferers because it has to work harder to control the various functions of the body so it actually makes it stronger!
A lot of people get numbness in the side of the hand or in their fingers. This can be easily explained. The nerve endings are on alert because of increased acidity in the body so the hands etc feel numb. Most people think that they are having a stroke or have MS because of this but it is very unlikely and the numbness should go fairly quickly once the panic is under control. Incidentally, MS can only be diagnosed effectively with a scan.
If you get blurred vision then it is because the pupils dilate ready to enhance the vision for the "flight" response. This is caused by an Adrenalin rush and is perfectly normal.
Some people say that as soon as they took their medication or tranquliser they felt better. This is not possible as it takes time for the tablet to be absorbed into the body. This is more likely to be the sufferer believing that the medication has stopped them panicking so they calmed down. The truth is the sufferer stopped themselves because they think that the drug will soon help.
It is essential to keep a diary - write down situations, thoughts (how bad they were) then what beliefs you feel about those thoughts. Also write about what you did to help yourself or how long you panic'd for etc. When you don't think you are making any progress you can look back at this record and see what has changed and what progress you have made.
Breathing correctly is important but not necessarily deep breathing. It is the speed that is more important than how deeply you do it. Before you start any breathing exercises exhale as far as you can first to empty the lungs then start with the in-breathe.
Relaxation does not come easy to some people. It makes some people more tense! This may be due to the fact that you are opening your mind to thoughts to enter and then you start thinking about your illness and that makes you more tense.
Kevin says that the best relaxation is the Jacobson technique (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/har/pmr.htm). It does take time to learn how to do it correctly but you should keep practising.
When panicky try to tense and relax just one part of the body (e.g. feet, hands) as this will help release some tension.
Before taking medication try the following:
Read books on the subject
Try CBT
Keep a diary
Learn Relaxation
Learn correct breathing
When trying to do something that will make you panicky - e.g. leaving the house for the first time in years then do it slowly and don't be hard on yourself. Listen to your body. One day you will be able to do it and th
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