Anxiety Disorders/Panic Attacks?

Hi, sorry to hear your friend is getting panic attacks. If he/she want to eliminate panic attacks tell them to take the following steps.

1. Breathe properly. If you control your breathing, you control panic. As soon as you notice the signs of anxiety, check your breathing: breathe in slowly through your nose pushing your tummy out (to the count of 5 or so). Breathe out slowly and for a bit longer (to the count of 7 or so) through your mouth. Do not breathe rapidly or shallowly (in the chest area). This will soon restore the balance of oxygen and you will feel a lot better.

2. Try Cognitive Behavioural Therapy! CBT is proven to be the most effective thing for panic attacks and anxiety. It takes a bit of work, but it is super effective. (After 15 years of panic attacks, mine stopped completely). You can take a course for free online at: livinglifetothefull.com It has been funded by NHS Scotland and has had great results thus far.

3. Try relaxation exercise tapes (progressive muscular relaxation). They really help if you practise often enough. This site has instructions on how to do it without the tapes (and other useful info): http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/resource...

Best of luck to you both.

Hi,

There is this guide by anxiety expert Joe Barry , he has taught thousands of people to be panic free without any medication using a revolutionary new technique, http://panicaway.deals-guide.com/ , its really a great guide , it should help you get rid of panic attacks forever in a few days Hope this helps you and wish you the best of health

just ask your friend to tell their doctor (the person who originally prescribed the medication) exactly what you said here, the doctor will definitely understand and there is most likely an alternate medication to prevent your friend's panic attacks and that doesn't change your friend's personality or normal behavior.

you could even go with him or her to the doctor as support.

There are five major Anxiety Disorders and it is not unusual for people to experience symptoms of more than one Anxiety Disorder at the same time. e.g. a person with panic disorder may also have symptoms of social anxiety and/or some symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder.

Panic Disorder is the fear of having a spontaneous panic attack. The intensity of the attack can be extremely severe and many people feel they are having a heart attack and/or are going to die or are going insane. It is not unusual for people to become fearful and chronically anxious about having another one.

Social Anxiety is the experience of fear, anxiety and/or panic in social situations where people think they may embarrass themselves or may make a fool of themselves in some way.

Acute Stress Disorder /Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the experience, or witness of, or confrontation with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death, or serious injury, or threat of physical injury of self or others. While people with PTSD can experience panic attacks, the major feature of PTSD is the reliving of the event/s through dreams and/or or nightmares or flashbacks.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is the experience of obsessive, unwanted thoughts and/or compulsive behaviours that may include rituals which can markedly interfere with day to day living. This can include repetitive behaviours such as cleaning, checking, counting, repeating words silently, or hand washing, e.g. a person who has a fear of contamination (from germs) may wash their hands repeatedly.

Generalised Anxiety Disorder is persistence and excessive anxiety or worry which is experienced for six months or more about events or activities which may or may not happen.

Panic Attacks

People can experience panic attacks with any of the above disorders. 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.