Panic Attacks Don't Have to Drive You Crazy

A client wrote:
"I'm terrified something awful is happening to me. Almost every day I become really scared. I shiver, my chest hurts, my throat goes dry, I feel dizzy, faint and frightened for fifteen or twenty minutes of hell. When this happens I feel sure I'm going insane, or I'm going to die. My doctor says there's nothing wrong, that I'm "just" having a panic attack.

She wouldn't be so complacent if this happened to her! How can this be 'just in my head'?"
The pharmaceutical companies would like you to believe that panic attacks arise from something biological ?and therefore can be fixed with a pill.

But if a "chemical imbalance" triggers your panic attack, what triggers the "chemical imbalance"? And if you are continually imbalanced chemically, then why are you not suffering continuous panic?
The reason is, of course, that the panic attack gives rise to the chemical imbalance, not the other way around. And the surge of chemicals subsides. So what is it that brings on an attack?
Almost anything. Yet something which is significant to your subconscious. This may be a thought, a smell, a sight or a sensation (e.g., the touch of velvet which triggers a subconscious memory of when you were four and your velvet-clad mother accidentally left you behind in the church at Aunt Susanna's wedding).

Once the cue has been thought, smelled, seen, touched, tasted or heard, your body reacts. It automatically replays the emotions you experienced the first time.

Although you do not necessarily consciously remember feeling abandoned (for example) the fear is stored in your subconscious. Your body has its own storehouse of memories. When a particular negative experience is thus recalled, the autonomic response of the body is also recalled. This is the adrenaline rush.

Our bodies have a built-in reflex that served our ancestors well. Whenever they were faced with danger -- a sabre-toothed tiger about to spring on them, or an avalanche bearing down -- their bodies would automatically prepare to run or to fight.

All temporarily unneeded bodily functions would shut down. Energy would be concentrated where it was most needed. Adrenaline would be pumped swiftly to increase the heart rate which in turn caused the lungs to gulp more air as the legs tensed for running away or the arms tensed to do battle.

We still have this automatic response to danger. But instead of tigers, we fear rejection, embarrassment, failure, shame, disappointment, etc. And we neither fight nor run. However, as we stay still anxiety causes that rush of adrenaline which in turn causes us to breathe rapidly, tense our muscles, increase our heart rate and feel sick to our stomachs. In other words, we panic.

A panic attack is often your body's way of sending an urgent signal that something in your life needs to be fixed. Like phobias, the cause may be conscious or subconscious.

Since the symptoms resemble organic illnesses, it is of course sensible to have a medical checkup to make sure your chest pains are not a sign of heart trouble, or your sweaty palms a sign of a thyroid disorder. Involuntary shaking, shivering and light-headedness might be signs of a neurological problem -- or a result of ingesting too much caffeine.

But if medical causes are ruled out then your panic attack points to an emotional or psychological issue. Undealt with, the attacks usually multiply in frequency and intensity.
The unpredictable timing of panic attacks leads to a fear of fear. If your first panic attack strikes you in a shopping mall the fear of being embarrassed and humiliated by another attack may cause you to avoid that mall.

Then you begin to fear that an attack may hit you if you go to a different mall, so you avoid that, too. If you subsequently suffer an attack in an independent fruit store you'll avoid that shop in future but perhaps you'll also start to fear any shop that sells fruit, for fear of another attack hitting you. Eventually you could end up trapped at home, afraid to venture anywhere, just in case.
A panic attack is absolutely dreadful.

Someone who has not experienced the
terror cannot understand. When a panic
attack strikes, you feel sure you are
going to die, or go insane.

Solutions
> Fortunately, hypnotherapy builds on the opposite reflex to the flight-or-fight response: relaxation.

With hypnotherapy you can deal with both the cause of the panic attack (feeling abandoned at Aunt Susanna's wedding) and the symptoms (shortness of breath, sweaty palms, rapid heartbeat, etc.)
> Cognitive behaviour therapy has also proven to help people conquer panic. This therapy enables you to change your patterns of thinking and to take action.

> Two books which might interest you are From Panic to Power, by Lucinda Bassett (HarperCollins) and MasterYour Panic . . . & Take Back Your Life!: Twelve Treatment Sessions to Overcome High Anxiety by Denise F. Beckfield, PhD (Impact Publishers). Both authors are well aware of the major concern of panic attack sufferers: losing control.

> Psychovisual Therapy. The two PsyV videos which can help you overcome panic attacks are "Stress Control" and "Relax & Let Go".

> Emotional Freedom Techniques: Swift relief is usually available -- and permanent -- with this approach. Click here for details.

So, yes, you can put an end to your panic attacks. Use any or all of the above. In combination, they are a powerful antidote that can result in you being panic-free, relaxed and confident.

Copyright © 1995-2000 Bryan M. Knight, MSW, Ph.D.