Admin Note: I am posting this brilliant piece by one of our members, Nessie who has agreed to let me copy it here. I have copied and pasted the below and it is just as Nessie has written it. I have set it as a "sticky topic" on the forum as I think that it is something which could provide invaluable as a resource for many others. Thank you Nessie xxx
It seems to me that a lot of people on DWD suffer with panic attacks and are in need of advice and information on the subject so i have decided to start this thread explaining what panic attacks are in my own words and what i have found helps me. I hope i can help some of you too...
Panic attacks explained the Nessie way....:~)
Panic attacks are some of the most scary experiences you will come across ever!
I have suffered with panic attacks most of my life and can tell you it’s one of the most difficult things in the world to gain control of.
My experiences with panic started the first year I started working where a bomb was planted in the building across the road from where I was working and after the explosion I did what most people tell you not to do, I ran to the window to look! What I saw that day stays with me and I believe is the start of what is call post traumatic stress disorder. I looked down onto the street and saw carnage, but what sticks with me was a man lying in the middle of the road with half his leg blown off... I can still recall that moment and visualize it...
My attacks got worse after a car accident that put me in hospital for 3 months and among other things living in South Africa and having to deal with being robbed 9 times in 3 years to the point where I actually woke up with a guy at the end of my bed one night!
It was kind of inevitable that I should developed a panic disorder don't you think?
I can't tell you how many times I have been to doctors only to have them tell me I need to see psychiatrists... my response was "are you saying I am crazy?" My symptoms are real and I feel like absolute crap!
Truth is it wasn't until I actually started doing some research and actually learning about panic attacks that I started understanding what it is and what effect it has on your body. My theory now is that you can't begin to defeat what's wrong with you if you have no concept of what it is that you are fighting. So I am writing this down and hoping that it may actually help others to understand panic attacks and help them actually find ways of being in control again cause there is nothing worse than that feeling a panic attack brings that you have no control over it and you are actually gonna die!
Anyway this is my take on panic attacks.
Now I am no scientist but this is what I have learnt and has worked for me. Firstly understanding what a panicky attack is.
OK in the good old days when we were hunters and gatherers if we came across a lion in the jungle what would happen? Well me I would run screaming from the scene like a crazy person! I am guessing you would to otherwise all that would be left of you is a wet patch...
Well this is what they call the fight or flight syndrome. Your body reacts by giving you extra adrenalin so you can run your little legs off!
Only times have changed and there no longer is the need for you to run away from things our danger is still very real but also very different. You can't run away when you are in a car accident can you? Granted there are circumstances were up will need to run like when you are being mugged and all that. But my theory is this... you get attacked by a lion maybe once and then learn to avoid me but in today's society where people are always scared of being mugged, raped, being in car accidents, walking down the road and getting shot by some random taxi driver who has lost his marbles.... well the end result is that we as people stay in a constant state of anxiety. Our adrenal gland is forever giving extra adrenaline that our bodies don't know what to do with because we really have nowhere to run to!
So what happens when you have extra adrenaline that you don't really use?
Adrenalin is a hormone and a neurotransmitter. When produced in the body it increases heart rate, contracts blood vessels and dilates air passages. Its purpose is to prepare the body for quick reaction.
The heart starts to pump faster providing the muscles with more oxygen. - (my reaction OMG why does my chest feel so tight? I am having a heart attack!!)
Eye pupils dilate in order to take in more light. (JEEZ who turned on the bloody lights I am getting a migraine!)
The veins in the skin constrict in order to send more blood to major muscle groups. This bodily reaction is responsible for the chills and shaking that people feel when experiencing a panic attack. The redistribution of blood means that there is less blood to keep the skin warm and this also makes it loose colour and look pale. (OMG I want to run away, why, how, where can I run to? I am so confused what's wrong with me? I must be getting sick!)
The levels of blood-glucose increase. Glucose is the simplest form of sugar and is quickly absorbed by the body. This means that the body has released into the blood stream extra energy resources. Muscles tense up - energized from the adrenaline and glucose. (Why do I feel so tense and stressed and wound up? What's wrong with me am I getting sick? Am I having some kind of seizure?)
None essential systems like digestion, hair and nail growth and also the immune system shut down. This is the reason why people often experience feeling of indigestion. (URG I feel sick and nauseous)
Temporally the human body is functioning at its best, absorbing stored energy, vitamins and minerals in order for it to run and fight at its hardest. (Why am I shaking so much, jeez I feel like I want to jump out of my own body and run away from it!)
Once a panic attack has started all these processes happens automatically. Adrenalin is a hormone and once released into the blood stream there is nothing a person can do to stop producing its effects physically. However people can prepare mentally in order to prevent panic attacks from happening.
I believe that the last statement is our beacon of hope. It means that you can take control over what happens to you. But its something only you can do.... trust me no one can do it for you because they don't feel what you feel and have no idea how bad it feels to be there. The thing to remember is that somehow your brain has now been trained to panic all the time and what you need to do is somehow find a way to retrain your brain.
So these are my tools for dealing with a panic attacks.
First i learnt a way to distract myself from the panic attack, and then i learnt to control the attack through breathing and my very own adaptation of meditation...
The following video I watched some time ago and honestly at first it made me laugh my head off because there is no way I could do that in public...! I would look like I was having some kind of mental breakdown...lol But I did realize in doing it that it actually distracted me from what I was going through..... so watch the video and try to be honest about how you feel after you have done the whole exercise all the way through. The point I am trying to make with the video is that if you distract yourself from the negative emotions you feel you can actually be in control. Again you can go around tapping every day but I find something as simple as just holding onto a acupressure point on my wrist now helps me to start focusing on my breathing and distract myself from the negative feelings... you have nothing to lose by just trying the technique and adapting it to suit you...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gmz-b2sV0Q&feature=channel
In my bid to gain control over panic attacks I have watched many videos and read a million articles on the internet and have picked out a few that actually helped me, i have learnt so much about meditation and how it can help, but i do believe meditation is a very personal thing and you have to find a person and a voice that works for you. I hope they will help you but if they bore you please don't let them distract you from finding the path that works for you. Just try to remember nothing worth achieving was achieved easily, we always have to put hard work and effort into anything worth having.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSU8ftmmhmw&feature=channel
Free guided meditation links: I have personally downloaded all the free guided meditations they offer and can assure you they are all quite safe
http://www.silvaultramindsystem.com/lp/meditation-2
http://www.project-meditation.org/
http://www.fragrantheart.com/cms/free-audio-meditations
