Anxiety Attack Treatments
Anxiety attacks are frightening, but the good thing is episodes are generally harmless. In most cases, attacks rarely last for more than 30 minutes, with a peak of intensity within the first 10 minutes. What makes such attacks dangerous is if they become chronic and if they already affect the well-being of a person and already disrupt his normal way of life.
Several treatments are proven very effective in stopping anxiety attacks. Let us look at some of the more popular ones:
Breathing technique is one of the most effective ways to control anxiety attacks. Proper breathing helps slow down the heartbeat and helps calm the tensed muscles as a result of the attack. Breathing also diverts the mind’s attention from the “trigger” and calms the self, thus stopping the attack even faster. Proper breathing techniques are easy to learn and master.
Self-hypnosis is a great tool to alter your thought process as well as your body’s reaction to those fearful thoughts. During an anxiety attack, lie down on your back or in any comfortable position and try to process your thoughts. Identify the origin of such fearful thoughts. Know if it is real. If you concentrate enough on finding the origins of your thoughts, you will soon realise that they are really not a valid reason for excessive fear. It may sound simple, and it is. Psychiatrists now recommend self-hypnosis as a treatment for anxiety attacks and other anxiety disorders. (Hypnosis and cognitive-behavioral therapy can be used together by your therapist to stop symptoms of anxiety attacks.)
Meditation has long been credited with relieving stress and anxiety as it promotes the release of negative energy from the body, relaxes tensed muscles, and calms the mind, which in turn effectively reduces irrational fear and apprehension. Meditation may not be for all because of the time required to master the technique; however, with proper guidance of an expert or a little bit of patience and dedication, you can reap its benefits.
Causes of Child Anxiety Attacks
Child anxiety, just like that of adults, is a normal, healthy emotion felt as a response to certain stimuli. But when anxiety becomes recurring, irrational, and intense, it may be considered a disorder. Episodes of anxiety attacks can disable the child from performing his daily duties in school and at home. And while it is generally safe, anxiety attacks can affect how the child lives.
Since children are more fragile, they are more vulnerable to such attacks, and the effects of these attacks may be more severe than to adults. But what causes anxiety attacks? Here are some of the most common reasons for anxiety attacks:
School Phobia and Separation Anxiety
When a child reaches a certain age, he or she develops school phobia. The exact reason for this is still unknown, but what happens is the child becomes excessively afraid of going to school. A child manifests this fear by creating reasons and complaining of ailments such as toothaches, headaches, and stomach cramps to keep him or her from going to school. School phobia is often linked to separation anxiety, but the latter can manifest in situations other than in school (e.g., being with a group of people or joining other family for the weekend).
Again, the exact reason for this is unknown. Separation anxiety is excessive fear of being away from someone whom the child is comfortable being with. Telltale signs of separation anxiety are similar to school phobia.
Stress
Stress is linked to anxiety attacks. It may be a result of heavy responsibilities at home and in school, unfinished tasks, physical and psychological abuse, a school bully, environment that is unfit for the child’s age, violence, etc.
Change in lifestyle
A child creates friends in school and in the neighbourhood. These friends would make him or her feel comfortable and accepted. So when the family moves to another place or to a different school, a child loses the friend and comfort he or she has established and is forced to start all over again. If the child cannot cope with this stressful situation, it can lead to episodes of anxiety attacks.
Indirect Reasons
In many cases, anxiety attacks just come out of the blue or happen without any logical, clear, or apparent reason. It may occur while the child is relaxed during the day and even while asleep. This may only happen only once. Perhaps an anxiety attack is brought about by unresolved internal issues, which are not directly connected with the trigger. For example, a child who experiences the death of a loved one may panic whenever a certain, almost similar situation happens. The traumatic experience that he or she went through in the past, which was not processed properly, can come out, in this case through an attack.
A child may also show episodes of anxiety attacks because the problem at hand reminded him or her about family conflicts. Fighting in the family as well as divorce of parents may be traumatic to a child so that when witnessing a similar situation, he or she goes into a panic.
Take note that there is no single reason (and it takes several factors) for a child to have an anxiety attack, but whatever it is, what’s important is how to deal with it properly.
Child Anxiety Attacks
Just like adults, children experience fear, anxiety and apprehension. These are but normal emotional experiences that a person feels regardless of age. However, if anxiety becomes irrational, recurring and severe, and anxiety attacks happen without any apparent reason, and the reaction is disproportionate to the problem at hand, it can be a cause of concern. This is why on the first signs of problem, have your child get proper diagnosis by a health professional to be able to rule out any possible causes and determine the right treatment to be applied.
