Panic attacks. Stop being afraid of them. Psychologist's advice

A panic attack is a very unpleasant process that can strike at any time and anywhere. And most people are defenseless against them. It’s so difficult to “pull yourself together” and get rid of this condition. Most often, due to panic attacks, you can put an end to all plans for the day and slowly crawl home to at least come to your senses. But, in fact, not everything is so bad. Panic attacks can be managed, managed and cured on your own. In this article we will look at how to achieve this and what steps you need to take to achieve this.

What is a panic attack?

A panic attack is a disease characterized by pronounced

panic attack, anxiety, fear, various somatic, autonomic disorders (psychosomatics), associated with a violation of autonomic nervous regulation in the body. Synonyms for the term “ panic attacks ” are “ panic ”, “ panic disorder ”, “sympathoadrenal crisis”, “NCD”, “cardioneurosis”, “cardio neurosis”, “cardiac neurosis”, “paroxysms”, “neurocirculatory dystonia”, “ neurocirculatory dystonia”, “vegetative crisis”, “panic attack syndrome”, “vsd”, “mental attack”. Unfortunately, this disease occurs very often in men and women, according to sarcastic clinics, the frequency of occurrence in the population of panic disorders.

To prevent panic from returning

And further. Panic attacks should not be regarded as something unrelated to the way of life and thoughts. Most often, this is the foundation of anxiety. But you can’t build anything lasting on a rotten foundation. Changes are needed. A psychotherapist will help you understand which ones.

However, there are also universal recommendations:

“I recommend that all patients follow a work-rest schedule and sleep at least 8 hours

(not on the sofa in front of the TV, but in bed), says Alexander Dygalo.
– Moderate physical activity is required.
If not working out in the gym, then doing exercises at home, walking.
A two-hour walk will “burn off” excess adrenaline. It is especially important to move more for those who spend the whole day in the office. When office workers sit “stressed” for a long time, the sympathetic nervous system begins to become unbalanced. The one that gives a person the choice of salvation: to run or attack. To remove the imbalance, it is necessary to “align” the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. One of the fastest ways is complete biological breathing
. During such breathing, both sections of the lungs work (usually one section “breathes”: in women – the upper, in men – the lower).”

For the lungs to “straighten”, 10-15 minutes of full biological breathing before bed is enough. While lying in bed, relax your body as much as possible and imagine that a warm ball is rolling from your lower abdomen to your chin. First, the ball will approach the middle part of the abdomen, then to the top, then to the bottom of the chest, middle, top. When the ball “reaches” your chin, hold your breath for a couple of seconds and “roll” it back. While you breathe, muscle spasms are relieved, adrenaline levels decrease, and you completely relax. This means you sleep well and wake up rested.

Panic attacks: causes

Why do panic attacks occur? The main causes of panic attacks are varied.

1. Disruption of the higher vegetative centers.

2. Discoordination of the autonomic nervous system.

3. Vegetative-vascular dystonia (VSD, vegetative-vascular dystonia, vegetative dystonia).

4. Phobic neurosis, phobia.

5. Depressive neurosis, depression, depressive disorder, depressive state.

6. Stress, stressful situation, worries, difficult life situations, anticipation of stress, nervous exhaustion.

7. Excessive impressionability, suspiciousness of a person.

8. Pathology of endocrine organs, endocrine glands, endocrine diseases.

9. Pheochromocytoma.

10. Mitochondrial diseases (CFS, chronic fatigue syndrome, cardiomyopathy, migraine, glycogenosis, pancytopenia, mitochondrial diabetes mellitus /+ myopathy, hearing loss/, connective tissue diseases, hypoparathyroidism, liver failure, Kearns-Sayre syndrome, MELAS syndrome, Barth syndrome, MERRF, Pearson syndrome).

11. Diseases of the cardiovascular system (atherosclerosis, ischemic heart disease, angina pectoris, arrhythmia, hypertension, high blood pressure, hypertension, hypotension, low blood pressure, myocarditis, myocardiopathy, obliterating endarteritis, conduction disorders, etc.).

12. Somatoform dysfunctions.

13. Hereditary predisposition.

14. Large mental and psycho-emotional load.

15. Consequences of diseases such as intrauterine hypoxia, perinatal encephalopathy, minimal brain dysfunction in childhood.

