Panic attacks are a frightening experience and in the midst of one it feels like you may be having a heart attack or are about to die. Although, they are a frightening and awful experience, having a panic attack will not physically harm you.
Panic attacks can come out of the blue and can either come before or after having lived with anxiety for a while. Panic attacks are the result of a perception of overwhelming threat and are often the result of some traumatic experience that has been triggered in the present. We do not have to consciously recall or connect an event for it to be a trigger for a panic attack. Panic attacks can manifest the following symptoms:
Racing Heartbeat / Palpitations
Sweating / hot flushes
Shallow breathing / Hyperventilation
Light headedness / Dizziness
Feeling disconnected from your body & surroundings
sense of doom / fear of dying
Not everyone will experience all of the symptoms but generally there is an overwhelming feeling of fear and panic. Panic attacks although very frightening will not harm you, they pass. However, once they begin a cycle of fear usually ensues where you become trapped in a loop of fearing the fear and panic, this serves to perpetuate the cycle. Part of breaking the cycle of anxiety and panic is to accept that this is something you are experiencing right now. That it will not last forever, that it is not going to harm you and that you are not broken. Learning about how anxiety and panic comes about and finding techniques that help you feel safe in your body and surroundings is the way out of living with anxiety and panic.
In coming posts I will share about the window of tolerance and polyvagal theory and how these can be helpful in gaining insight into what is happening physiologically when we live with anxiety and panic. The short video below is of a breathing technique called the 4-7-8 breath, this can be very effective in restoring the body and mind to a sense of calm when panic sets in. This breath can also be really helpful at night when you are finding it hard to sleep. Give it a try and let me know in the comments how you got on.
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