2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43
What are Panic Attacks (PA)?
This is an attack of intense fear that suddenly arises and begins to build up.
Very often PA is accompanied by the feeling that something bad is about to happen.
During PA, the fear is turned on that you will die, go crazy, look stupid, they will laugh at you.
Panic attacks are accompanied by the following symptoms:
1. Strong or fast heartbeat
2. Trembling, chills
3. Heavy sweating
4. Fear of suffocation
5. Chest pain or discomfort
6. Nausea
7. Dizziness
8. Feeling when you caught your breath
9. Derealization (Perception of the surrounding world as unreal, distorted, distant)
10. Fear of losing control, going crazy
11. Paresthesia (Goosebumps)
12. Hot flashes or hot flashes
13. Fear of death
It is important that a panic attack is accompanied by at least four of the above symptoms!
The thoughts that most often come during PA:
1. I have a heart attack
2. I will pass out and fall
3. I can't breathe, I choke
4. I will vomit
5. I will lose control of my bladder
6. In the eyes of others, I will look like a complete fool / fool
7. I will go crazy and they will take me to a psycho. Hospital.
Why is fear necessary? All those unpleasant sensations that happen to people during PA are extreme manifestations of the normal fear reaction that is inherent in us by nature. The task of fear is to do everything for a person to survive in a dangerous, extreme situation.
Fear triggers mechanisms that prepare our body for two scenarios of events, fight or flight.
What is the PA problem?
Imagine that fear is a kind of alarm, like a car. It turns on when intruders try to break into our car. But sometimes the alarm goes off for no real reason. This is a panic attack.
By itself, a panic attack is not dangerous for us, but unpleasant, but it causes fear, but not dangerous!
A panic attack will not lead us to death, will not make us go crazy, it is just part of the mechanism designed to protect.
The main problem is that a person misinterprets the physiological symptoms of panic attack and falls into a vicious circle, which in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is called a supportive cycle.
The circle looks like this:
Panic attack or high anxiety leads to the inclusion of bodily symptoms. (for example, increased heart rate, chills, etc.), these symptoms lead to their erroneous interpretation, thoughts: "I will die now, etc.", which leads to an increase in anxiety, further intensification of bodily symptoms and the circle is closed
Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts, thoughts.
The alarm system works according to the principle: React first, and we will check later.
Therefore, it is very important to know that thoughts can provoke PA. Instantaneous thoughts during PA are often unsettling, whipping up the atmosphere.
Example: It doesn't stop, it only gets worse, I can't handle it, what should I do? And the person again falls into the cycle that I wrote about above.
There are many such cycles, for example, a cycle associated with the expectation of something bad, catastrophic. Or a cycle associated with fear of being publicly disgraced, looking stupid in the eyes of other people.
What to do about panic attacks?
Ultimately, a panic attack must be accepted. To give yourself the understanding that, yes, this is beginning, it is unpleasant, but not fatal, and most importantly, any panic attack passes!
Each time, you will feel better, the symptoms of a panic attack will fade less and less sharply, and will subside.
There is a cohort of people who can cope with panic attacks on their own, most require the help of a specialist.
Of course, this article is not an antidote to all problems, but even understanding how a panic attack works, what mechanisms support it, will make you a little stronger.
What can help in the fight against panic attacks?
Behavioral experiment. Testing our thoughts for strength
1. Step one. First, determine which thoughts do you want to test? It is advisable to write them down on paper. For example, if I go alone / alone to the supermarket and have a panic attack, I could faint if I don't grab onto the cart. As a rule, you will not lose consciousness, do not faint, in the end it is important to understand whether this thought is true or not.
2. Step two. We need to put this experiment into practice. Go alone / alone to the supermarket, and when you feel the excitement, do not grab the cart, no matter how scary and uncomfortable you feel. It is important to do this !!!!
3. Step three. Evaluate the result. You may have felt anxiety, fear, or even panic, but did you really pass out and collapse? If not, what does that say about your disturbing thoughts? If you really fainted, what happened next? Did it lead to the disaster you expected, or was it just a nuisance?
It is important to plan the experiment step by step, perhaps starting small. For example, if you are afraid to travel by public transport, then first you can try to drive one stop, measure your condition, then two, three, etc.
Remember that you are more likely to feel anxiety again, as you have learned to feel it in situations like this. This is fine. But anxiety is not a danger. It is important to understand that what you were afraid of did not happen in reality, you did not die, did not lose your mind, did not suffocate. By experimenting with your fears like this, you gradually build up your confidence.
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