How to cope with a panic attack and what to do at the time of the attack. How to deal with a panic attack

Panic attack is an unexplained sudden onset feeling unwell, in which the patient is disturbed by a feeling of anxiety, combined with various autonomic symptoms. For determining this term doctors often use a number of other terms: vegetative crisis , VSD with a crisis course , cardioneurosis etc. Panic attacks show clear symptoms. This condition should be treated by a specialist.

How does a panic attack manifest?

A sharp, sudden feeling unreasonable anxiety Probably everyone had to experience at least once. Such panic disorders are usually accompanied by sudden onset strong heartbeat feeling faint and trembling in the knees. Such a reaction is the norm if a person really reacts to a threat or danger. But if such a condition is observed regularly, then we are already talking about a neuropsychiatric disorder called a panic attack. Given pathological condition manifests itself for no reason and covers a person in completely different life situations. This can happen in transport or in other places with large quantity people, as well as closed spaces Oh. Initially, it seems that there are no reasons for such a reaction. According to modern psychologists, panic attacks are observed in about 5% of people who live in big cities.

The reasons

Experts assure that panic attacks manifest themselves in a person as attacks in response to stressful situations and reflect a kind of internal struggle of consciousness with the aggression of the outside world. Another reason why a person is bothered by symptoms panic attack, this is the presence of certain psychological conflicts that a person cannot realize and resolve. Of course, people who are prone to such attacks are primarily concerned about whether such disorders are dangerous, and how to cope with the manifestations of VVD. There is more than one forum on the network where people prone to such an attack are looking for an answer on how to get rid of such manifestations.

Most often, panic attacks, which are sometimes defined by doctors as, hearts, etc., occur in people who have poor protection from the effects of stress due to a shortage in the body and norepinephrine . It is these substances that effectively prevent the impact of emotional and physical discomfort on the body. Such people can maintain their composure for some time, but when stressed too much and for a long time, they are covered by a wave of panic attacks. Women are more susceptible to such manifestations. Panic attacks often occur during pregnancy, as well as in people who often drink alcohol.

Anything can serve as a starting point for the manifestation of a panic attack: stress , emotional fluctuations , lack of sleep . At the same time, a panic attack overcomes the patient not at the moment when there is an objective danger, but at regular time. Accordingly, it is difficult for a person to explain to himself what is the cause of such nervousness.

Symptoms

The most pronounced, as a rule, is the first attack of a panic attack. Nervousness in a person is accompanied by a sharp rise, a pronounced affect. The patient's heart beats strongly, sometimes he may even lose consciousness. All subsequent manifestations of panic attacks in most cases are less pronounced.

Already after the first pronounced attack on how to deal with such manifestations, a person should consult a doctor. Treatment of panic attacks is desirable to begin immediately after the first cases of neurosis. How to treat the disease, and what methods are preferable in an individual case, the specialist will also tell you.

People who suffer from panic attacks tend to have high blood pressure. daytime, which accounts for the period of the highest social activity.

Both during the first panic attack and during subsequent attacks, a person has pronounced autonomic symptoms : sweating, palpitations, pressure in the throat, headache, and . Such an attack lasts about ten to fifteen minutes, but sometimes it can last up to an hour. After the symptoms subside, the patient feels severe weakness and depression.

A panic attack is a separate disease in which a person may not manifest other symptoms. phobia . Despite this, often in patients prone to such attacks, various emotional-affective disorders are also observed. So, panic attacks can be combined with agoraphobia (fear of open space) claustrophobia (fear of closed spaces) fear of the crowd .

Sometimes panic disorder can be mistaken by a person for other diseases. Such misconceptions are most often present in those who have only recently begun to experience panic attacks. Such attacks are easily confused with manifestations of somatic diseases, with neurological diseases, as well as with some mental disorders.

How to spot a panic attack

There are objective criteria to determine that a person is really prone to panic attacks. You should accurately assess your condition and determine whether the symptoms described above appear, and also make sure that the following points are present.

People who are prone to panic attacks have attacks that come on suddenly and unexpectedly, with about four attacks a month. By at least, during one of the attacks, a person feels the fear of a new panic attack. During an attack, there is a feeling of unreality of what is happening, a person is afraid of dying, getting sick. It is possible to assume that a person is developing a panic attack if he has at least four of the following symptoms: strong pulse and heartbeat; tremor and feeling of chills; sweating; labored breathing; painful or difficult breathing; discomfort in the chest on the left; nausea; and a state close to fainting; a feeling of fear of going crazy or doing an inadequate act; numbness or tingling in the arms and legs, sudden cold or hot flashes.

Diagnostics

After a person complains of the manifestation of the symptoms described above, doctors initially carry out all necessary research to rule out pathologies internal organs- blood vessels, brain, etc.

Diagnosis is based on the definition clinical manifestations disease, as well as on determining the degree of human anxiety. For this, a special scale for assessing panic attacks and anxiety attacks is used.

Treatment

The best way to overcome panic attacks today is considered to be a competent combination of medication and not drug therapy. The doctor adequately assesses the patient's condition and selects the appropriate antidepressant drug for him. It should be taken over a long period. Sometimes this treatment lasts up to a year. In this way, you can adjust the content in the patient's body serotonin and norepinephrine . Modern antidepressants can positively affect the patient's quality of life without causing unwanted side effects. The frequency and intensity of seizures decrease in a person, fear disappears, and the general psychological state and mood improve. In addition, if necessary, tranquilizers, neuroleptics are prescribed to patients. If a patient is diagnosed with a vestibular form of panic attacks, then he is also shown taking neurometabolic stimulants with a sedative effect.

