Panic attack symptoms and home treatment

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-12 17:37

According to statistics from the World Health Organization, about 2% of the world's population suffers from panic attacks. But medicine cannot yet offer a universal treatment.

Most often, the doctor prescribes pharmaceuticals to relieve symptoms. And a person has to deal with full therapy and getting rid of the psychophysiological causes of seizures at home.

What a panic attack looks like

An attack can occur for no apparent reason at home, but more often symptoms develop in situations that require a certain tension of the nervous system or provoke strong emotions.

Usually, the treatment of panic attack begins if several signs of the disease are present at the same time from the side:

• nervous system: lightheadedness, dizziness, loss of vision or hearing, tremors, cramps, or numbness in the limbs;
• psyche: anxiety and panic, confusion of thoughts, insomnia;
• heart and blood vessels: arrhythmia, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, hyperthermia, chills;
• respiratory apparatus: difficulty breathing, feeling of suffocation, lump in the throat, pain in the chest area;
• digestive tract: nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, accompanied by frequent urination, discomfort in the stomach.

Most often, only 3-5 symptoms appear at a time. Outwardly, a person during a panic attack looks pale, frightened. He is poorly aware of the surrounding reality. Usually this condition lasts no more than 10 minutes, but in medical practice there are cases when the attack lasted up to several hours.

Panic attacks can recur at different intervals. Sometimes once or twice a month, in some cases several times a day. Over time, a person develops a fear of seizures, which leads to depression and insomnia. The patient, fearing panic attacks, begins to shut himself off from society.

Difficulties of therapy

According to the statistics of American doctors, only half of the patients are diagnosed with panic attacks. And of them, only a third receive recommendations for treatment corresponding to the severity of the disease. In domestic medical practice, the situation is even worse. In many ways, this can be attributed to the subjective reactions of patients.

When a panic attack begins in a familiar home environment or under conditions of increased stress, the main symptoms that a person remembers are associated with dysfunction of internal organs.

For this reason, when seeking treatment, the patient focuses on these reactions.

He considers fear and anxiety to be only a consequence of the disease. And only after a long examination, doctors recommend consulting a psychiatrist.

During this time, complications and concomitant mental disorders develop. And given that science does not yet know the real causes of panic attacks, treatment is often limited to simple advice and prescribing to take antidepressants at home. This helps relieve symptoms, but it does not cure the disease.

How to deal with panic

Doctors are sure that the main problem is the disorder of the nervous system. An inadequate reaction of the brain to the surrounding reality provokes the development of symptoms. The body believes that it is in mortal danger, which is why fear appears.

In parallel, the glands produce hormones that provoke the whole complex of unpleasant sensations.

Most often, attacks develop against the background of:

• genetic predisposition;
• traumas and severe chronic diseases affecting the nervous and cardiovascular systems;
• constant stress, depression, lack of sleep;
• alcoholism or drug addiction.

Doctors note that the risk zone is mainly people aged 25 to 60 years. At the same time, in older people, panic attacks occur less often, and the symptoms are less pronounced. Also, according to statistics, women suffer from the disease twice as often as men.

Accordingly, it is necessary to fight a panic attack through the restoration of the normal mode of operation of the central nervous system and the prevention of attacks. To do this, it is best to visit a psychologist or psychotherapist who will help resolve possible mental problems. And also the best solution would be to undergo a complete examination of the body to make sure that panic attacks are not a symptom of severe pathology of internal organs or a side effect of medication.

How to stop an attack

There are 3 main methods that are recommended for people suffering from panic attacks. But you should choose one of them individually, taking into account the body's own characteristics:

1. Expectation. This will take a certain amount of courage and willpower. But after a while, the attack will surely pass. It is enough just to endure a few very unpleasant minutes, sitting on a bench or simply leaning against the nearest wall.
2. Relax. If you have experience in meditation, then you can use breathing practices. It is necessary to sit down, concentrating on a slow inhalation through the nose and the same exhalation through the mouth. Along with this, it is worth presenting soothing pictures, landscapes, situations.
3. Attack. You can also actively pursue your fear in a safe way. When the alarm comes, you just need to hit the wall, the pear several times. This simulation of stress and conflict will calm the brain.

At the same time, it is necessary to restore the normal functioning of the nervous system, using all the variety of relaxing techniques.

Panic attack therapy

If you do not want to constantly take antidepressants, given their long list of side effects, you can take advantage of the achievements of traditional medicine. The effect of herbs will be weaker, but there is no need to fear the consequences for the body if there is no allergy:

1. Add lemon balm, mint, linden and chamomile to your tea to taste. To avoid addiction, you can alternate herbs, drinking only one of them during the week. But it is better to prepare a soothing collection.
2. Make infusions of oregano, motherwort, chicory, valerian, St. John's wort according to the instructions on the pharmacy packaging.
3. Take the phytovannas course. To do this, for 2 weeks every evening, you need to lie in water at a comfortable temperature for a quarter of an hour. But before that, it is recommended to add 2 liters of infusion of thyme, lemon balm, mallow and smoke to the bath. Coniferous gatherings also have a calming effect.

To enhance the therapeutic effect, physiotherapy exercises are recommended. Exercise uses a psychosomatic connection to restore brain function by relieving muscle tension.

The best results are shown by standard complexes of stretching, yoga and Chinese qigong.

Additionally, doctors recommend mastering breathing and meditation practices. This is not difficult. It is enough to remember just a couple of simple exercises:

1. Conscious breathing. Having taken a comfortable position of the body, you just need to observe your breathing, trying not to influence the process itself. For 10 breaths, you need to keep your attention only on the nostrils. Then gradually the focus shifts to the nasal sinuses, nasopharynx, lungs.
2. Grounding. One must imagine that the “tail” goes from the tailbone deep into the earth. When you exhale, all the anxiety and negativity on it leave the body. When you inhale, the body is filled with fresh, calm energy.
3. Rain. To calm down quickly, you can imagine that stress and anxiety are washed away with water, like taking a shower. To make it more interesting, you can visualize drops of the most pleasant color.

A complete treatment course will help manage panic attacks. Gradually, the frequency and severity of attacks will subside. But the effect will only be achieved if efforts are made to recover steadily.