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The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Women: Panic Attacks

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Panic Attacks

Panic Attacks

Calming Techniques That Work Fast

Heart galloping, hands trembling, sweat running down her face, Alison had her first panic attack in her early thirties. She never figured out why. A wave of intense and terrifying anxiety washed over her, then dissipated in the space of an hour.

Several years later, panic returned--first one attack, then another, to the point where Alison dreaded going to work. As a high-level executive at a major multinational corporation, Alison (not her real name) was afraid that she'd have an attack in front of her staff.

"Alison called in sick so often that she lost her job," says Irene S. Vogel, Ph.D., a psychologist and director of Vogel Psychology Associates in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area who later successfully treated Alison's panic.

As debilitating as they are unpredictable, panic attacks are relatively common. They happen to perfectly reasonable people, like you.

"A large number of adults have had panic attacks at some time in their lives," says Dr. Vogel. "Some never have more than one or two and don't even know that they had one." They may blame their symptoms on something else, such as drinking too much coffee.

We're all more likely to have panic attacks during periods of stress. But some of us seem to inherit a vulnerability to attacks, say researchers, since the attacks appear to run in families. For reasons that scientists don't completely understand, panic attacks are more common in women than men.

MORE THAN JUST A CASE OF NERVES

The symptoms of a panic attack vary from person to person, but they usually include a combination of the following: difficulty breathing, sweating, chest pain or discomfort, loss of balance, feelings of unreality, trembling, tingling or numbness in the extremities, nausea, palpitations, smothering sensations and hot or cold flashes. There is always an overwhelming anxiety. Most attacks last just minutes, and few go on for more than an hour.

When To See A Doctor

If you think that you're having panic attacks, but you aren't sure, see your doctor. Certain medical conditions or medications can cause similar symptoms.

If indeed the problem is panic, experts recommend immediate professional help, because treatment gets more difficult the more entrenched the problem becomes. Recurring panic attacks may lead to agoraphobia, characterized by irrational fears and avoidance of places or situations in which the panic occurs.

In addition to self-help coping techniques, professional treatment may involve a variety of approaches, from behavioral therapy to medication (at least temporarily).

People who experience panic worry that they're having heart attacks or dying or going crazy, explains Dr. Heitler. That explanation compounds the anxiety and perpetuates the symptoms--the pounding heart, the sweating, the shallow breathing--further convincing people that they really are having a heart attack, dying or going crazy.

What's more, worrying that you'll have a panic attack increases the odds that one will indeed occur, says Dr. Vogel.

SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN PANIC BUSTERS

Panic attacks can be beat. If your doctor has confirmed that what you are experiencing is bona fide panic and not something else, you can learn to cope with the symptoms--calmly. Here's how.

Talk yourself out of it. "Tell yourself, 'Okay, I'm having a panic attack. I know that I'm not having a heart attack or dying or going crazy. This won't last long. It will pass. I'll get through it,'" says Dr. Vogel. This self-talk--part of an approach called cognitive behavioral therapy--should take the edge off the anxiety, and your symptoms should start to fade.

What's more, practicing self-talk should also take the edge off your fear of future panic attacks and lower your general anxiety level so that further attacks are less likely. Researchers in Sweden reported remarkable success after teaching the technique to people prone to panic attacks. After treatment all but a few were panic-free.

Relax, one muscle at a time. While you're reminding yourself that you're going to be fine, try deep breathing or some other relaxation technique, like progressive relaxation, says Dr. Vogel. Relaxation helps diminish symptoms, end attacks and lower the odds of future attacks.

To give progressive relaxation a try, sit in a comfortable chair, close your eyes and follow these instructions from Martha Davis, Ph.D., a psychologist at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Santa Clara, California, and co-author of The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook.

To start, clench your right fist. Keep it tightly clenched for about ten seconds, then release and let it go limp. Repeat with your left hand, then both hands simultaneously. Next, bend both your elbows and tense your arms. Then relax them and let them hang at your sides. To continue, tense then relax both your shoulders and your neck; wrinkle then relax your forehead and brows; squeeze your eyes shut and clench your jaw, then relax. Moving on, tense and relax your stomach, lower back, both thighs, buttocks, both calves and both feet. The whole process should take about ten minutes. Try to do these exercises about twice a day.

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