2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43
“I stand in the subway and suffocate. This happened to me for the first time. It was incomprehensible and scary."
I am 21 years old, I study and work half a shift. In general, everything is fine. I have a relationship, my studies are successful, I am responsible and efficient at work, my family supports me. But, inside the constant anxiety. Experiences, how everything will be, excitement about all sorts of trifles, the desire to control everything, the devaluation of the importance of rest. At times, there are emotional swings and a lot of fears.
And on the subway on the way home - panic attack … I am suffocating and scared for my life. Why did it arise?
As I later found out, she has no situational objective reasons. Just in one moment there is a powerful setback, the uncertainty seems unbearable. And during the attack itself, there is simply a feeling that you will die now
Psychotherapist and author of the book "Freedom from Anxiety" Robert Leahy, writes:
“The first panic attack usually occurs for no apparent reason and is interpreted disastrously. Because of this, hypervigilance increases, that is, constant focus on any signs of arousal and unusual sensations. Along with this, there is growing confidence in the misinterpretation of what is happening - "I have a heart attack" or "I'm going crazy." This leads to a recurrence of panic attacks.
At that moment, I already heard a little about panic attacks and what symptomsit is accompanied by: rapid heartbeat, lack of oxygen, dizziness, weakness, disorientation, intense tremors.
Thanks to this knowledge, at that moment, I was able to pull myself together, to normalize my condition.
And it is really easier for adults with this. They already have more life experience and observations of themselves.
But what if a child, in particular a teenager, is faced with a panic attack (PA)?
How can I help him, explain what is happening to him? And how to support him at this moment?
The guidelines below will help you. They have been tested in psychotherapeutic practice with adolescents and their parents.
Share with someone you think they might be useful to.
1. First of all, take care of your condition
Remember that PA does not last forever and the child will soon get better. And you can only help him if you yourself are calm. Anxiety can only increase the child's panic.
How to regulate yourself if you feel that you are also starting to worry?
Inhale very deeply and exhale slowly. If you are next to the child at this moment, you can also invite him to this exercise. You could say so:
“I'm starting to worry too. Therefore, now I will breathe to calm down. Let `s together!"
For reference:A panic attack is an attack of intense fear. And it is reinforced by the person's fear of his reactions. Those. a person is not afraid of any particular situation, but of the fact that his reaction to this situation will be so strong that he will not be able to cope with it. But this is not the case. They do not die from panic attacks, moreover, they disappear on their own after a few minutes
And you can show your child how you can take control of your fear. And normalize your condition with breathing.
2. Speak out the mechanism that occurs during a panic attack
Give the rational part of the child's brain information… Say this in a calm, measured voice, with small pauses between sentences. You can say the following (one or more, which will be more appropriate to the situation):
“I can see that you are scared. It seems to you that you are suffocating and you feel dizzy. Therefore, you think that something bad can happen. But this is not the case. Are you all right. Nothing threatens you. Do you remember what the doctors said? Are you okay!
“Your breathing quickened. And there was a lot of oxygen in the body. Therefore, it seems that you are suffocating and you have dizziness. But if you breathe more slowly, everything will return to normal."
“This is a temporary condition. If you sit quietly and breathe, you will calm down"
“Panic attacks stop on their own. Doctors say they are simply the result of arousal. And they are not dangerous for you!"
3. Invite your child to observe their breathing
It is important for him at such moments to breathe slowly with the diaphragm, and not with the stomach. This breathing restores the balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the blood.
Ask the child, while lying down, to put his hand on his chest. Let him observe, if the hand goes down and up on the chest, then the breathing is shallow.
Invite the child to inhale so that his belly is full and that he slowly rises and falls. And make sure that the hand on the chest does not move.
There is no need to control and do everything-everything correctly. The main thing is for the child to observe the process and feel the peculiarities of his breathing.
4. Invite your child to switch their attention from internal sensations to what is happening aroun
Ask your child to describe what they see around them. Ask, where he is, light colors or dark, bright or dull colors prevail? Let him tell you what he sees in front of him. If there is a clock nearby, specify what time it is.
Here are some other helpful tips to help your child stop a panic attack:
- breathing in a square;
- breath counting;
- remember the alphabet in reverse order;
- count something around;
- take a short breath and a quick breath.
Of course, it will be useful to visit a psychotherapist so that the child consolidates the skills to cope with PA, begins to understand his feelings, be able to manage them and be more calm.
Picture: Luke Waltham from Medium.com
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