Again talking about the flight or fight response that occurs naturally to help keep us from harm, telling us to run away or prepare to defend ourselves from a situation of danger. These feelings in the right circumstances are vital to our survival but in the case of a panic attack they appear for no reason, rising out of no where to confuse a person tremendously as to what is happening. Panic attacks can even happen when you are asleep maybe having a vivid dream of being attacked or falling off a building.

The feelings of dread with shortness of breath along with all the other symptoms tend to pass in a few minutes but can last up to an hour as the body cannot sustain the response of flight or fight for any longer. However, subsequent attacks can follow and make it seem like one long continuous panic attack. This can be detrimental to ones well being and cause problems in sleep and daily functioning. Panic attacks in themselves are not dangerous to one’s physical health, but over time upset can occur such as stomach problems, migraines and a variety of disorders.

In worst case scenarios suffers of panic attacks can feel so overwhelmed that they turn to drugs, excessive alcohol or other harmful activities to help numb the intensity of their attacks. Also people that suffer from long term, reoccurring panic attacks or panic disorder are more that twice as likely to commit suicide. So to say panic attacks have no danger is a misnomer, it is all about how and whether a sufferer treats their symptoms. But many treatments but traditional and alternative are available and many therapists can help patients handle their symptoms.

Developing phobias are also common place with panic attacks, as the attacks are so terrifying that people avoid the things or places that tend to trigger them such as crowds, driving or other people. Fear and embarrassment go along hand and hand with panic attacks as well. Many people will stay away from people to avoid feeling ashamed and uncomfortable in case they may have a panic attack in their presence. The three main phobias the develop with panic attacks are agoraphobia, a fear or leaving home and being trapped in public places; social phobia, an extreme fear of people or public and a fear of looking stupid or foolish there; and simple specific phobia, which can be of anything.

Aside from phobias other side effects of panic attacks are: a greater propensity to abuse drugs and alcohol, less time spent on hobbies friendships, more time spent in the emergency room, increased suicidal feelings and even a greater risk of suicide, decreased physical and emotional health, being less financially dependent and having trouble being very far from home. All these problems and many more can be experienced by someone suffering from panic attacks and are especially severe if panic disorder comes into play.
The treatments for these side effects are varied and include medication and therapy along with exercise and changes in habits and thinking processes. The easiest way is to avoid them from ever happening by getting treatment for your panic attacks right away and not waiting for them to progress to states of phobia or terrible depression. Be wary of some medications not carefully prescribed to you by a knowledgeable doctor as they have been known to actually make panic attacks worse or cause other symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms in these medicines are known to be especially harsh.
Try natural calming exercises and natural sleep aids to sleep at night and try deep breathing and anti anxiety to go on through your day and control your panic attack symptoms. If you need to see a therapist do not be ashamed, talking to someone about your problem can help you to overcome it and a therapist can help you with things that have worked with other patients and slowly get you on to the road of healing yourself. Medications if properly prescribed can also work to alleviate those symptoms, so you do not get to the point of phobias or further disorders.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was first realized and given a public name during the years of the Vietnam War. Many soldiers would come home with symptoms such as nightmares and panic attacks. Also many movies and books have been written or depicted on that time period and soldiers that we alike to ones in real life that suffered from the panic attacks and behavioral changes as caused by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The full spectrum of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is still being examined and many people never request treatment due to shame, guilt or just being unsure that there is anything wrong with them.

Other common life-threatening events can cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and panic attacks such as terrorist attacks, serious car or other type of accidents, natural disastrous occurrences like floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and fires. Also physical or sexual assaults or attacks whether occurring while in childhood or in later life report for a great number of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and panic attack sufferers. These symptoms disrupt the lives of sufferers and make it very difficult to continue daily life. However people with panic attacks and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can both be helped with therapy directed for anxiety disorders that often involves psychotherapy and anti-anxiety medications.

Also shown to help are ideas like behavioral therapy and cognitive therapy as they can be effective in treating things like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or panic attacks as well as several other anxiety disorders. Behavioral therapy’s focus is on changing particular actions by using different techniques to decrease or help stop unwanted behavior, as an example, using training to reduce panic attacks and anxiety by deep breathing. As panic attacks as caused by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder involve hyperventilating the practice of taking slow deep breaths can physically calm the body down.