Since anxiety attack is a type of anxiety disorder, it is important to know what happens to a child who is suffering from such disorder. To be able to identify it, here are the following symptoms:
• Frequent feeling of fear and panic
• Bed wetting
• Tantrums and excessive crying
• Fear of making mistakes
• Fear of getting embarrassed
• Avoidance of certain activities such as school event and summer camps
• Nightmares and night terrors
• Compulsive behaviors
• Resistance to any change
• Low self-esteem, lack of confidence
• Overly shy and difficulty making friends
• Chronic physical symptoms such as stomach aches or headaches without any apparent reason
A child is under an anxiety attack if he shows the following symptoms:
• Gush of overwhelming panic
• Hot flashes or chills
• Trouble breathing or choking sensation
• Feeling of loosing control or going crazy
• Feeling and fear of dying
• Feeling unreal or detach
• Nausea or stomach cramps
• Hyperventilation
• Shaking or trembling
• Feeling like passing out
• Chest pain or heart palpitation
Different children of different ages or even of the same age may manifest different symptoms. Moreover, some of the symptoms given may be considered as a normal behavior of a child. Thus it is a bit tricky to determine if he or she is really having an attack or not. What should be done is to recognize these symptoms and consider them as a reason of concern, then help your child deal with these symptoms through the following:
Seek help from health professional – Effectively stopping anxiety attacks begins with recognition and followed by a compete diagnosis from your medical doctor. A full medical examination should be administered in order to rule out any other physical causes unrelated to anxiety.
Doctors usually give prescription medications to help relieve anxiety. If applicable, SSRI antidepressants may be needed for a long term solution. For a more severe case, doctors may refer the child to a psychologist.
Self-help techniques – Parents may seek the help of books available for treating child anxiety. This is also very effective in teaching parents strategies for responsible parenting, which improve parent-child relationship and help build child self-confidence and self-esteem.
Play therapy – is the child version of exposure therapy. As an effective child anxiety treatment, play therapy uses the power of play to simulate each fearful situation in a controlled environment, which then helps the child face the problem and come up with a solution.
Herbal medicines – is proven and effective means of treating anxiety attacks and other types of anxiety disorder. Some of the commonly recommended remedies include passionflower, valerian, scuttelaria laterifolia (scullcap), California poppy, Melissa officinalis, hypericum perforatum (St. John’s Wort), hops and lavender.
Handling Anxiety Attacks
Anxiety attacks can be seen as an abnormal and irrational panic over trivial things or accidents or for no reason at all. Attacks usually occur without warning and a person can simply burst into fear. Triggers can cause anxiety attack – like getting stuck in the elevator or being called to recite in the class – but in other cases, attacks come out of the blue. An anxiety attack is disproportionate reaction to the situation or the problem at hand, leaving the person excessively fearful, or sometimes incapacitated, which affects life, relationships, happiness and peace of mind.
Symptoms of Anxiety Attack
A person undergoing an episode of anxiety attack shows the following symptoms:
• Heart palpitation (increase in heartbeat)
• Hot flashes or chills
• Hyperventilation
• Surge of overwhelming panic
• Feeling detached or unreal
• Trembling or shaking
• Trouble breathing
• Feeling of losing control, going crazy; or fear of dying
• Choking sensation
• Nausea or stomach crams
• Sweating
• Dizziness
• Chest discomfort or pain
Handling anxiety attacks
Anxiety attacks usually peak within 10 minutes and rarely last for half an hour. But during this time, a person can totally lose control of himself and show symptoms mentioned above. To handle this attack, a person must:
Relax – Although it is often impossible to relax during an attack, it is very crucial not to submit yourself to your emotion. Breathe. Deep breathing helps calms and relaxes your mind and body. During an anxiety attack, focus your breathing to slow down your heartbeat. This also diverts your attention from the attack which helps you recover faster. Take some time and practice deep breathing exercises even if you are not stressed or feel anxious.
Think positively – Again, during an anxiety attack, it is often impossible to relax or even calm yourself, but you have to be in control. Push more positive thoughts to your head. Instead of thinking that others will humiliate you or you are going to faint because you cannot take the pressure, think of the good things. Do no anticipate that something bad will happen because in reality, there isn’t. Keep in mind that the more you think negatively, the more anxious and panicky it is going to be.
Think that it will be over soon – and it will. Anxiety attacks do not last for more than an hour so there is no reason for you to think and feel that your world is over. You don’t have to be mindful of the time. You don’t even have to count every minute that passed. What you should be doing is be conscious that it will not going to last forever.
Start an exercise program – We have heard that exercise has lots of benefits both to the body and the mind. It is also a great stress buster and anxiety reliever. Experts agree that as little as 30 minutes of exercise, 3 to 5 times a week is enough to lower the level of stress and reduce the chances of having episodes of anxiety attacks.
Talk to someone you trust – It can be your friend, your wife (husband), a relative or a therapist. Often, having someone who listens and understands what a person is going through will make a lot of difference. This is because it allows you to bring out your emotion rather than keeping it to yourself.
Help Someone Having a Panic Attack
Panic attacks often occur to anyone without warning. So whenever someone had an attack, it is important that you know what to do.
