Blog 33: Panic Attacks
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Have you ever had a panic attack?
What are panic attacks? Panic attacks are when you all of a sudden feel very overwhelmed, panicked, scarred like something bad is going to happen or you may even feel like you are going to die. No I’m not exaggerating! YES you may feel like death is upon you. Your heart maybe racing really fast which are called palpitations. You may get chest pain, dizziness, numbness , tingling sensation and confusion… Your bones may seize up like you cannot move!
🚨 It’s always important to call 999 or head straight to A&E if you have chest pain, so please do this if you ever get these symptoms! This blog is for those who already suffer with panic attacks 🚨
Did you think you were having a heart attack? That’s how I felt! Here is my experience with panic attacks:
✨ I started to feel numbness and tingling in my jaw and neck… It then travelled down my arms and across my chest, where here I started to feel a sudden panic, as if something bad is about to happen to me! I stood up and felt faint where I then lay on the floor… I then became paralysed! I couldn’t move any part of my body apart from my eyes! I could speak too! My heart was racing and my hands turned/seized inwards and stiff (The paramedics said this was due to low oxygen) My chest felt like it was crushing inwards, I thought I was having a heart attack! I thought to myself, this is it… Once the paramedics got me into a normal state, I was then informed on what panic attacks are. I since then had a few more… but this time I knew what was about to happen and knew they were panic attacks. Now I have over come them and I know how to prevent and ease if you feel an attack coming on.
So why do we get panic attacks?
✨There are many different reasons why we get panic attacks. The main reasons are feeling anxious, stressed and overwhelmed 24.7… Maybe your job has got you doing too many tasks, only to go home to do too many tasks on repeat. Maybe you have recently lost a loved one which is very upsetting for us. Maybe life in general is overwhelming you. It could be something as little as a task you need to do in a day! Maybe big crowds make you anxious because you haven’t been outside in a while! The reason can be big or small. Panic attacks can come on any time , anywhere!
It’s important to know the signs of a panic attack so you can stop it from happening before it exaggerates...
What can I do to stop them from happening?
✨ Easily said than done but the most important thing is to acknowledge it’s a panic attack and to calm yourself down… Don’t focus on the symptoms or that will make you panic more. Now we have acknowledged whats happening heres what to do… We need to calm our breathing to get our hearts beating at normal rhythm again. We also need to distract our minds from the symptoms we are getting. We need to take some big deep breaths slowly, In through the nose and out through the mouth. Name 5 things you can see and say it out loud “what can I see? I can see a tv, a fish tank, lovely painting on the wall, my cat, a book…” now we say, what can I smell lets list 5 things (Go for a walk around your house or the area you are and smell 5 things) “I can smell the coffee machine, I can smell this candle on the table, I can smell food in the fridge, I can smell the freshly cut grass in my garden, I can smell the flowers”. What we are doing here is distracting our minds from panicking. This will help your heart to get back into a normal rhythm and the symptoms of this may go all together at this point. If you do not want self help, you can of course visit your local Doctors (GP) where they can assist you further here.
It’s important to pin point why you are having panic attacks so you can get rid of them for good. Hitting the problem head on.
You are not alone!
✨ If you would like to share your story to help others, comment down below!
I hope this helps,
Rachel Spooner 🫶🏻