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Well Women guide to Panic Attacks, Stress and Anxiety
Panic attacks, Stess, Anxiety, the great destroyers. We all experience anxiety and stress. But what happens when it gets out of proportion? Stress and it's effects can destroy your life….Big Time! We all experience stress, women, men and children and generally it does not affect our health, however it can affect our health when it gets out of control and becomes a nervous illness or even a breakdown. Any women who have ever had a panic attack will know what I mean, and at the time that it is happening, you can often feel as though something serious is about to happen to you and become very frightened causing more anxiety. This is called The Cycle of Fear. However, rest assured, nothing WILL happen. I suffered with panic attacks for years. The least little thing would set them off. On one occasion I tried to leave the house to go shopping, met with a large bumble bee and immediately ran back into the house screaming. This set off a panic attack that caused me to be off work with severe stress symptoms for two weeks. I have nearly collapsed with a panic attack before, so believe me, I really understand the stress involved. It is hard to admit to a nervous illness and to the fact that you are having a "breakdown", but all this word actually means is that you have got to a point where you sympathetic nervous system reacts to small amounts of stress simply because it is over sensitised. This is largely due to being exposed to stress and anxiety over long periods of time, sometimes many years. Also, some people are naturally more anxious "types" than others.
The problem is it becomes a vicious circle of stress.
Stress – panic attack- more stress – panic attack It goes on and on and you begin to live in dread. My method of solving it was to read about it. Maybe because I believe that being armed with solutions and knowing why it happens and also that there are thousand out there the same, helped me, and I was able to reason with it and realise that I was not going to die after all. There is nothing remotely funny about panic attacks, and if allowed, they will rule supreme in your life. The main thing about them is to consciously decide that you are NOT going to let them rule. I would not go out because of them. I spent almost a year avoiding going to the shops or any situation that I felt I could not deal with, including collecting the children from school. My father collected them. He was being kind by doing this, but it was not doing me any favours. Knowing that I had a way out did not help as it stopped me confronting the situation. I was scared I was going to pass out. I sometimes vomited because I was so worried, and in such a state that my body reacted strangely which in turn made me more stressed. I also suffered from Globus Hystericus, a condition where swallowing is difficult and where you feel as though you are choking. You begin to dread the symptoms then panic when you feel them coming on and this starts the circle of fear off all over again. If you really want to be over them you need to address it urgently. Don’t let them spoil your life.
It’s our ability to cope with it that makes us strong. Believe me, those who have been through nervous illness are far from "weak", although this is what they think of themselves. Those of us that have been through the stress, panic attacks, illness, anxiety actually become the strongest of all. WE have been there and come out the other side. If you are reading this page because you personally suffer from them, I want you to do something for me. However, it depends what it is that triggers them. I can’t expect someone who is in a violent or abusive home to take my advice as their reasons would need a different approach. I had a friend whose husband regularly attacked her and this was the reason she suffered with panic attacks. She was able to put my advice to practice and it worked for her on some occasions, but not when they were triggered in anticipation of an attack from her husband as that is a different kind of fear as it is triggered by something that really is going to happen. Even when her husband ended up in prison for his assaults on her, she still had panic attacks. Her nerves had been so sensitized in anticipation of an attack, that they reacted to the least stimulus. Take Action The next time you feel that you may have a panic attack. Try and I mean try, to stop for a moment and think. The usual symptoms are washing over you. Remember that it is the symptoms that exaggerate the response to the panic attack and how our system starts to respond to these symptoms to start the cycle of fright or flight. When it starts, we instantly feel trapped.
1. We feel the start of the attack, sweating, fear, nausea, rapid heart, adrenaline circulating; feelings that we are going to pass out, cold sweat, clammy, rushing of blood, arms and legs start to feel like lead. A feeling of heaviness ensues. We can sometimes feel like we are going to have a heart attack and sometimes a strange buzzing in our ears that gets louder. 2. We need to sometimes recognise these symptoms subconsciously and instead of fighting back, hence the escalation of the panic attack, we need to STOP and let the feelings wash over us. While we are doing this we then say to ourselves and also believe and realise too, that NOTHING is going to happen. We are purely experiencing this because of an adrenalin rush throughout our body and nothing more. We need to realise logically that the sensations are purely a reaction to adrenaline. 3. We are NOT going to die, or have a heart attack or collapse and end up in hospital. We need to know this at the time of experiencing the feeling and simply allow them to wash over us without further panic or reaction, thus breaking the cycle. So, instead of: Fear – Panic attack - fear- panic
We get: Fear and nothing else. It then subsides.