Cognitive therapy works in much the same manner, by teaching patients to have a different reaction to bodily sensations and frightful situations then they have been having. These old ways of dealing trigger panic attacks and continue the cycle of negative reenactments. Basically cognitive therapy can help someone suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by changing their thinking patterns and awareness of their own actions. For an example, one would be someone who becomes dizzy learning that he is not going to die when having a panic attack but that it is just a little dizziness that he can handle.

Although in most cases a panic attack is nothing to worry about physically, it can take a toll on you in a lot of other ways such as emotionally. If you are experiencing things like a sense of dread or fear or death along with rapid breathing or hyperventilation, it may even feel like you are begin smothered. As well as lightheadedness, racing heartbeat and thoughts, chest pain, sweating, dizziness, trembling or shaking, a choking feeling, nausea, numbness over your body, chills and or hot flashes, or feelings of detachment or unreality you are having panic attacks. You need to seek some type of help for these attacks whether it is an over the counter herbal calming supplement or a doctor’s visit is up to you, but the symptoms rarely get better with no sort of help.

A doctor’s visit may be a good idea though as some panic attacks can be associated a variety of medical conditions such as hyperthyroidism or even some medications such as ones you may be taking for a heart condition. Panic attacks can also come on however, for no rhyme or reason and be triggered by things as simple as a large crowd or busy restaurant or stadium. Sometimes this leads to people with panic attacks avoiding those certain places or situations that they fear that lead to panic attacks and although this sounds like good advice is can lead to a pattern of avoidance and can develop into agoraphobia.

Also some, but not everyone, who experiences many panic attacks, may develop panic disorder. This disorder involving panic attacks is diagnosed if an individual has at least two unprovoked panic attacks a week. And also have fear or worry of more panic attacks on a daily basis and start to fear and avoid situations that may trigger one. It is basically a long term case of chronic panic attacks and all that goes with them. Other anxiety related and even physical conditions can eventually develop if the escalating panic attacks are not somehow lessened and people can loose friends and loved ones to this disorder. So seek treatment for your panic attacks and try deep breathing to help control them.

The first part of relaxation techniques is deep breathing. Deep breathing techniques can be used either as a short term response to when you are about to or experiencing a panic attack or used when anxiety levels are high to help lower them. Although they cannot get rid of the stemming fears that cause the panic attacks they can treat the end result, the attacks themselves and the fear that leads to them. Simply slowly let your lungs fill with air by breasting in through your nose and letting out a long slow breath from your mouth, repeat this for a few seconds, maybe 10 or so times in a row and you will begin to notice a calming effect emerging.

Positive thinking can also be very effective during the process of recovery or preparing for an anxiety filled day, this is only however, if a person actual believes what they are telling themselves, so try to think of a true statement that you can believe before having to go into that scary situation that you dread. Something like “If I have a panic attack I can always go sit in the bathroom or my car and breath until I feel better.” verses “I will be fine and love every minute I am there.” You can repeat positive phrases as much as you like to yourself, but unless you are actually believing them, your anxiety level will remain the same.

You may also wish to work on affirmations that you are doing better in your self help, count how many panic attacks you have had this week versus last and whether they were as severe, did you have to go home or leave any activities or did you use techniques to get through them? Consider rewarding yourself for things well done and make sure to stay on track with trying new techniques and repeating the things that seem to be working.

Something else that can work with all of these self help areas are distraction techniques, very simple things like reading a book or magazine or turning on the TV can immensely help those stress levels. And literally take you mind off of having a panic attack by entertaining it with something it finds relaxing. Even when in public, things like counting all the red cars on the road or imagining everyone in there underwear, seriously, can help in distracting you enough that you can get on a new wavelength.

There are many traditional treatments for panic attacks such as medication and therapy by a psychiatrist, therapist, consular or psychologist. These treatments may work fine for some but others may wish to find a more natural way to control there panic attack symptoms. Things overlooked like physical exercise and eating and sleeping well can all help to alleviate some issues associated with panic attacks, but they are usually not enough on their own to seriously help or cure panic attacks.

To avoid severe problems and panic attacks worsening one must look into things like natural therapies and supplements. Passiflora is a natural tranquilizer that is most commonly used to treat insomnia; the way it can be used to help you is by reducing your anxiety and stress levels. It can be used at night when a lot of people think of stressful thoughts and cannot relax or for the treatment of sudden panic attacks which will calm you and make you better able to continue with your day.