As non-drug methods therapy practiced by conducting sessions of psychotherapy, changing lifestyles. It is important that as few stressful situations as possible occur in a person’s life, and more positive emotions are observed.

In addition to these methods of treatment for panic attacks, it is sometimes advisable for the patient to carry out some physiotherapy procedures. Practiced MDM-therapy (mesodiencephalic modulation of the cerebral cortex), electrosleep, color therapy, aromatherapy. Also, sometimes reflexology is prescribed, a course of relaxing massage, physiotherapy exercises aimed at relaxation, and later - to increase tone. However, exercises should be moderately intense and dosed, since serious loads can worsen the patient's condition.

Also practiced ancillary treatment herbs, in which patients are advised to take decoctions of certain herbs every day with a calming effect. You can cook decoctions and, veronica, oregano, nettle, lemon balm, mint, chamomile, hops, etc.

You should also pay attention to the features of nutrition. It is better to exclude spicy seasonings and foods from the diet, strong coffee and tea, alcoholic beverages, as they stimulate the nervous system.

How to reduce the intensity of an attack?

A patient who periodically manifests attacks of a panic attack must learn to cope with the situation on his own, reducing the severity of manifestations. Sometimes doing simple recommendations allows you to completely prevent the development of a panic attack.

So, initially a person should always be aware of the fact that a panic attack does not threaten his health. This simple thought, however, is very difficult to realize during an attack. But if you try to master this method, then over time you can learn to control your mind during a panic attack.

To stop the panic, you need to try to take control of the situation that allegedly threatens the person. For this, a simple paper bag is suitable, breathing into which will help to control the work of internal organs with a glance.

The presence next to the patient of that person who is aware of his problems and can help at any time will also help. Even those people who are used to coping with all problems on their own should seek help. A person suffering from panic attacks should at least mentally give themselves permission to seek help from other people if necessary, and not consider this unworthy behavior. You also need to remember that there is always the opportunity to promptly call a doctor.

Pharmacist, medical journalist Speciality: Pharmacist

Education: Graduated from Rivne State Basic Medical College majoring in Pharmacy. Graduated from Vinnitsa State medical University them. M.I. Pirogov and an internship based on it.

Work experience: From 2003 to 2013 she worked as a pharmacist and head of a pharmacy kiosk. Awarded with certificates and distinctions for long-term and conscientious work. Articles on medical topics were published in local publications (newspapers) and on various Internet portals.

Panic attacks and their causes. In the article will be discussed about this mental pathology, which prevents an adequate person from building his relationships with his immediate environment.

The content of the article:

A panic attack is a condition that can occur both episodically and with frightening regularity for the affected party. Increased anxiety is typical for any person in certain life situations, which is not a deviation from the generally accepted norm. One in case of panic on a permanent basis should be in urgently solve the problem.

Classification of panic attacks

• Spontaneous panic attack. The very name of a state that is uncomfortable for a person suggests that everything happens for no apparent reason for the poor fellow. People suddenly, being in a safe environment, begin to feel fear and even horror of the incomprehensible nature of education.
• situational panic attack. Not all events in our life can be called desirable and pleasant phenomena. The same visit to the dentist is unlikely to please any person if it is impossible to postpone a visit to the dental clinic. Consequently, a protest against a certain situation is instinctively developed, which then causes increased anxiety.
• Conditional Panic Attack. In the classification of the described phenomenon, such a subspecies is the least amenable to diagnosis. Under the influence of strong drinks, in a narcotic dope, and even with hormonal failure a person may experience a state of anxiety and fear.

Causes of panic attacks

1. hereditary factor. Psychologists are sure that at the genetic level we receive a certain coded program for further behavior in life. It is difficult to argue with this hypothesis, because in many cases children are not only similar to their parents in appearance, but are also able to copy their habits. If there were cases of increased anxiety in adults in the family, then their offspring may inherit this predisposition.
2. social factor. The environment in which a person is located clearly affects his manner of behavior. If some people, of necessity, have to communicate closely with aggressive persons, then systematic panic attacks simply cannot be avoided. A tyrannical boss can also provoke the described phenomenon, because it can be extremely difficult to fight back without fear of losing your job.
3. Self-doubt. Not everyone is given to feel always and everywhere a self-sufficient person. It is self-doubt that can provoke panic attacks in a person, which are activated in a certain life situation.
4. endured humiliation. This factor is especially dangerous when it happened in front of a grateful gossip audience. Such an incident can cause significant psychological trauma to a person, because the earth is usually full of rumors. Panic attacks begin precisely if the injured party in again sees his offender.
5. . Some people, after a crisis situation for them, withdraw into themselves, fearing a repetition of events that are painful for them. At the slightest hint of their reappearance, the poor fellows begin attacks of fear, which are practically not controlled.
6. Lack of certain substances in the body. Our internal system functioning always reacts very sharply to an irresponsible attitude towards it. If the body is deprived of such substances as zinc and magnesium, then this has an extremely negative effect on the well-being and behavior of a person. Accompanied by a similar shortage of material needed for people panic attacks in the absence of any obvious external stimuli.

