Panic Attacks

A brief overview
The symptoms of panic attacks and anxiety can be many and varied.

Everyone who experiences panic and anxiety, feels the effects of the the 'Fight' and Flight' response. The fight and flight response is a natural response to danger in humans and in animals. When the fight and flight response is activated, hormones are released through the body to enable us to either fight the dangerous situation or to run from it. 

The effects of the fight and flight response include an increase in our heart rate to pump blood faster to the brain, lungs and muscles. We may begin to breathe quickly to increase our oxygen levels, our muscle tense and we can begin to perspire.

Many people don't realise that the way they think when they have an anxiety disorder, turns on the 'fight and flight' response. Our bodies can't tell the difference between the thoughts, 'what if I have a panic attack, what if I make a fool of myself, why am I feeling like this, why is this happening to me, what if the doctor has made a mistake etc etc'.... and the thought :

'Here comes a truck at 100 kms an hour and it has no brakes. It is heading straight for me!' 

The way we think when we have an anxiety disorder, the 'what ifs' etc, keep turning on the fight and flight response and around and around we go.

Another group of symptoms include depersonalisation and/or derealisation. These are common symptoms of spontaneous panic attacks, and are part of a group of symptoms known as Dissociation. 

People with an anxiety disorder can also experience a number of different effects as a result of their disorder. These effects can include lack of concentration and extreme exhaustion. 

Three different types of panic attacks are now recognised: 

Spontaneous panic attacks (uncued panic attacks) This particular panic attack is associated to Panic Disorder. This attack comes without any warning, day or night, irrespective of what the person is doing. The spontaneous attack is not related to, and is not induced by any particular situation or place. Many people can be woken from sleep with this type of attack. 

Specific panic attacks (cued panic attacks) These occur in relation to specific feared situations or places. For example social situations for people with Social Anxiety. Revisiting the scene or scenes reminiscent of the traumatic events in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or exposure to a particular anxiety producing situation in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder such as being exposed to germs.

Situational predisposed panic attacks People with Panic Disorder may experience this type of attack. Some people with Panic Disorder can be predisposed to having panic attacks in certain situations or places, although they are not frightened of the situation or place. For example someone may experience panic attacks while driving their car. Sometimes they will have them, other times they won't. They are predisposed to having attacks while driving, but the attacks are not a response to a fear of driving.

treatment
Panic Attacks often respond well to a combination of Suggestion Hypnosis using NLP and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Recovery for everyone means understanding the symptoms and how they happen. This in turn helps us to learn to lose our various fears, and by doing so we 'turn off' the fight and flight response.

In some cases Analytical Hypnotherapy may be used if deemed appropriate