Lavender, who’s official name is Lavandula Augustifolia, can provide a lot of relief to the nervous system and help reduce the frequency of panic attacks. It is a very famous herb used for various purposes from skin care to aromatherapy. It can illicit a calming effect and sooth nerves effected by panic attacks. In fact it is said that just a whiff of pure lavender oil can help prevent a panic attack. Make sure to get you pure lavender oil extract from a high quality herbal store or you may just be getting something lavender smelling that does nothing for you panic attacks.

St. John’s wort is perhaps the world’s most searched and researched herb. It is a potent mood enhancer that has been proven to be extremely effective in treating such ailments as depression. Depression is a main problem associated with panic attacks and treating it can also treat your panic attacks. Medical studies in Britain show St. John’s wort to be a terrific treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders that often are the underlying cause of panic attacks so make sure to try this in your search for natural treatments. These natural cures and many others can be used in treating panic attacks, just Google the web or ask your local herbalist what treatments may possible work for your panic attacks.

So telling someone “what’s the big deal?” is the same as giving someone with a major snake phobia a pet boa constrictor to hold and then wondering why they run screaming out of the room. Your help needs to be actually helpful to merit the trust of someone suffering from panic attacks. One of the most basic easy things is just to talk to them in a calm and distracting way. Encourage them to breathe deeply and give them a remember-when story or even tell a joke. The brain can only hold out those feelings of panic so long and can cut them off if distracted by humor or happy thoughts.

Reassure them without critique. Simply letting someone know you are there and reminding them that these feelings will pass can be a huge help in calming them down. Fighting panic will only make them feel more of it so encourage calmness and relaxation. A human touch can also work wonders, so hold there hand or give them a pat on the back or even a back rub if you are comfortable enough with them. This will help to immediately center them and reduce the feelings on unreality and disassociation that they may be feeling.

It is important in being able to help that you learn as much about panic attacks as you can. You will never fully understand what it feels like, but you can get an idea of what exactly they are experiencing at the time of the attack and keep that in mind while helping them. It is not only at that time that they will need help also; many people live with the fear of when the next one is coming. Reassure them that no matter when it happens they can make it through and if you see them starting to stress change the subject. Do something fun to take their minds off it, also encourage them to get some kind of help, whether it is a full blown therapy session or to try a natural anxiety aid.

Do things at home that will decrease stress and anxiety, so as this will not cause and trigger more attacks or worsening of the symptoms. If you are involved in a relationship with some one who has this condition, light some candles and play some low key music, it will be both romantic and helpful at the same time.

1. Watch a funny movie. Humor can literally replace the distressed emotions you feel when you are about to have a panic attack with positive ones in your brain. That is because when you are stressed you release a stress hormone called cortisol, laughter actually is proven to reduce this hormone and instead put out a happy one in it’s place. So put in your favorite comedy and maybe ask a pal to join you with some popcorn and you can both be in on the laughs.

2. Pet your dog. People who have pets live longer lives and have lessened risks or heart attacks and you guessed it, they better deal with anxiety! In fact, every time you run your fingers through your pets hair the relaxing motion and bonding feeling actually lowers your stress levels and promotes a more even breathing pattern and happier demeanor. Your dog will thank you for it.

3. Use a yummy natural anxiety aid. Not all medicine has to be bad tasting and boring. Many foods rich in vitamins in the “B” food group work to lower your stress levels. So treat yourself to a banana split or frozen yogurt at your local ice cream store as banana’s and yogurt can significantly lower your anxiety and well taste great while doing it, just make sure to avoid that excessive caffeine while on your splurge.

4. Do your favorite thing. When distracting the brain with something you can get really ‘into’ you stop the process of a panic attack. Whether you like to paint or garden go at it! Can’t think of anything to do, start a new hobby in scrap-booking or buy a magazine on fun cooking ideas. Who can be stressed when crafting a set of cupcakes to look like happy zoo animals, it may not be piratical but don’t be afraid to feel silly sometimes, you are helping yourself to get better after all.

5. Take a walk. Both exercise and exposure to sunlight can elevate you mood, decrease you depression and anxiousness and help you in a multitude of ways. Make your walk to a fun place like by the local duck pond at the park, feed some ducks and do some walking around the place, try not to feel stressed with all the people and instead focus on all the good things in you life right now.