16. Constant restraint of one’s feelings, strict control over one’s own feelings (joy, sadness, resentment, delight, anger).

17. Accumulation of negative negative energy.

18. Childhood mental trauma (psychotrauma in childhood).

Causes

The causes of panic attacks are unknown. It has been proven that predisposing factors are:

• hereditary predisposition;
• suffered psycho-emotional trauma in childhood and adolescence;
• lack of protective hormones in the body, in particular serotonin;
• prolonged or very severe stress;
• physical injuries and surgical interventions;
• lack of sleep;
• overwork;
• excessive physical activity;
• pregnancy;
• alcohol abuse, etc.

Psychologists and psychoanalysts also analyze the causes of panic attacks. Among the possible risk factors, they especially highlight:

• increased sensitivity to internal sensations, which leads to a significant increase in even minimal discomfort;
• excessive demands on oneself and perfectionism;
• unresolved internal conflict.

Most likely, the body is exposed to several pathological factors at once, which together cause an unreasonably strong reaction to external or internal stimuli.

How does an anxiety attack or panic attack occur?

What kind of panic attack clinic ? An anxiety attack, increasing anxiety, or a panic attack can manifest itself in different ways. With a severe panic attack, a pronounced state of panic. With a mild panic attack, there is a slight feeling of internal tension. How long does a panic attack last (its duration)? The attack lasts more often than 10 - 45 minutes. In the practice of sarcastic clinics, there have been cases when a panic attack lasted 1–3 minutes, and there were clinical cases when the attack lasted up to 6 hours. Seizures appear without obvious provoking causes. As patients say, from scratch. In some patients, there is still a clear relationship between the provoking factor and the onset of the attack. Provoking factors may be riding in an elevator, riding in a car, riding in public transport, in the subway, speaking in an audience, an exam, a test, a report, a report, a confined space, an open area. Men or women experience severe fright and often call an ambulance (for example, pulse M ). Work fades into the background. Then, for many months or even years, they go to doctors in such specialties as a cardiologist, therapist, pediatrician, gastroenterologist, urologist, endocrinologist, neurologist, neurologist. There are patients who were treated by the above specialists every day for many years, they brought thick piles with the results of tests, studies, examinations, they did everything possible from the examinations, even studies such as computed tomography (CT), rheoencephalography (REG) , electroencephalography (EEG), nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI), Holter monitoring, fibrogastroduodenoscopy (FGDS), etc., etc., etc. But there were no results. As the panic attacks were, they remained. All this leads to hypochondria in the patient and disbelief in modern medicine. People constantly feel unwell, they note their poor health. Doctors do not find any serious pathology. The results of tests and examinations usually reveal minor changes, which occur in 70% of people. Patients who have experienced a panic attack once expect it to occur in the future. And this is very bad, since the syndrome of anticipation of a panic attack (PAS) . Later, other neurological and somatic symptoms appear, and consequences develop, such as severe depression. But not everything is as bad as it seems at first glance.

Meet the anxiety

“Most people manage to get panic attacks under control,” says Alexander Dygalo. – True, sometimes with the help of restrictions. For example, a person experienced panic in a large shopping center and now does not go there or use public transport.” Psychologists call this avoidance of “dangerous” places or situations protective behavior. It relieves discomfort, but does not solve the problem.

After all, a panic attack can happen anytime, anywhere. This means there are two options: lock yourself within four walls or stop hiding from anxiety. You need to go by bus - go, you have an appointment - don’t cancel, you need to go to a noisy crowded place - go ahead. There are no guarantees that you won’t panic there, but you remember about “roller coasters”? The anxiety will pass and nothing bad will happen.

Panic attacks treatment, treatment of panic attacks in Saratov, treatment of panic attacks

Sarklinik provides treatment for panic attacks in Saratov (Russia) in adults (men and women, including during pregnancy and after childbirth, before menstruation, menstruation, during menstruation, after menstruation), in adolescents (boys and girls), in children (boys and girls), treatment of panic attacks. Various treatment methods that affect the central nervous system, the higher autonomic centers of the brain. Therapy for panic attacks and relief is carried out on an outpatient basis.

