RESCHEDULED: Expert Chat: Coping with Panic Attacks - Tues 15th Oct, 7-8pm

Former Member

:wave:

On Tuesday 15th October from 7-8pm we will be joined in chat by Dr Aaron Balick and he'll be answering your questions on coping with panic attacks.



A bit about Aaron...

Aaron is a psychotherapist, which means he's a specialist at understanding people and helping them solve their problems. He's worked in schools, colleges and universities too, so he knows all about the challenges people face there. He's also the "resident psychotherapist" on BBC Radio 1's call-in advice Surgery with Aled and Dr. Radha and has recently written a book called Keep your Cool: how to deal with life's worries and stress.

What can I ask Aaron?

You may be suffering from panic attacks currently or have done so in the past. You might be unsure as to what you're feeling is actually a panic attack. Or you might be worried about a friend who's having them and unsure how to help.

Whatever your question, this is a chance to chat to an expert for advice.


How does it work?

Expert chat sessions are group chats and your questions and comments will be held in a queue for Aaron to answer one at a time over the hour. One of the mods will be in the chat too to look after everything and help out.

You will be able to log into the chat once it opens from this page: http://www.thesite.org/community/thesocial/chat

The transcript from the chat will be published in our archive but all names will be changed to protect anonymity.

Any other questions just ask!

Former Member

*bump*

This has been rescheduled and will be happening on Tuesday 15th Oct :thumb:

Aurora

Can you actually have panic attacks without actually knowing what's caused them? Or am I just strange?

Former Member

That's a good question Angel and I would say yes, you can have a panic attack without knowing what caused it - they can often be caused by stress which can mean all sorts of different things and it might not be obvious at first that's the cause.

It's a good question to ask Aaron tomorrow, we'll see what he says :thumb:

Former Member

This is tonight folks :thumb:

Aurora

It's Eid today, so I don't know if I will, or won't be there, just feel free to forward my question anyway and for a few moments, pretend to be me? :P

Former Member

**Angel** wrote: »

It's Eid today, so I don't know if I will, or won't be there, just feel free to forward my question anyway and for a few moments, pretend to be me? :P

I will ask it on your behalf and let you know the answer

Former Member

We're open :thumb:

Former Member

I really liked the chat yesterday, thanks to Aaron and Jo. Here are something tips from chat and online sources. I don't know where to put it so, I'll post it below.

Former Member

Expert Chat: Coping with Panic Attack
With Dr. Aaron Balick and Jo, thesite Moderator

Symptoms of a Panic Attack: Source nhs. uk

The symptoms of a panic attack can be very frightening and distressing, they tend to occur very suddenly, without warning and often for no apparent reason.
Few of the symptoms are:

Overwhelming feelings of anxiety, sensation that your heart is beating irregularly (palpitations), sweating, trembling, hot flushes, chills. shortness of breath, a choking sensation, chest pain,nausea,dizziness,feeling faint, numbness, or pins and needles, dry mouth, a need to go to the toilet, ringing in your ears, a feeling of dread, or a fear of dying, a churning stomach, a tingling sensation in fingers, shivering and shaking

Reason for Panic Attack

There are various reasons, but here are few listed: Source Wikipedia

Long-term, predisposing causes ? heredity,
Biological causes ? obsessive compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, hypoglycemia, hyperthyroidism, Wilson's disease, mitral valve prolapsed, pheochromocytoma, and inner ear disturbances (labyrinthitis)
Phobias
Short-term triggering causes
Medications
Alcohol, medication or drug withdrawal

What to do when you have a panic Attack? - Tips by Aaron

1. Become aware of your THINKING -- like, how true is it that this would actually happen (almost always, not very!), and talk ourselves DOWN instead of talking ourselves UP. Then you'll find the pains in your chest will go, and you'll start to breathe normally

2.Replace your thinking (sometimes called "awfulising" or "catastrophising") and replace it with something a bit brighter.

3. It also really helps (and I know it sounds weird) to feel your feet on the ground (you can just stomp your feet once or twice to feel the hard ground) and that can remind you that your just standing there on the ground like everyone else. Whenever we panic it's like we dissociate a little, so it's just a way of reminding ourselves that "here we are, just this person standing on the street like everyone else -- and nothing crazy is happening!"

4. It can also help to say to yourself gently something that situates yourself like "here I am right now, and there's a tree over there, and the sun is out, and there's a house on the corner . . ." it just brings you out of your head and back to real life

5. BELIEVE stuff about yourself that is positive, and try to keep those thoughts with you. Like what have you been good at? What do you like about yourself?

6. Self Talk: talk to yourself in a supportive way

7. Awareness is so important when it comes to panic attacks so we can see those triggers when they are just beginning, then we don't have to wait until a full blown panic to recognise them.


Don't do these when you have panic attack or are prone to one - What Aaron said:

1.Negative thinking, "awfulising" and "catastrophising" really does get in the way of you feeling good about yourself, and can really push you into feeling anxious and stressed.

2.When "bad" things happen, we don't use them to confirm bad things about ourselves. It's natural that some things don't go our own way, that just happens. Just don't use those times to think "see, it's true, I really do suck". Instead, it should be, "oh, that didn't work out how I'd have liked it, but it can be different next time"

3.Worst thing to do when you're depressed is to isolate yourself and not reach out into the world. Go out and seek life and liveliness.

Can you stop the panic attacks from happening entirely? Aaron answered :

The good news is that yes, a lot of the time we can make them stop entirely, but the bad news is that there is no magic wand, like you can't say, "from now on, this will never happen again
The big trick with panic attacks is to realise that though it feels like they happen to us, we actually participate in making them happen. It's nobody's fault, it's just the way we find ourselves responding
So we start to panic and we stop and say, "this is just a feeling, it's not going to kill me. It's unpleasant, but it will go away soon. I'll be calm."
Breathe slowly and deeply, and soon it will go. Once we learn that we can control panic and anxiety (and it doesn't just control us) we're well on the way to waving them goodbye forever.



Quote:

The recipe for ANXIETY is the OVERESTIMATION of FEAR times the UNDERESTIMATION of your ability to COPE