Risk group for panic attacks

• . These can be both teenagers and well-established individuals who have experienced aggression from other people in the past. Not necessarily the fact that happened was associated with physical violence against a child or sexual assault in his direction. Sometimes a word can hit so hard that it leads to psychological trauma in a potential victim.
• hypochondriacs. People who are simply obsessed with their health often experience panic attacks. Even redness on the skin they perceive as contagious disease, and a small pimple is associated with the onset of sepsis. Such persons do not need additional reasons so that they feel a panic attack. They simply dissolve into this state without any dope to do so.
• Pregnant women. Ladies in interesting position are always subject to fears regarding the bearing of a child and childbirth in the future. One misinterpreted fact is enough for them to start to panic and even hysteria. Hormones play a rather cruel joke with the fair sex, which makes them puppets in the hands of certain life circumstances.
• young mothers. A woman who has just given birth to a child is very often in a state of excessive nervousness. At the same time, she may already have children and even have some experience in their upbringing. However, panic attacks often visit young mothers when their babies are sick or just unsuccessfully fell on their ass.
• Pathological jealous people. Once Shakespeare called this feeling a monster with green eyes, which really corresponds to the truth. Those who do not trust their soul mates definitely fall into the risk zone of “lucky ones” with a voiced problem.

The main signs of a panic attack in a person

1. . A similar phenomenon occurs not always from positive emotions that excite the blood. Unpleasant situations can also cause outright panic in a person, after which the heart begins to beat in a double rhythm.
2. Excessive sweating. The sebaceous glands do not always work actively only in the hot season, which is quite natural reaction body in the heat. In a critical situation for a person, he may sweat excessively due to emotions that are unnecessary for him.
3. Intermittent breathing. With active sports, a voiced phenomenon often occurs. However, under stress, it can manifest itself even more clearly up to attacks of suffocation. At the same time, the lack of air is so pronounced that even sometimes it needs to be medical intervention specialists.
4. Tremor. Hands are shaking, as most jokes say, not only from a hangover. Trembling of the whole body is possible with strong emotional excitement, which is characteristic of a panic attack.
5. Pain in the region of the heart. Even people without health problems feel compression in the chest area when they are afraid of something. The heart always reacts quickly to any stressful situation which can in the worst case result in a heart attack.
6. Nausea and vomiting. Many people remember the discomfort when, during the exams, they began to feel a little “disturbed”. Panic attacks are often accompanied by data unpleasant phenomenon in which the very sight of food causes disgust.
7. Increasing pressure. AT this case the question of the initial predisposition of a person to hypertension or hypotension is not important. With the problem voiced, it often seems that the head is simply clamped in a vise with excessive emotional reaction for any events.
8. manic thoughts. At the same time, no one talks about the desire to harm any person. In such a state, people often think about the possibility of an accident or even the death of a loved one. Thoughts of such a plan clearly cannot have a beneficial effect on the human psyche, causing a state of increased anxiety.

Ways to deal with panic attacks

If the problem has become cyclical, then you should seriously think about ways to resolve it. You can use both traditional methods and alternative ways exit from the vicious circle.

Physical exercise to relieve stress

Some exercises to eliminate the fear of another panic attack look like this:

• Aerobic exercise. The endorphins released at the same time significantly increase the activity of any person. The sounded substances are responsible for the balance of the nervous state of an individual who has decided to improve his body. At one time, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger became very interested in this technique, who understood the full benefits of such exercises. The range of voiced loads is quite large, because it includes skiing, swimming, basketball and other sports.
• . Such gestures help in resolving the issue of how to deal with a panic attack. Inverted postures in the form of a stand on the shoulders or head make it possible to cheer up a nervous person and get rid of depression. If you have back problems, you can try the position, which will be fixed with the help of two rollers. Initially, it is necessary to put either pillows or folded blankets crosswise for further exercises. Then you should bend your knees and place yourself on the prepared surface so that the lower back and pelvis are on them, and the head and shoulders remain on the floor. When stretching the legs, you need to turn your shoulders down with the maximum opening of the chest. Hands in this position should remain on the floor along the torso. It is worth staying in this position for about ten minutes so that the energy entering the body suppresses the attack of despair and fear.

1. Recognition of the problem. In order to neutralize the enemy, you need to know him by sight. You should clearly tell yourself that there is a certain deviation in the previously normalized behavior pattern.
2. An oasis of calm. We always feel good where we are loved and understood. You need to be a uniform scoundrel so that there is no zone where you are always and everywhere expected. Therefore, it is necessary during a panic attack to go to the light that will warm.
3. . This method is very banal, but it absolutely works. It is easy to entrust your thoughts and doubts to paper even when you are overtaken by a panic attack. Paper will endure everything and even make it possible to understand that not everything in this world is so bad.
4. new hobby. Spokes even in male hands needed if a male is subject to systematically recurring panic attacks. A woman can even try to fix the faucet, when she previously considered it an exclusively male act. There is no need to be afraid of something new, because the contemplation of the past leads exclusively to the degradation of the individual.
5. soothing water procedures . With this formulation, many people immediately recall childhood and holidays at sea. However, a similar action can be performed at home. At the onset of a panic attack, you can take either a salt bath or water treatments based on medicinal herbs.
6. Introduction to soul music. In most cases, people are calmed by this factor. In this case, it is best to use meditation products in order to bring a person to a state of rest in a short period of time.