Nocturnal attacks of PA and obsessions

Almost all people who regularly suffer from panic attacks, whether in me or during the day, become susceptible to obsessions - obsessive thoughts. Sometimes compulsions are added to them - involuntary obsessive movements and behaviors. The condition is characterized as obsessive-compulsive disorder - a more complicated course of neurosis.

The most common obsessive thoughts and fears during nighttime panic attacks are:

• Fear of death.
• Fear of suffocation or death from a heart attack.
• Hypochondria (fear of serious illnesses).
• Fear of going crazy.
• Feelings of loneliness and helplessness.
• Constant thoughts “I’m not like everyone else.”
• Fear of embarrassing yourself among people.
• Fear of being in serious condition and far from medical care.

All these thoughts take on an obsessive form and literally torment a person day and night. It seems to a neurotic that they are completely unable to control them. They, in turn, give rise to new attacks of panic attacks and increase the feeling of constant anxiety. Life turns into a real nightmare, from which there seems to be absolutely no escape.

Panic attacks - how to fight, how to cope?

Sarclinic patients often ask questions: “ How to deal with a panic attack , help?”, “How to overcome, how to cope with a panic attack at night, during sleep, during the day, in the morning, in the evening, at night, in the evenings, in the morning, during the day, during falling asleep, when waking up? “ How to get rid of panic attacks , how to relieve an attack?” “Panic attacks - what to do, can they be cured, are they dangerous, where to treat, how to overcome?”

Sarklinik conducts a rehabilitation program for people with panic attacks after treatment. Sarklinik knows how to treat and cure a panic attack . On the website sarclinic.ru you can ask a doctor a question online, read reviews. At the first consultation, the doctor will tell you how to live, what to take, how to treat, how attacks manifest themselves, how prevention works in the future, and how breathing exercises are useful. If there is a comprehensive fight against panic attacks, then a happy life without panic attacks .

Sign up for a consultation. They have contraindications. Specialist consultation is required. Photo: (©) Spaxia | Dreamstime.com \ Dreamstock.ru The people depicted in the photo are models, do not suffer from the diseases described and/or all similarities are excluded.

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Psychotherapeutic treatment

Panic attacks cannot be cured without psychotherapy using the following techniques:

1.Cognitive behavioral therapy is considered the most effective in this area - it is called the “gold standard”. The patient, with the help of a specialist, goes through several steps:

• changes your thoughts about panic to more positive ones;
• learns techniques that reduce anxiety;
• learns to overcome agoraphobia, etc.

This therapy models thinking and behavior during an attack. For example, the following situation is played out: you have a panic attack while you are driving a car. If you pull over and stop, will anything bad happen? Will you crash your car or die? Hardly! It is precisely this belief that the patient develops, and he ceases to be afraid of an attack.

2. Classic hypnosis involves putting the patient into a trance state, in which he is encouraged to get rid of panic disorder. This method shows good results, but not all people succumb to it.

3. Ericksonian hypnosis allows you to resolve internal conflicts. It is softer, since the person himself enters a trance with the help of a psychotherapist. Moreover, in this case it is believed that there are no non-hypnotizable people. In addition, the patient learns self-hypnosis, which helps him prevent panic attacks by reducing anxiety levels.

4. Body-oriented therapy is a whole set of methods that involve working with the body (by influencing it and regulating sensations, you can reduce the level of anxiety). This includes:

• breathing techniques;
• relaxation according to Jacobson.

5. Systemic family psychotherapy sees the cause of panic disorder in the family, in the relationships and disharmony existing there. That is, the patient’s condition depends on all members of his family, and therefore work is carried out with all of them.

6. Psychoanalyst sees the causes of panic attacks in unconscious conflicts - meaning feelings of guilt, problems with parents, internal aggression, etc. Therefore, the psychoanalyst will clarify these very conflicts for several years. It is this prolongation that is the disadvantage of this method.

Physiotherapeutic procedures such as:

• relaxing and tonic physical therapy;
• massage course;
• aromatherapy;
• mesodiencephalic modulation of the cerebral cortex (MDM therapy);
• electrosleep;
• color therapy.

During the course of treatment for PA, the patient may begin to doubt that it is happening correctly, that he needs psychotherapy and that it is truly successful, and that the medications have a positive effect. In addition, circumstances may turn out to be such that he violated the doctor’s recommendations and the prescribed regimen. At the same time, he may have a seizure. Therefore, the patient should not hesitate to ask for help or consult with his leading specialist. The latter will be ready at any time to answer all the patient’s questions both over the telephone and in a face-to-face meeting. Such communication, especially in the early stages, should be continuous.

help yourself

Early diagnosis and timely treatment allows you to completely get rid of panic attacks, of course, if they have become chronic. You can contribute to professional treatment at home or know how to relieve an attack and alleviate it, strengthen the body and eliminate negative factors.

The following folk remedies will help reduce fear:

1. Pour 300 ml of boiling water over a teaspoon of dry oregano, leave for 10 minutes, strain. Drink 150 gr. four times a day.
2. 100 gr. pour 500 ml of boiled water into young birch leaves. After infusion, strain for five hours. Take 100 ml every day.
3. Infusion of linden or chamomile. Pour boiling water (a glass) over a teaspoon of dried inflorescences and after half an hour you can drink it as tea, having first strained it.

Motherwort juice is also good; alcohol tincture of oregano; decoctions of lemon balm and mint; infusions of valerian, wormwood, nettle, hops.

You can help an upset psyche by walking on grass or bare ground with bare feet (even in the cold season) - this calms you down.

Aromatherapy gives excellent results - candles with essential oils of pine, eucalyptus, juniper. A massage with these substances won't hurt either.

Experts advise drinking as little strong tea and coffee as possible, sitting less at the computer and in front of the TV, walking more in the fresh air, playing sports and being physically active. The day should be distributed correctly between time for work, rest and sleep. You need to monitor your diet - it should be rational and not contain spicy seasonings. Avoid bad habits (smoking, alcohol), take vitamins.

Those susceptible to panic attacks should adhere to the following rules:

1. Don't be alone, don't isolate yourself. Communicate with family and friends, tell them about your condition - they will help you cope with it. Keep a diary, share your thoughts with him, analyze them, tune in to something pleasant.
2. Relax more often - read, spend time in nature, watch a fun movie, take a bath, listen to good relaxing music, that is, have a good rest. You can learn to meditate and do it at home, in silence, in a calm environment.
3. Learn to breathe correctly, master a breathing technique that reduces hyperventilation of the lungs and thus alleviates panic symptoms - through a paper or plastic bag. An excellent option is Pilates, that is, breathing exercises. Sign up for the section and practice it under the guidance of an experienced instructor.
4. Gradually, with the help of training the nervous system, develop immunity to stress, do not engage in self-hypnosis of fear of anything, do not scold yourself.
5. If the situation gets out of control, immediately contact a specialist.
6. Set yourself up for positivity. When anxious thoughts appear, try to switch to something good.

Symptoms

Unlike many other conditions, the symptoms of a panic attack are sudden and occur against a background of complete well-being.

A person develops:

• severe anxiety, unreasonable fear of death, an inexplicable feeling of great danger;
• increased heart rate and breathing;
• a feeling of difficulty breathing or suffocation, severe shortness of breath;
• persistent feeling of a lump in the throat;
• discomfort, feeling of squeezing or pain in the chest (usually in the left side);
• dizziness;
• abdominal pain, nausea; in severe cases, vomiting or diarrhea may occur;
• trembling in the arms and/or legs;
• numbness or tingling sensation in the limbs;
• sweating, flush of heat to the face and body;
• blurred vision, flickering of spots before the eyes.

Most patients note a strong feeling of unreality of what is happening, they are afraid of going crazy or losing control over their behavior.

Unlike other diseases and conditions accompanied by similar symptoms, the signs of a panic attack disappear within 10-30 minutes and leave no trace. Depending on the state of the person’s nervous system, concomitant diseases and external factors, waves of panic can be repeated with varying frequencies from once every 1-2 months to several times a day.

Typically, the first panic attack is the most severe and severe. It leaves behind a persistent fear of a repetition of what is happening, which is also a provoking factor. A pathological vicious circle develops, which is almost impossible to break without the help of specialists.