I Don’t Panic A Guide to Controlling Panic Attacks in All Ages

By Susan Zeppieri

CALM DOWN!

Have those words ever, in the history of humankind, led to someone that's upset actually calming down? In a word, no.

Fortunately, there are plenty of words and methods to genuinely help you or someone that you care about to calm down when you're dealing with anxiety and panic attacks.

I Don't Panic; A Guide to Controlling Panic Attacks in All Ages is a collection of information and suggestions on how to both work through and prevent panic attacks in everyone from toddlers to senior citizens.

Learn how best to keep from succumbing to unreasonable anxiety and the detrimental effects that panic attacks bring to those that suffer from them from nutritionist and researcher Susan Zeppieri.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan Zeppieri
• Release date: Oct 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201263690

Book preview

Chapter 1: Identifying Panic Attacks

Symptoms of panic attacks not only vary from person to person, they can even vary from incident to incident within the same individual. Sometimes these symptoms will last for only a few minutes, other times, they can persist for closer to an hour. Often, even after the most severe symptoms have abated, it can take several hours to compose oneself in the aftermath of a particularly traumatic episode.

How can you identify a panic attack?

Physical Symptoms of Panic Attacks

Physical symptoms of panic attacks can include (American Psychiatric Association, 2016):

●  Chills

●  Dizziness

●  Dry mouth

●  Excessive sweating

●  Headaches

●  Hot flashes

●  Increased heart rates

●  Light-headedness

●  Nausea

●  Numb extremities

●  Shortness of breath

●  Stomach pain

●  Tightness in the chest

●  Tingling extremities

●  Trembling muscles

●  Trouble breathing

Several of these manifestations mimic other physical problems—such as heart attacks—and need to be taken seriously. If you are experiencing these symptoms and have any reason to believe they are anything other than anxiety-related, seek the advice of a medical professional immediately. Poor physical health is not conducive to good mental health, and will only make treating panic attacks more difficult.

Mental Symptoms of Panic Attacks

Symptoms of panic attacks that affect mental health can include (American Psychiatric Association, 2016):

●  Anxious thinking

●  Disassociation

●  Extreme anxiety

●  Extreme fear of losing control

●  Heightened vigilance

●  Irrational thinking

●  Sense that death is imminent

●  Strong feelings of dread

Any one of these conditions can be scary to experience, and it’s likely that a panic attack will lump several of them together at once. Panic attacks are not for the faint of heart.

Just because these symptoms can’t be measured quantitatively doesn’t mean they aren’t significant. It’s completely normal and justifiable to feel overwhelmed by these presentations of panic attacks. If your panic attacks, or any other disturbing emotions, are causing you to feel hopeless or suicidal, please contact a medical professional immediately. In the United States, the number of the Suicide Hotline is 800-273-8255. They’re available 24 hours of every day and can help you through dark thoughts that may be too heavy for you to bear alone.

How Does a Panic Attack Differ from Anxiety?

This is a tricky question because panic attacks are a manifestation of anxiety. There is a lot of gray area between the two disorders with expected overlap. For purposes of simplification, we will separate anxiety and panic attacks (or panic disorder, as it is called in the DSM-V) by their durations and intensity.

Anxiety

Anxiety is an emotion. It is characterized by worry—whether rational or unfounded—and tension (American Psychiatric Association, 2020). It can be a short-term problem, such as a limited reaction to dealing with a specific stressful situation, or it can last for years. It has the potential to become debilitating if not dealt with adequately and can cause harm to your physical health.

Panic Attacks

On the other hand, panic attacks come on quite suddenly and their duration is relatively shorter, even though their impact can be much more devastating in the moment. To be formally diagnosed, you must suffer from at least four of the symptoms listed above when experiencing an episode.

Do Panic Attacks Affect Everyone the Same Way?

The short answer? No. The longer-ish answer? Yes and no. As stated at the beginning of the chapter, panic attacks can manifest themselves very differently from person to person and episode to episode. The reason why can depend on a lot of different factors, including age, gender, culture, overall health, and life stressors.

One person’s solution to working through panic attacks or avoiding them altogether may not work at all for someone else, so it’s important to remember patience and kindness when helping someone work through these difficult situations. Make these same allowances of compassion towards yourself too, as you deal with your own panic attacks. Just because they may be a common occurrence in the world doesn’t mean they aren’t