All About Panic Attacks and How to Overcome them with Psychological Therapy & Counselling

What are Panic Attacks?

Panic attacks can be frightening and are an exaggerated form of Anxiety.

They can seem to come out of the blue, strike at random, make people feel powerless, out of control, and as if they are about to become unconscious, die or even go mad.

Many people experience panic attacks, but many also learn to cope and, eventually, to overcome them successfully.

Panic attacks are a kind of exaggerated version of the body’s normal response to fear, stress or excitement.

When faced with a situation seen as potentially threatening, the body automatically gears itself up for danger, by producing quantities of Adrenalin for ‘fight or flight’.

This would have prepared our ancestors to fight or run away from danger, but it’s much less appropriate to the stresses or dangers that we encounter today.

However, our body can still respond in this way to both real and imagined dangers.

Symptoms of Panic Attacks

The symptoms of panic attacks fall into four categories and can include:

• Physical symptoms: Racing or pounding heartbeat, chest pain or tightness, sweating, trembling or shaking, shortness of breath, choking sensations, nausea or stomach discomfort, dissiness or lightheadedness, and hot or cold flashes.

• Emotional symptoms: Feeling intense fear or dread, a sense of impending doom, or a loss of control.

• Cognitive symptoms: Feeling detached from reality, having a sense of unreality or depersonalisation, feeling like things are not real.

• Behavioural symptoms: Avoiding situations or places where panic attacks have occurred before, or changing behaviour in an attempt to avoid future panic attacks.

Panic attacks can be a frightening and overwhelming experience, but it’s important to know that they are treatable.

There are effective treatments available, including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), medication, and relaxation techniques.

The effect of panic attacks on the body

The Adrenalin that is released during panic episodes has the following effects on your body:-

• Muscles tense up.
• Breathing becomes faster to take in more oxygen, which muscles need to help them transform sugar into energy for action.
• The heart pumps harder to get blood to where it’s needed.
• Blood is diverted to the muscles, away from areas that don’t need it, so you become pale.
• Digestion slows down and salivary glands dry up, causing a dry mouth.
• Your senses become more alert; the slightest sound or touch provokes a reaction.
• Sweating increases.

These reactions occur in just fractions of a second and can happen in moments of pleasurable excitement, as well as in fear-provoking and threatening situations.

When Adrenalin floods your body, it can cause a number of different physical and emotional sensations that may affect you during panic attacks.

What Sorts of Things Can Produce Panic Attacks?

There are a number of physical causes that could be causing or contributing to your panic attacks:

• Unstable blood sugar levels (hypoglycaemia) can be the result of poor eating habits, dieting and fasting or some diabetic conditions.
• Over-breathing (hyper-ventilation) happens when you are under stress, though you may not be aware of it. Your breathing becomes more rapid, in order to meet the body’s demand for more oxygen for the muscles. As a result, you breathe out more carbon-dioxide than normal, which can bring on panic symptoms.
• Digestive problems, particularly food allergies, may be to blame.
• Excessive Caffeine, cigarettes, alcohol, and certain street drugs (such as LSD, marijuana and cocaine) can bring on a panic reaction.
• Withdrawing from any drug that has a sedative effect, such as nicotine, alcohol and tranquillisers, can do the same.
• Some prescription medication, including some amphetamines, steroids, anti-asthma drugs, and even nasal decongestants have been reported to increase anxiety and panic.
• Being in chronic pain can be another cause of panic attacks, as can simple jet lag.

It may be worthwhile trying to identify if any of these physical causes may be leading to feelings of panic before consulting for psychological help.

Therapy & Counselling for Panic Attacks

We offer a number of different types of therapy and counselling for panic attacks and panic-related problems.

Choosing the most suitable therapy depends on a number of different considerations including factors such as:

• How long you have had the problem.
• Your personal preferences.
• How your problem is affecting you today.

You can read more about the different types of therapy for panic attacks below.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Panic Attacks

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT as it is more commonly known, is a very popular form of psychological therapy based on the idea that your emotions are the direct result of your thought processes and not caused by things that happen to you.

This central idea, that human emotions are the result of individual subjective interpretations, is comprehensively supported by clinical data collected over the last 50 years.

Therefore, overcoming your problem will involve exploring the core beliefs and values that you hold regarding situations in which you experience panic attacks.

You can find out more about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy here.

Pluralistic Therapy for Panic Attacks

Pluralistic Therapy is a contemporary approach to psychological therapy that is designed to be adapted to the needs and preferences of the client.

In this sense, Joan (our pluralistic specialist) will work with you to understand what works best for you and your panic related problems.

Pluralistic therapy may combine elements of CBT, Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy (CBH) or general counselling and support mechanisms.

You can find out more about Pluralistic Therapy here.

Could Reality Therapy Be Right For You?

Reality Therapy is an approach which argues that your panic attacks are the result of the way that you think (your cognition) and not the result of any kind of external influence.

It also argues that any past experiences which you may believe are the cause of your problems cannot really be held responsible because those situations are no longer happening and therefore do not exist.

By helping you to take responsibility for the way that you feel, Reality Therapy can help you to stop creating the anxiety and stress associated with your problems as well as significantly improve the sense of control you have over the trajectory of your life going forward.

Arrange your FREE initial consultation here.

If you’d like to find out more about overcoming panic attacks or recovering from any of your mental health problems then why not arrange a free initial consultation with us.

During this consultation we will discuss your particular issues and the different types of mental health counselling we offer without you having to commit to any counselling going forward.

The consultation lasts around 50 minutes and is a great opportunity to meet with either Paul or Joan and decide if you would like to proceed with any support.