Folk methods of dealing with a panic attack

• herb oregano. A couple of spoons of this raw material must be poured with two glasses of boiling water, and then the resulting healing elixir should be infused for 15 minutes. After this procedure, you need to strain the broth in order to continue to use it in the amount of a tablespoon before the first meal every day.
• herbal collection. In this case, similar depressant is made on the basis of two spoons of leuzea root, dandelion and chicory, to which are added three spoons of St. John's wort and a spoonful of flax herb. The listed ingredients must be poured with a liter of water, in order to then bring the resulting solution to a boil. Eight hours of infusion of this drug is enough to subsequently use it in equal doses during the day.
• A decoction of the bark of viburnum. To prepare such magic elixir to calm down nervous system it is necessary to add a couple of spoons of the voiced agent in 300 ml of boiling water, and then insist it for half an hour. It is recommended to dilute the filtered product with water and take a tablespoon three times a day.
• Infusion of birch leaves. At this recipe to eliminate the alarming symptoms of impending panic, one should take one hundred grams of the voiced feedstock and pour 0.5 ml of boiling water over it. Insist this remedy you need for a couple of hours, then three times a day for half a glass to use it before meals.
• Mint infusion. The sounded plant has always been famous for its properties to calm the nervous system. Two tablespoons of this miracle herb must be steamed in a glass of boiling water. Three times a day, you need to drink a glass of the resulting infusion to get rid of panic attacks.

A variety of fears, phobias and panic attacks are a real scourge of residents of large cities. Most of us have experienced unexplained bouts of fear and anxiety at least once in our lives. So why does neurosis occur, and how to deal with it?

The answer to the question, what is the reason for the development of neurotic fears, changes over the years: psychological science does not stand still, revealing new factors. The most obvious source of neuroses is psychological trauma. For example, claustrophobia (panic fear of enclosed spaces) can be formed as a result of a person being under a collapse. However, a one-time exposure to an acute stressful situation is far from the most common factor in the development of a neurotic disorder.

Much more often, minor stresses lead to neurosis, imperceptibly undermining the body's strength. Unresolved internal conflicts are considered the main culprit, tirelessly loosening the nervous system.

There are three types of internal conflicts and, accordingly, types of neurosis:

1. hysterical neurosis. It manifests itself in ignoring the objective conditions of reality, inflated claims to others, lack of self-criticism and difficulties in restraining desires. Tantrums tend to unconsciously manipulate others, causing them to feel guilty and self-pity. Psychosomatic manifestations hysterical neurosis turn out perfect tool to get what they want from loved ones and justify their own selfish behavior.
2. Obsessive-psychasthenic neurosis. It is characterized by a contradiction between needs, desires and moral attitudes. Leads to increased self-control, hyper-cautious behavior (obsessional neurosis and anxiety neurosis).
3. Neurasthenic neurosis. It manifests itself in excessive demands on oneself, a painful desire for success without taking into account real opportunities organism and personality. To a certain extent, the frantic rhythm of modern life contributes to the formation of this neurosis.

A person can suffer immediately from several types of intrapersonal conflicts. However, the inability to reconcile existing contradictions does not always end in neurosis. Scientists point to another factor that significantly increases the chances of getting sick - a genetic predisposition.

A more acute reaction to stress is characteristic of asthenics. Their nervous system is highly sensitive and depletes faster. In the absence of negative factors, an asthenic can live his whole life in peace, without ever knowing what a neurosis is. If, however, some other unfavorable circumstances (stress, psychotrauma, intrapersonal conflicts) are added to the innate weakness of the nervous system, then the psyche easily fails.

For neurosis of any type, the following symptoms are characteristic:

• emotional disorder (depressed mood, general pointless anxiety and specific fears);
• sleep disorder (insomnia, nightmares);
• movement disorders ( nervous tics, hyperkinesis);
• migraines arising from nervous tension (exam, public speaking, etc.);
• psychogenic skin reactions(neurodermatitis, psoriasis, urticaria);
• disorders gastrointestinal tract(diarrhea, constipation, ravenous appetite, anorexia nervosa);
• somatovegetative disorders (sweating, fever attacks, nausea, heart rate, difficulty breathing, fainting).

Vegetative crises (panic attacks) are also characteristic of VVD. That is, panic attacks develop not only against the background of fears and mental disorders, but may also be the result hormonal disruptions, organic damage CNS, infectious diseases, intoxications, physical overstrain and hypodynamia.

Treatment of fears, neuroses, panic attacks

Usually a person, when faced with panic attacks for the first time, turns to cardiologists, neuropathologists. Ultimately, however, the main burden in the treatment of neurosis falls on the shoulders of psychotherapists and psychiatrists. Specialists determine the causes of fears, panic attacks and select the appropriate methods of therapy: medication, physiotherapy, rational psychotherapy, desensitization method, hypnosis, art therapy.

Medical therapy

It is important to note that antidepressants and tranquilizers do not actually treat fears, neuroses, and panic attacks. Their action is calculated only on the oppression of the central nervous system and the stabilization of the autonomic nervous system. If no other action is taken besides taking medication to eliminate neurosis, it is likely that after the drug is discontinued, anxiety, fears and panic attacks will return with renewed vigor.

Usage pharmacological agents sometimes justified, so they help to support emotional condition a person is normal and stop attacks of panic fear during periods of exacerbation of neurosis. However, pills for fear have many contraindications and side effects, including the formation of chemical and psychological dependence.