It is the actual reasoning that stops the cycle. The actual feeling the feelings spread over you, allowing them to without response, acknowledging that they are there, but then not allowing yourself to react. The way I did this was to take myself away for a minute. So, in a shop at the check out, how did I do this when I was next in the queue? I simply took my trolley and walked away down one of the aisles, stood there as calmly as I could manage allowing the very disconcerting and unpleasant feelings and rapid heart and all the rest of the sensations to wash over me. Instead of reacting with clenched muscles and setting up the circle, I broke it by just allowing it to happen and realising that it was simply my own body’s response and nothing more. It’s also fair to say that it took me a few goes. At least 5 attempts before I knew I had cracked it. Gradually, my body got used to feeling the feeling and NOT reacting. The cycle broke. I became de-sensitized. Even now I practise this method and remember it all my life. Once you have experienced panic attacks you need to always remember the method for life. A word of reassurance however, once you HAVE broken the cycle, you will harden yourself and your nervous system and it will no longer react, in other words, no more panic attacks. When I say I practise the method, I actually mean I know what to do in the event of a panic attack. This alone helps. We become sensitive in our lives to feelings and sensations in our bodies, for whatever reason. It is how we deal with them that enable us able to cope. Another example When I was in 6th form at school in 1979 (aged 17), we all had to go on an induction course to prepare us for life in the 6th form. We went to a lecture where a teacher said: “Ok, everyone, in a moment, I am going to ask you all in turn to stand up and talk about yourselves for 5 minutes.” I could feel the response. Heart started beating, panicky feelings of “How am I going to get out of here?” washed over me. Some of us looked at each other in horror. Then, somewhat cruelly the teacher said “Ok, everyone, what happened when I asked you that? I bet I can tell you” He went on to say about response to stress and dealing with things, so it was relative to trying to shock us, but not everyone reacted the same as me. Why? Even at such a young age, we have different methods of coping. As we know ourselves, some children are confident, some shy. It is our response to things that stand us in good stead in our future. In this situation, what was the worst that could have happened to me? I mentally exaggerated the situation, hence the feelings of panic that ensued. Basically, it is our childhood and our experiences throughout life that determine our level of sensitivity to situations and is also the reason why we immediately think that we are the only ones like it. No else seems to feel the way we do. That is because their reaction is different. They have already reasoned with it and have coped and become hardy, probably at an early age. They have broken the cycle. Remember too, that it does not take much to reduce a confident person to a person who is no longer confident. De-stabilising their confidence gradually over a period of time will do it. Why then, is it so hard to make a sensitive person confident? In other words both confident people and sensitive people can have panic attacks as it is life experiences and our ability to cope that triggers them and it is learning to break to cycle that stops them. It’s as simple as that. Another very good example is my husband Mike. 10 years ago he suffered, big time from panic attacks. He experienced them everywhere, supermarkets, in the street, basically anywhere and everywhere. He went to the doctors as he was convinced that he was going to die and thought he had a heart problem as his heart was so fast. The doctor asked him about panic attacks and prescribed beta blockers, (Propanolol) and although this helped it did not solve the underlying problem. Mike armed himself with lots of books. He was running a security company and, in his position there, could not afford to be in that situation.
Please see my recommended reading below for much more help on this subject, as well as a variety of ways to stop panic attacks for good. I particularly recommend any book written by Dr Claire Weekes as she was the main source of help for me. Also, provided you are not taking medication such as anti depressants or tranquillisers, Etherium products such as Etherium Black and Gold may be worthwhile as they potentize eachother and bring about a sense of calm. Using these products may help in the management of Panic Attacks. Etherium Black Calms you down within minutes. Etherium Gold Balances left and right brain They are best used together, and while not cheap at £19.99 (roughly) a bottle, they may be beneficial and the way forward as their use gets rid of feelings of anxiety without the need for scary medication. There are no side effects from using them, which is the main thing, as they are natural monatomic minerals. In the UK, they can be purchaed from Living is Easy
See Self Help for Your Nerves: Learn to Relax and Enjoy Life Again by Overcoming Stress and Fear
Essential Help for Your Nerves: Recover from Nervous Fatigue and Overcome Stress and Fear Both books are written by Claire Weekes who I highly recommend. She is the authority on panic attacks Also try this fabulous book Embracing the Fear: Learning to Manage Anxiety and Panic Attacks
You may well be thinking "How can this simple method stop my anxiety?" After all, you go through each day, fighting an inward battle with yourself. Muscles tightened, fists clenched, waiting for an attack to start. If you are constantly in this heightened state of awareness of your own body, how can you ever hope to de-sensitize yourself? Suffering from a nervous illness is not easy. It can be many years, or even a lifetime of battling with yourself. For me, it was from childhood to around my thirties. That's a long time. Too long. Do these symptoms mean anything to you? Churning stomach, fluttering in the chest, chest tightness, feeling of a lump in the throat, sweating, thumping heart that seems to miss beats, trembling, gasping for breath, dizzy spells, feeling sick, tensing muscles. These symptoms are brought about by adrenaline. The more we react, the more adrenaline is pumped out. You can see the cycle. Doctor Claire Weekes method works. Facing, Accepting, Floating, Letting time pass. Facing: You face the sensations head on, allowing yourself to "feel" them. Accepting: You accept the fact that they are there, allowing you stomach to churn without reacting to it. Do not fight it in other words. Just accept that it is there and do not give it too much attention. Floating: Dr Claire Weekes describes this as imagining yourself on a cloud. Realisation that obstructive thoughts are merely just thoughts, the churning merely just a sensation, and then "float" past them. It basically means "give up the struggle" Do not fight the symptoms. Fighting makes them worse. Allow the moment to pass: Without giving it any more thought. Keep busy, dimiss the sensations. Keep doing this until you are de sensitized. Can you see how by not reacting to the sensations of panic and anxiety, we can actually stop the escalation? It sounds complicated. Please try it next time you feel anxiety. Don't allow it to grip you by tensing up and causing more adrenaline to rush through you and then reacting again and so on. This is what causes the full blown attack in a senstised person. Gradually, you will recover and your nerves will not react to overstimulation. You will have broken the cycle.
Click here to find more books and information about Panic Attacks
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Read information about them as information is valuable in solving them.
Know that you are NOT the only one and realise that while all the other mothers in the school playground seem cool and collected, that may not always have been the case. People can NOT lead completely stress free lives. It is impossible, no matter how happy your marriage, family finances. There will always be stress.
