Help with panic attacks

If you’ve experienced a panic attack, you will know that it feels very frightening. Many people having a panic attack feel they need to call an ambulance because the symptoms they are experiencing are so severe. So first, let me reassure you that panic attacks in themselves are not actually dangerous and do not cause harm. The symptoms that you might experience can include a racing heartbeat, chest pain, nausea, sweating, shortness of breath, dizziness, shaking, racing and uncontrollable thoughts, tingling sensations, numbness and more. Hardly surprising then that people regularly fear they are going to die during a panic attack.

Strangely, a panic attack is actually an extreme form of the fear response which one of our body’s natural mechanisms for protecting us or ensuring our survival. This seems counterintuitive; how can something that feels so frightening to us be something that can actually protect us? The answer lies in the fact that a panic attack is an extreme level of anxiety; it’s a fear response that our primitive brain (Limbic system) initiates when it senses a threat, danger or crisis. That feeling of anxiety is our brain and body preparing us to take action, be that to fight or run away from a threat. The increased heart rate and faster breathing is getting more oxygen into our blood which, in turn, provides our muscles with the oxygenated blood they need for us to run faster or fight with greater strength. The feeling of nausea is associated with the body shutting down processes that we don’t need when in fight or flight mode; we won’t be eating a snack while running away from a predator!

Whilst this response is both necessary and useful when we do need to run away from or fight a predator, for many of us, it’s mostly not that useful in our everyday lives. Indeed, too much anxiety or panic attacks prevents us from being able to enjoy our lives as much as we otherwise might.

Feeling anxious or having a panic attack is a response that when repeated, can become a learned response and as a consequence, they may begin to happen more often. Here, it’s important to know that any pattern of response that we have learnt can, in fact, be un-learnt. Our brains have a remarkable capacity for change (this is called Plasticity). We can use strategies to calm down anxiety and also to step back from a panic attack, both in the moment and in a more long-term way. Have a look at the Resources section of this website for some strategies that you can begin to use. They’re simple but really effective.

Talking therapies (and of course I’m going advocate for Hypnotherapy) can be very helpful in learning to calm down that anxiety or panic response and to achieve a more balanced and positive life in which that fight or flight response is either only going to happen when it is really needed or, if it does begin to happen at an inappropriate time, you know how to deal with it and calm it right down.

I will briefly mention a client I worked with last year. When they got in touch with me, they were unable to go to work, in fact they felt unable to leave their bedroom most of the time and they were experiencing panic attacks multiple times every day. When I asked them what their goals were, they said that they hoped they would be able to attend their best friend’s wedding in about 4 months’ time, but that they felt this was not very likely. As with any client, we worked step by step, achieving small targets each week and consequently, feeling better and braver about the next step. That client really embraced the process, practiced the strategies and whilst there were inevitably occasional set-backs, before too long she returned to work (again in manageable stages) and I’m please to say that she did attend her best friend’s wedding!

I think it’s worth saying that the ‘hypnosis’ component of each session gave her the peace and relaxation that she had not known for some time and, apart from the other positive impacts of hypnosis, achieving a state of relaxation and peace, even for a short while, is not to be underestimated.

If you are experiencing panic attacks and would like to find out more, please get in touch for a chat either on the phone, by email or text. I’ll be happy to explain more.