How to deal with panic and fear without medication?

It is better to contact specialists who offer help to get rid of fear without medication. The main tasks of the psychotherapy of neuroses are:

• overcoming intrapersonal conflicts;
• the formation of healthy self-esteem;
• establishing adequate requirements for oneself and the outside world;
• training in self-regulation skills for panic attacks.

One of the most effective methods correction of intrapersonal conflicts, is considered a cognitive approach. From the point of view of cognitive psychologists, internal contradictions are based on poorly consistent ideas about the world. The inability to give preference to not one of the available options for solving the problem, makes a person in constant stress.

For example, a woman looks after her elderly father, spends all her free time on this, and therefore cannot arrange her personal life. Despite the fact that the father can be placed in a specialized institution or sent to live with other relatives for a while, the woman does not dare to do this. She is hindered by the installation that grateful children do not do this. She may also begin to blame herself for recurring feelings of irritation towards her father. negative feelings are forced out of consciousness, but continue to exert Negative influence on the body. Develop psychosomatic disorders which may include panic attacks.

The cure for neurosis and the accompanying panic attacks is to change one of the poorly aligned elements in the mind: the desire to immediately arrange a personal life or the understanding of filial duty. Any belief can be changed if it is questioned. In this example, the fear of being a bad daughter can be dispelled by a frank conversation with the father. After all, it may be that he would gladly agree to live in a boarding house for the elderly in order to be able to communicate with peers.

Dealing with cognitive distortions

So, a key role in the development panic fears, phobias, neuroses do not play themselves life circumstances and our attitude towards them. For example, it is not the need to speak in public that causes fear and panic, but our thoughts and expectations associated with public speaking.

It is far from always easy to understand why we have certain negative associative connections that produce fears and panic. Psychologists believe that most psychological problems, neuroses and phobias are generated by basic negative beliefs:

• the thought "I'm not okay" and its derivatives;
• negative attitude "Others are not okay";
• the panicked thought "The world is not okay."

These beliefs are usually acquired in childhood. They remain in our unconscious, undermine our sense of well-being and force us to constantly be in a mode of self-defense (anxiety neurosis) or increased self-control (obsessional neurosis). For example, the conviction of a person that something is wrong with him, that he is bad, makes him feel because of many of his desires and natural manifestations of personality.

Some cultural prejudices also influence the development of neuroses and fears. As the main psychologists distinguish the installation of "should":

• men do not cry;
• the girl should behave modestly;
• man must work hard;
• I have to be first in everything;
• A woman must start a family before the age of 30.

Without exposing such social stereotypes to criticism, a person drives his personality into too narrow a framework. Every time he deviates from the rigid rules “the right way”, he will inevitably feel fear and panic. Therefore, it is useful to occasionally revise your beliefs.

Get a notebook to work with thoughts that cause fears and panic attacks. On the first page write what you are afraid of. Whatever the subject of your fear, it is always associated with an undesirable situation for you. For example, you are haunted by the same panic fear public speaking. You describe in detail what terrible things can happen on stage: you can trip on the stage, forget the lyrics, say something stupid. You will be reacted badly, booed, the boss will be displeased. This is all that you do not want, what you dream of avoiding.

Then turn the page and describe what you want. No, you don't want to ever speak in public. In fact, you dream of being treated well, that the employer respects you and considers you a competent employee. As you list your desires, various “buts” will inevitably begin to emerge - these are the thoughts that need to be changed.

"I want to be treated with respect, but if I don't perform well, I will give people a reason to ridicule."

Destructive beliefs that cause a panic fear reaction:

1. Someone else's failure is sure to cause ridicule.
2. People only do what they are looking for a reason to gloat.
3. The impression of a person is created by one single act.
4. To be loved, you must always be on top.

Already at this stage of working with fear, many are relieved when they notice the absurdity of such judgments. But you can go further and play the game: "What if ..?".

1. Positive thought: “What if there are people in the hall who also know the fear of public speaking?”
2. Positive thought: “What if my failure is sympathized with?”.
3. Positive thought: “What if I am valued at work and for other qualities, and not just for my ability to oratory?”.
4. Fear-reducing thought: “What if I was asked to speak because other employees are less trusted?”
5. A hopeful thought: “What if I do well?”

Notice the thoughts that help you ease your panic fear and feel better. They need to be accepted as an axiom, turned into your new beliefs. The search for physical confirmation of the chosen thought will help to gently change the settings. Our psyche is arranged in such a way that we notice only those phenomena, the probability of which we admit. Give your brain the task of finding evidence for a new idea, and it will handle it.

For more information on how to get rid of panic and fear using hypnosis, you can learn from the video:

How to get rid of obsessive thoughts and fears?

To eliminate intrusive and causing fear thoughts, a method of behavioral psychotherapy called "stopping thoughts" is used. It is easier to perform thought stop if the problem situation is first created only in the imagination. By imagining oneself in the conditions under which anxious thoughts and panic, you need to practice switching to positive or neutral thoughts.

In the second step, set reminders on your phone via relatively short intervals time. Focus on the thought that generates fear and panic, and at the moment the alarm goes off, say out loud “Stop!” and try to focus on the positive.

On the last step the words "Stop!" spoken only to themselves. Visualization helps in mastering the method of stopping thoughts. For example, you need to imagine an obsessive thought in the form of a ball flying into the sky.