Understand what a panic attack is. A panic attack is a sudden surge of overwhelming fear or anxiety. It is manifested by several signs and symptoms. During an attack, a person experiences increased heartbeat or palpitation, chest pain, hyperventilation or shortness of breath, stomach churning, upset stomach, trembling and shaking, muscle tension, sweating, dizziness and light-headedness, hot or cold flashes, tingling sensation or numbness, fear of dying, going crazy or losing control and feeling detached from the surroundings.
Seek for emergency medical help. It is important to call for a health professional especially if a person experiences an attack for the first time.
Identify the cause of the symptoms. The signs and symptoms of panic attack are similar to medical conditions. Hyperventilation or shortness of breath can be a sign of asthma. Chest pain, increased heartbeat or palpitation and sweating can be a heart attack. Talk to the person and determine if the symptoms are caused by other medical conditions. When in doubt, a health professional will be a great help.
While waiting for help, find the cause of attack. Once it is established that the cause of the symptoms is really a panic attack, find the source of the panic and take the person away from it. Do not make an assumption about what the person needs. A person who is suffering from the attack may know exactly what to do or has medications which will get him through the attack, so it is best to ask.
Don’t surprise the patient. Be predictable with your movements. Do not grab, hold or restrain. Keep him calm and stay calm yourself. Reassure the person that everything is going to be fine but do not dismiss his fear by saying “it’s all in your mind” or “don’t worry about it” or “you are overreacting.” Take note that the fear is very real to the victim so it dismissing the fear has no effect or can even make the matter worse.
Help the patient to control his breathing. Many patients breathe heavily during an attack; others hold their breath. Using deep breathing technique is a very effective way to purge the symptoms of a panic attack as well as calm the patient down. Guide the person and tell him to breathe in for 3 slow counts. Then ask him to hold his breath for 3 slow counts and breathe out for another 3 slow counts. Do this several times until the person is calm. You can also advice him to breathe into a paper bag. This way, he will re-breathe his carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide helps correct the blood acid level that had been disturbed by excessive breathing. But be careful when using paper bags since they may trigger another fear.
Stay with the person throughout his ordeal. Never leave a person especially if he is having difficulty in breathing. Be patient. They may act rude or unfriendly but remember that it is temporary and will go back to normal as soon as the attack is over.
Do not forget that for the patient, the thoughts are real. Reassure him the help is on the way. Never allow the patient to do things that will put his life at risk.
Natural Ways to Deal with Anxiety Attacks
Anxiety attacks are unhealthy to the overall well-being of a person. It can alter the way a person lives. If under an anxiety attack, a person thinks, reacts, and behaves abnormally. This happens because the chemicals in the body tip their balance, hence worsening the effects of anxiety even further. As a result, the person feels physical pain, experiences irrational fear, and shows disproportioned reaction over things.
His social life may suffer including his relationship to his friends, relatives, family, and even to him/herself. If the condition is not addressed and properly treated, the person may think that his life is worthless. In extreme case, he may commit suicide. Thus, on the onset of anxiety, treatment is necessary. Here are some of the possible natural treatments for anxiety attacks:
Meditation and relaxation techniques – These are proven effective methods in dealing with anxiety attacks. Through meditation and relaxation techniques such as breathing techniques, the mind will be able to control the body. Meditation and relaxation techniques can be used during an anxiety attack to slow down the heartbeat, control breathing, and divert the mind away from the cause of anxiety attack. Although these methods require practice, once you learn the proper techniques, they are very effective.
Diet – The food we eat plays a very large role in our overall health, including our mental health. A well-balanced diet and healthy eating promotes a healthy brain and a healthy body. It is advised to prefer natural or organic foods rather than processed foods or those with preservatives and chemicals. If the cause of anxiety attack is weight problem, adapting a diet that helps you reduce weight can solve the problem.
Exercise – Aside from diet, another important factor that helps promote a healthy well-being is exercise. Studies suggest that as little as 30 minutes of exercise, 3 to 5 times a week can have great effects to the body as well as the mind.
Herbal treatments – St. John Wort, Hyperforin, 5HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan), Melissa officinalis, Ginkgo Biloba, passionflower, valerian, scullcap, California poppy, hops and lavender are used as an alternative to prescription drugs to treat anxiety. Natural herbs can be made as tea, but some of these are already available over-the-counter as powder, liquid, capsule, oil, tincture, tablets and tea.
Pray – If you believe in the power of prayer, pray. Many studies show that prayer is an effective way to relieve stress and anxiety as prayers have soothing and calming effect both on the body and on the mind.
Laugh – Laughter still holds the title as the best medicine. This is because when you laugh, your body releases endorphins or “happy chemicals” that help you to feel good and happier.
Identify where anxiety is coming from – Sometimes, anxiety attacks happen for no apparent reason. But that doesn’t mean that there is really no reason. After all something cannot happen out of nothing. Thus, if you experience an episode of anxiety attack, there must be a trigger (it might be directly linked to the attack or it might come from something else, totally apart from the event).
Once you identify the cause of the attack (which is as important as recognizing that you are having one), it is easy deal with it directly and process your condition using the natural ways mentioned above or through medication and therapy.