Controlling Panic Attack Symptoms

When some intense fear suddenly grips you, making you feel helpless and out of control you may be under a panic attack. It could last for a very brief period of time, may be not more than ten minutes, during which your thoughts seem to be disorganized and your body appears to be disoriented, because of which you feel you are perhaps ‘going crazy’.

You may find yourself hyperventilating or breathing very rapidly. Your heartbeat might be racing or pounding. You may experience palpitations. Profuse sweat might drench you. Your body may begin to shake and tremble or at least you may feel it is shaking and trembling. Your throat and chest seem to be tight and you experience a choking sensation. You may also experience a pain in the chest. Numbness or some tingling sensations in your face, hands and feet might make you suffer. You may have an urgent need to go to the restrooms to relieve yourself. You may feel so uncomfortable because of nausea or indigestion, dizziness, or the other sensations that you seem to experience that you may even feel you might be on the verge of death. Any one or a combination of many of these common symptoms can accompany a panic attack. Once the symptoms subside automatically, you feel utterly exhausted and weak. It is in the nature of a panic attack that it leaves you totally debilitated.

One thing here is that we are all biologically different and therefore may not react the same way when exposed to the same or similar stimuli. Panic attacks can thus produce different symptoms in different people. Naturally, it follows that individuals have to understand the particular situation which has triggered the panic attack and take specific preventive steps to control the symptoms the next time around.

Any attempt to control such symptoms of lack of control over the functions of the mind and the body appear is ironic. It might even appear to be futile or impossible. That fortunately is not the case, however. There are ways which when followed will help you in leading a life free from panic attacks.

The first thing is to be aware of the fact that panic attack symptoms do not and cannot cause any harm whatsoever to you, although they can be scary mainly because of your feeling of intense fear that is unrelated to the reality that surrounds you. The next thing is symptoms like hyperventilation can be controlled and even prevented from recurring by learning to breathe slowly and properly. Diaphragmatic breathing, not chest breathing, will help control hyperventilation. Breathing practice should be followed by learning relaxation techniques, which will help in de-stressing you and calming your nerves. In situations that provoke anxiety, if you progressively learn to relax your muscles, you will be able control some of the panic attack symptoms. Cognitive Behavior Therapists will help you learn to control the panic attack symptoms by exposing you to the very situations that triggered the panic attack in the first place.

Prescription drugs will be helpful, but you must be wary of their side effects. Meditation, much better than medication, may provide you with a better and lasting solution, if you learn the proper techniques to help control your particular symptoms.

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