You can also get rid of disturbing thoughts and obsessive fears with the help of meditation. Need to find quiet place, where no one will interfere, sit back, close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Every time you realize that you are thinking about something, you need to gently switch your attention to inhalation-exhalation. Meditate for about 15-20 minutes daily for a month, and you will notice how much easier it will be for you to control your emotional state.

Panic attacks and fear: how to get rid of?

Normalize emotional and physical state At the time of a panic attack, the following methods will help.

1. grounding method. In time, direct all your strength to the following task: find the five objects that you see around you; four things you can touch. Find three objects that can make sounds and two that can be smelled. Finally, choose one item to taste. Completing the task will occupy your thoughts and the panic will recede.
2. Breath control. During a panic attack, breathing problems can occur, leading to hyperventilation and fainting. Therefore, during a panic attack, it is important to breathe consciously. First, try holding your breath. This will help you deal with feeling like you are suffocating. Breathe from the diaphragm: place your hand on your stomach and watch it rise as you inhale. Inhale deeply for four counts, hold for a couple of seconds and exhale just as slowly.
3. Withdrawal muscle tension. As you inhale, clench your hands into fists, tighten your muscles, imagining that you are starting a fight, and relax as you exhale.
4. If you find yourself literally shaking with fear during a panic attack, don't try to hold back. This means that the tension has already reached its peak, adrenaline has entered the bloodstream, and you need to energetically discharge. In such cases, it is better to start moving actively: walk at a fast pace, run, knock on the pillow with your fists, shout.
5. visualization technique. As you feel a wave of fear and panic roll in, close your eyes and imagine a place where you feel safe and happy. It could be your home, a beautiful area, or the arms of a loved one. You can imagine your psychotherapist next to you and “listen” to what he advises you to do in order to overcome panic fear.
6. Playlist in case of panic. It is believed that with a panic attack, musical compositions with a measured tempo, corresponding to the heart rate in calm state body (no more than 60 beats per minute). But you can try turning on a more rhythmic melody if you associate it with pleasant thoughts. And it is best to listen to music during a panic attack, under which you are accustomed to meditate or do yoga. The formed one will work conditioned reflex and your body will automatically relax.
7. Help a friend. Anticipating another panic attack, call someone close and ask them to distract you with conversations. If a close person suddenly turned out to be unavailable, it's okay - make a call to the trust service. The emergency operator knows what to do during a panic attack and will help you deal with a panic attack.

Fighting a panic attack at the time of the onset of an attack of fear is already, frankly, too late. If you keep your body in a state of chronic stress, it is foolish to hope that an exacerbation of neurosis will bypass you.

start preventive measures as soon as you open your eyes in the morning after sleep. No defeatist thoughts nervous fees to work. Stretch sweetly and lie in bed for another five minutes. Promise yourself that wherever you go today and whatever you do, you will give your full attention to the things that lift your spirits.

Think not about a neighbor who for some reason did not greet you when you left the entrance, but about a beautiful maple growing in your yard. Focus not on the button you forgot to sew on your coat, but on how warm and cozy it is. If you wish, you can find positive moments in any phenomenon or person. Deliberately looking for the little things that make you happy will change your day beyond recognition. Life without anxiety, without drama out of habit may even seem even bland, boring.

Did something throw you off track? Postpone the tantrum until the evening. Just tell yourself that you will take full responsibility for diving into the abyss of fear, panic and despair tonight at exactly 17:50 Moscow time, but in the meantime, take care of more important things. Keep the promise and try to panic yourself at the scheduled time. Complain about fate, wring your hands theatrically, try to cry.

When you're done, do some physical work: Clean the house or go for a run. Physical activity helps the body get rid of residues emotional stress, train blood vessels and fight vegetovascular dystonia - frequent companion panic attacks.

To cope with panic attacks, massage helps to eliminate clamps in the muscles. It is especially useful to knead the shoulders, head, neck-collar area. Massage in this area improves cerebral circulation, eliminates headaches, relieves fatigue.

Avoid stimulants (alcohol, caffeine, nicotine). There is a misconception that smoking calms the nerves, and alcohol helps to cope with anxiety and panic fear, but just the opposite is true. Similar Substances only loosen the nervous system, have destructive action on the vessels and increase the chances of panic attacks.

Get ready for bed properly. If due to neurosis, instead of watching a movie with a rich plot at night, it is better to take a walk in the fresh air or take a relaxing bath. If you suffer from nighttime panic attacks, try preventing fear and panic attacks with meditation for healthy deep sleep:

Often people start to panic for any reason. If it turns out that everything is fine, then they worry about another problem, ceasing to adequately respond to the situation. This is very bad habit which must be disposed of immediately. Constant nervous tension wear out the body, lower immunity and lead to various diseases. How to stop panicking, cope with a panic attack and learn not to worry without a significant reason? Let's talk about it in the article.

How to stop panicking and take control of yourself

In fact, people downplay the effect of stress on the human body. But each of us has observed negative consequence panic state. The heart beats wildly, the pulse accelerates and blood pressure rises.

Often the head starts to hurt. At the end of the day, you will already feel exhausted and devoid of vitality. Is panic more important than health?

Do not be afraid

Panic appears at the moments when there are important events in our life. Essentially, this defensive reaction organism, which should speed up thinking in emergency situations.

