Panic Attacks

Dear Friends,

Have you ever had a panic attack or witnessed someone who has? It is a frightening event.

Thousands of years ago a panic attack was a very useful thing. We led much more physically challenging and dangerous lives then. We didn’t have sharp teeth or claws and so we had to be able to react very quickly to a threat. And in those days there were two simple choices. Either we could run or, if desperate enough, we could fight. In this case, a panic attack is called the ‘fight or flight response’.

I once had a panic attack in the early 90s. It occurred several days after witnessing the traumatic death of a dear friend. So you could say the cause was post-traumatic stress. But there are those who have panic attacks for no apparent reason. These attacks can be triggered by fear of bridges or driving, insects, frogs, dogs, old buildings or any number of countless items, animals, people or events. Sometimes a person can wake up one day and experience intense fear toward a situation that up until now was mundane or uneventful. There are no easy answers, but I have known folks who have this type of “out of the blue” panic attacks and benefited greatly from a “past life regression.” They often find that it didn’t come out of the blue but rather they had a traumatic event or death in a past life at the exact same age as the panic attacks started.

Conventional doctors and psychiatrists often prescribe anti-anxiety drugs such as Xanax, Prozac and Paxil to treat panic attacks. But they have unpleasant and even dangerous side effects. They may produce severe withdrawal symptoms, including extreme anxiety…. hmmm ironic. I’ve known people who have taken these drugs long term and they become almost emotionless. Symptoms include overwhelming feelings of disaster or death, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, a smothering, claustrophobic feeling, chest pain, dizziness, hot flashes and/or chills, trembling, numbness in the arms and legs, sweating, nausea, and a distorted relation to space and time. The aforementioned drugs should preferably be used as a short-term treatment or as a last resort but I prefer the use of diet, herbs and vitamins when possible.

If you have never had a panic attack before and you are experiencing these symptoms with pain in the jaw, numbness in the left arm or stomach upset call 911. This could be a heart attack.

Once you learn to understand the symptoms of a panic attack or anxiety disorder, there are steps you can take to diminish them or stop them altogether.

Square Breathing: activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which sends calming signals to the brain.

At the first sign of a panic attack, follow these instructions:

Sit comfortably with your feet on the floor (this step may be skipped)
Take a slow breath in through your nose while counting slowly to 4
Hold the breath in for another slow count of 4
Exhale through your mouth for a slow count of 4
Hold again for a slow count of 4
Continue 1-5 minutes or until you begin to feel calm.

Lifestyle and Diet Changes for Anxiety Disorder / Panic Disorder

One of the first and simplest things to do is to start keeping a diary of all the situations that trigger panic attacks. When and where did they happen? What were you doing, thinking, and feeling? Exactly what were the symptoms? Recording and describing each attack puts you in charge of the situation. You will learn how modifying your environment helps prevent panic attacks.

Cut out: caffeine, aspartame (NutraSweet), MSG, and refined carbohydrates

Add: whole grains, milk cheese, meats to help stabilize the nervous system. If you are a vegetarian you can do the same by eating brown rice and beans (legumes) together.

Supplements and Herbs:

Heart healthy supplements can be taken for panic attacks as well as arrhythmia problems such as tachycardia (heart beating too fast- more than 100 beats per minute).

These include: