If you suffer from...
*
Palpitations
*
a pounding heart, or an accelerated heart rate
*
Sweating
*
Trembling or shaking
*
Shortness of breath
*
A choking sensation
*
Chest pain or discomfort
*
Nausea or stomach cramps
*
Derealization (a feeling of unreality)
*
Fear of losing control or going crazy
*
Fear of dying Numbness or a tingling sensation
*
Chills or hot flashes
(Source: American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition,
Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) 2000 Washington,
DC.)
...then you've experienced
firsthand some of the possible symptoms of a panic or
anxiety attack. If you are reading this page because a
loved one suffers from these symptoms and you are trying to
understand or help, it's hard to appreciate what they go
through.
Just try to imagine what it
feels like to experience one, if you can.
Here is a typical
example:
Standing in a supermarket
queue, it’s been a long wait but only one customer to go
before you make it to the cashier. Wait, what was that
sensation? An unpleasant feeling forms in your throat, your
chest feels tighter, now a sudden shortness of breath, and
what do you know—your heart skips a beat. “Please, God, not
here.”
A
quick scan of the territory—is it threatening? Four
unfriendly faces queue behind, one person in front. Pins
and needles seem to prick you through your left arm, you
feel slightly dizzy, and then the explosion of fear as you
dread the worst. You are about to have a panic
attack.
There is no doubt in your
mind now that this is going to be a big one. Okay, focus:
Remember what you have been taught, and it is time now to
apply the coping techniques. Begin the deep breathing
exercise your doctor recommended. In through the nose, out
through the mouth.
Think relaxing thoughts, and
again, while breathing in, think “Relax,” and then breathe
out. But it doesn’t seem to be having any positive effect;
in fact, just concentrating on breathing is making you feel
self-conscious and more uptight.
Okay, coping technique
2:
Gradual muscle relaxation.
Tense both shoulders, hold for 10 seconds, then release.
Try it again. No; still no difference. The anxiety is
getting worse and the very fact that you are out of coping
techniques worsens your panic. If only you were surrounded
by your family, or a close friend were beside you so you
could feel more confident in dealing with this
situation.
Now, the adrenaline is
really pumping through your system, your body is tingling
with uncomfortable sensations, and now the dreaded feeling
of losing complete control engulfs your emotions. No one
around you has any idea of the sheer terror you are
experiencing. For them, it’s just a regular day and another
frustratingly slow queue in the supermarket.
You are out of options. Time
for Plan C.
The most basic coping skill
of all is “fleeing.” Excuse yourself from the queue; you
are slightly embarrassed as it is now that it is your turn
to pay. The cashier is looking bewildered as you leave your
shopping behind and stroll towards the door. There is no
time for excuses—you need to be alone. You leave the
supermarket and get into your car to ride it out alone.
Could this be the big one? The one you fear will push you
over the edge mentally and physically. Ten minutes later
the panic subsides.
It’s 10:30 a.m. How are you
going to make it through the rest of the day?
If you suffer from panic or
anxiety attacks, the above scenerio probably sounds very
familiar. It may have even induced feelings of anxiety and
panic just reading it. The particular situations that
trigger your panic and anxiety may differ; maybe the bodily
sensations are a little different. Or maybe it happened to
you for the first time on a plane, in the dentist chair, or
even at home, while doing nothing in particular.
If you have ever had what
has become known as a “panic attack,” take comfort in the
fact that you are by no means alone.
A
panic attack always comes with the acute sense of impending
doom. You feel you are either about to lose your mind or
one of your vital bodily functions is about to cease
functioning and you will end your days right there among
the canned goods and frozen food.
You are by no means alone;
you’re not even one in a million. In America, it is
estimated that almost 5% of the population suffer from some
form of anxiety disorder. For some, it may be the
infrequent panic attacks that only crop up in particular
situations-like when having to speak in front of others,
while, for other people, it can be so frequent and
recurring that it inhibits them from leaving their home.
Frequent panic attacks often develop into what medical
physicians refer to as an “anxiety disorder.”
One of the first steps to
regaining control of your life is getting helpful
information. This site will give you that, and
more.
The beginning of your
recovery starts here. What you will learn is that there is
a very good chance you are about to end the cycle of panic
attacks in your life. You will learn not only to regain the
carefree life you remember once having, but will also gain
new confidence in living. Your answer to living free from
“panic” or “anxiety attacks” is at hand.
This site demonstrates that
the panic and anxiety that you have experienced will be the
very key to your courage and success.
Begin the road to recovery
by browsing through the site. While many of you may have
read almost everything you can possibly read relating to
panic and anxiety I assure you this site offers something
very effective.
Did you know...?
The key difference between
someone who is cured of panic attacks and those who are not
is really very simple. The people who are cured no longer
fear panic attacks. I’ll try to show you how to be one of
these people as well.
What if I told you the trick
to ending panic and anxiety attacks is to want to have one.
That sounds strange, even contradictory, but let me
explain.
The trick to panic attacks
is wanting to have one-the wanting pushes it away. Can you
have a panic attack in this very second? No!
You know the saying that
"what you resist, persists." Well that saying applies
perfectly to fear. If you resist a situation out of fear,
the fear around that issue will persist. How do you stop
resisting–you move directly into it, into the path of the
anxiety, and by doing so it cannot persist.
In essence what this means
is that if you daily voluntarily seek to have a panic
attack, you cannot have one. Try in this very moment to
have a panic attack and I will guarantee you cannot. You
may not realize it but you have always decided to panic.
You make the choice by saying this is beyond my
control.
Another way to appreciate
this is to imagine having a panic attack as like standing
on a cliff's edge. The anxiety seemingly pushes you closer
to falling over the edge.
To be rid of the fear you
must metaphorically jump. You must jump off the cliff edge
and into the anxiety and fear and all the things that you
fear most.
How do you jump? You jump by
wanting to have a panic attack. You go about your day
asking for anxiety and panic attacks to appear.
Your real safety is the fact
that a panic attack will never harm you. That is medical
fact. You are safe, the sensations are wild but no harm
will come to you. Your heart is racing but no harm will
come to you. The jump becomes nothing more than a two foot
drop! Perfectly safe.
Learn more