But most people get too carried away and bring their psyche to the extreme, take some steps that only aggravate the situation. After all, because you will be tormented by experiences, nothing will change. Thus, meaning disappears in a panic state.

Organize your work

Make lists of things that bother you. Think of all possible options and exits. In this case, you will not be so worried about the future, knowing that there is a fallback in every situation.

How to stop panicking at just one remark from your boss? Low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence is the reason for this. Try to properly organize your time, allocating certain time for relax.

Avoid negative thoughts

Intentionally avoid bad thoughts and unnecessary ambition. Why do you need extra worries? Be optimistic, because if something happens, it was meant to be. Focus on what can be changed and improved.

Do not constantly reproach yourself with the fact that it will never be different. Get more distracted, walk in the fresh air, get yourself a pet. Just change something in life. This is where self-change begins.

Did you know that about 2% of people worldwide experience the symptoms of a panic attack on a regular basis? Panic can strike anytime, anywhere. But much more often, panic attacks can be experienced in crowded places - in a cafe, at a train station, in mall, on the street. Panic can start in a closed room - a bus, an airplane, a waiting room, an elevator.

You can prepare and prevent panic attacks if you pay attention to the signals - increased breathing and heart rate, increasing anxiety. Panic must be met without fear, with a smile, mentally saying: “Here comes the panic, and I am ready for it!”

Calm, only calm

Breath control and relaxation can help prepare for a panic attack. Smooth diaphragmatic breathing: take a short breath, hold and exhale smoothly, with muscle relaxation. Clearing my head completely intrusive thoughts, you can stop the attack for another early stage.

Focusing on the truth

When a panic attack strikes, the sense of reality can change. It is at this point that it is important to remember what "panic" is. If you want to learn not to panic, you should make a note in a notebook - at the moment when panic overtakes, focusing on the truth will make it possible to calm down and “come to your senses”.

“It's just a panic attack, I'm perfectly healthy. I was frightened by the disturbing situation - and I drank an extra mug of coffee on an empty stomach. I've always been good at coping with panic. I begin to breathe smoothly, relax, and disturbing thoughts recede. There is nothing to be afraid of - I am calm, I am safe.

You can write down any text about how to deal with a panic attack that will give you an opportunity to calm down. It is also useful at the time of a panic attack to try to describe your experiences, or even rhyme - funny ditties about panic are the best weapon against it.

Through hardship to the stars

When we overcome difficulties, we become stronger. With new experience we become wiser. Only when we overcome discomfort, fear and anxiety can we learn to deal with panic attacks. The ability to cope with panic will help to avoid neurosis. And control over neurosis and emotions makes life more harmonious and complete.

Today, many people are subjected to panic attacks due to the frantic pace of life, increased competition, low awareness and the impact of negative factors from outside and inside. Therefore, the question of how to deal with panic attacks on your own is especially relevant among modern society. As a rule, such a psycho-emotional disorder long time contributes to certain causes.

Only by analyzing the provoking factors against which a person periodically experiences panic attacks, it is possible to determine effective ways to solve the problem. Despite the fact that the attack may last relatively a short time, during an attack, a person experiences severe stress, which often causes thoughts of death, complexes, fears and anxieties.

How to deal with panic attacks yourself a large number of books, teaching aids psychologists and psychotherapists, in addition, trainings and classes are regularly held under the supervision of specialists, where effective techniques are practiced. Panic attacks are a mental disorder due to childhood traumas, experiences of deep intrapersonal conflict, drug abuse, chronic stress and other traumatic factors.

Panic attacks can be identified by characteristic symptoms, namely:

• convulsive breathing and lack of oxygen;
• trembling, fever and increased sweating;
• pressure surges up or down;
• accelerated heartbeat;
• depersonalization or derealization of personality;
• stomach cramps and nausea;
• thoughts about his own madness, death, serious illnesses.

Causes

To find effective ways how to quickly cope with panic attacks, a person needs to determine the provoking factors. Experts note that these states accumulate in the unconscious, respectively, it will be quite difficult for a person himself to identify the true causes of an anxious stressful state, which manifests itself in the form of a culmination of fear and panic.

Experts name several reasons for this condition:

• fears and phobias, any obsessive states;
• schizophrenia;
• post-traumatic conditions;
• childhood trauma;
• drug abuse;

For reference! According to statistics in Russia today, about 1% of the population is subject to periodic panic attacks. Moreover, women with this disorder are five times more than men, among them most of are representatives of youth aged 22-35 years.

Ways to deal with a panic attack

Panic attacks are a serious psycho-emotional disorder that requires specialist help and correction. Often timely appeal to a psychotherapist or independent attempts to get rid of such attacks are corrected without medication. If conservative methods have proved to be ineffective, a course of medications will be prescribed under the supervision and supervision of a doctor.

We switch attention

You can learn to cope on your own if you find the best technique and apply it regularly during the onset of attacks. The easiest way is to quickly switch your attention to any objects of the outside world when you feel impending fear and anxiety. You can call a friend, listen to your favorite music or movie, remember pleasant events from your life.

It is these objects that will become the “anchor” and the fulcrum during the onset of each attack, over time, the use of the technique will become good habit. You can also start counting, sing a song, do a crossword puzzle, or plan things for tomorrow during a panic state. Any way will help to escape from the shackles of an attack in the world without going on about the disorder.

Proper breathing

Another one effective technique - correct breathing which will help to stabilize the physical and mental state of a person. As soon as the feeling of panic and fear begins to attack, you need to do deep breath through the nose, then pass the air through the trachea, filling the stomach with it, then slowly exhale.

Can you deal with panic attacks?

YesNot

During exhalation, you should try to do it so slowly that you can feel the condensation of air along the trachea. Repeat breaths for 3-5 minutes.

Meditation

With the help of meditation, a person learns to relax, and most importantly, calm in any situation. Even if meditation doesn't help with panic attacks, it can teach you how to lessen symptoms, control yourself, and eliminate fears of attacks.

Today, experts develop and offer a large number of meditation techniques and techniques for auto-training. To strengthen the nervous system and achieve a state of peace, meditation teaches concentration of attention and consciousness on an abstract image in complete relaxation.

Visualization

Another interesting method - visualization - tells how to cope with a panic attack. To do this, a person needs to come up with for himself how fear could look like by drawing its image. The subconscious and imagination can help with this, after that you need to visually imagine how a person destroys his fear, for example, blows it up, turns it into a cloud of dust, washes it off with water or burns it with fire.

Having practiced the visualization technique several times, you can notice for yourself that fears are gradually receding. It is only important to clearly form the image of fear, and then believe within yourself that the person destroyed it on his own. After the disappearance of fear, a feeling of harmony and peace should come, which is visualized in the form of a blanket, in which you need to mentally wrap yourself entirely.

Paper bag method

This technique is often practiced by people on planes who are afraid of flying, but are trying to cope with their phobias on their own. A paper bag is tightly applied to the face, after which it is slowly inhaled and exhaled inside it.

Against the background of such breathing, the level of oxygen decreases, but increases carbon dioxide thus restoring the gas balance. Instead of a bag, you can use the palms of your hands, which you need to fold in a boat around your mouth.

"Viewer"

Another effective technique for dealing with panic attacks is their analysis and acceptance. To do this, you need to become a spectator, describing on paper all the symptoms and manifestations of fear, imitating an outside observer.

As a result of studying the nature of fears, a person will be able to devalue them, get used to such situations, perceiving them from a completely different point of view.

"Spirals"

To get rid of fears, you need to imagine their source inside yourself, then visually transfer the feeling of fear into an energy flow moving along a spiral path.

Now you need to pay attention to whether it then moves clockwise or in reverse order. Periodically, you need to change the direction of the flow in order to finally feel a sense of psychological comfort.

"Golden String"

A person needs to get up, after that imagine that an energy stream descends to him from the sky in the form of a golden string, passing through the crown to the throat, stomach, legs to the very center of the earth. After that, the energy arrow from the earth returns to the person, rises to the very sky.

At the same time, it is important to feel in every possible way how energy connects a person with heaven and earth, giving a sense of reliability and tranquility.

Gain Method

In order to get rid of the feeling of fear and panic as soon as possible, the technique of deliberate amplification of sensations is practiced. But such a technique should be carried out by people who are brave and ready to withstand the upcoming loads.

At the beginning of the attack, you need to focus on your feelings, without interfering with them. Next, you need to try to strengthen its effect, you may even feel an increase in malaise. But in the end, there will definitely be a feeling of lightness and liberation.

Muscle relaxation through tension

It's no secret that fear and panic attacks are accompanied by physical stress. So deal with anxiety You can, if you alternately relax the muscles of the body.

You can do this in several ways:

1. Massage- some parts of the body that shrink under the influence of fear, you need to rub them with massaging movements. Experts advise kneading the neck area and auricles, the top of the shoulders, the little fingers on the hands and the base of the thumbs.
2. Cold and hot shower- as soon as another panic attack develops, you need to take a contrast shower, alternating cold and hot water after 20-30 seconds.
3. Gymnastics- Stretching the muscles will also help to cope with the intense tension of the whole body, if you perform different exercises correctly.

You just need to accept another panic attack, but "agree" with yourself about experiencing all the sensations in a few hours, and not at the moment.

"Butterfly Embrace"

Psychotechnics teaches a person to cope not only with the fears themselves, but also with post-stress experiences, lowering the degree of anxiety. To do this, you first need to cross your arms in the chest area, placing the left hand on the right shoulder, and the hand right hand on the left shoulder.

When should you start taking medication?

Apply medicines it is necessary only after a doctor's appointment, as a rule, when conservative methods have not brought the expected result. In addition, the reason for drug therapy will be comorbidities and diseases in the body, namely changes in the biochemistry of the central nervous system and the destruction of the relationship between the processes of excitation in the cerebral cortex and inhibition, changes in the metabolism of neurotransmitters.

Therapy involves the use of tranquilizers, neuroleptics, antidepressants, neurometabolic agents. This will reduce the severity of attacks, as well as the suppression of the initial factors that cause the development of panic attacks. The course of treatment can last about several months, at first the attacks will begin to reduce the severity of the course, after which they should completely stop.

Conclusion

Today, about 1% of the entire population of Russia is subjected to panic attacks, therefore, issues regarding the fight against such a condition are at the stage of development and improvement. Psychologists and psychotherapists suggest that you first practice with conservative techniques on your own, whether it be meditation, visualization, sports, massage, and many other ways. In the absence of positive dynamics, the disorder is treated with medication strictly under the supervision of a specialist.