When Rashi had her first panic attack she was appearing for school board exams .She didn’t know she was having one till her throat felt dry ,her hands started trembling and all of a sudden she felt she was going to faint .That made her cry out loud for help .She wanted to immediately get out of the examination hall.
However a timely intervention by the people around helped her recover faster as she was given the first aid support in time.
Panic attacks do not come with a warning and they become too scary to those who suffer one all of sudden and if a timely help is not available the same can turn a little damaging too .
Rashi did have some stress of her ensuing examination but she had also been suffering from fever for a few days and had not yet fully recovered . She had been feeling weak, a bit tired and sleepy . In this kind of stressful situation she had suddenly developed an anxiety and lost control of mind .Her breathing seemed to have become very shallow,rapid and she had hyperventilated .
The feeling passed after little first aid support and within a few minutes she felt better although still dazed .No one knew that she had experienced her first panic attack that day, until it happened again when she was in a crowded shopping mall .
How to know if it is a panic attack
It can happen to anyone and can take place in any situation.We discuss hereunder the early signs and symptoms indicating about panic attack :
Usually it begins with a dizziness of the head and the person feels a little disoriented to the environment around .The other symptoms not necessary all of them together can be :
- Mild pounding of heart in the middle of chest and feeling of fast heart beats
- Shortness of breathing and feeling of suffocation
- Breathless and major discomfort breathing even though the environment is not claustrophobic
- Feeling a sense of numbness in the arms or legs or both
- Chest pain
- Hot flashes or cold sweat
- Nausea
- Trembling and shaking of body parts
Anxiety attack vs. panic attack
An anxiety doesn’t come all of a sudden but it builds up over time ruminating or apprehending some of the anticipated events and it remains there even when the event may not take place .Thus anxiety is triggering of the apprehension but it stays as a constant feeling disrupting the normal functioning .
A panic attack on the other hand has more debilitating effect , comes out all of a sudden and much more intense episode of fear ,anxiety and a feeling of oncoming loss of consciousness and breathing difficulty takes over .
Anxiety and panic attacks even though have similar symptoms, but panic can make one feel like one is losing control of one’s awareness,orientation .The person feels that brain and body are not coordinating . This can happen repeatedly leaving one helpless and worrying of being vulnerable all the time .Resultantly one may stop stepping out of home alone .
Some of the ways to calm down during a panic attack
Rashi was lucky when her first panic attack lasted only a few minutes and went away after help from the people around but the second time she wasn’t because it occurred in a shopping mall and help took a little longer .
Panic attacks tend to peak within a few minutes and go away also sooner but for some occasions these attacks can last longer and the person becomes restless with fear of something happening to him or her and gets panicky .
How do we control when a panic attack seems to be occurring or seems imminent:
Perceptive and Meditative Breathing;
Deep breathing has often been recommended as the compulsory activity to do when stressed .
In anxiety and panic perceptive breathing can really do magic on your mood.Lets understand how :
- Close your eyes softly
- Keep your body and spine supple and stress free
- Now focus on the lower end (tail end ) of your spine and breathe from the nose very slowly .The mind must be completely involved in the breathing .
- Inhale slowly from the nose feeling it’s impact on the lower end of the spine .
- Exhale slowly from the nose taking as much time as you took inhaling
- Continue for five to seven minutes
- Soon you would realise your mind and body relaxing and the anxiety level coming to almost nil .
- Repeat this exercise as often as you want to .
Relax your muscles and body by kayotsarga (progressive muscle relaxation exercise )
Anxiety and panic can cause your whole body to tense up making you feel uncomfortable. You can help reduce the stiffness of muscles of the body relaxing them one muscle at a time .Focus on each muscle beginning from the toes of the feet one by one and going upwards covering all parts of body one by one .An auto suggestion like ( my toes are relaxing ,my calf muscles are relaxing cover till the top of your forehead .
Move your body:yes that’s true:
Rather than sitting or lying down in panic going out for a walk or doing brisk walk in the room itself can help you bring your stress anxiety and the impending fear to a much reduced level .
Preferably you can, go for a walk outside or do some light stretching. Take yourself out of the environment that’s causing your anxiety .It will help ease your symptoms.
If you feel a panic attack coming on in a closed environment like bus ,train or an aircraft while travelling and you can’t get up and move , try these basic breathing exercises to help ground yourself and reduce the intensity of the attack.
- Do some deep breathes and focus on the tip of your nostrils to feel the air getting in and exhaled air coming out . Soon you will feel better with diverted focus .
- Breathe in deeply and exhale every breathe from the fingers of your feet one by one and later through each finger and toes of your hands .You will feel an ease coming to your mind and body soon.
- Rub the palms of your hands slowly and putting the palms on your eyes later will help .
Doing this activity with your hands can help take your mind off anxiety a calmness sets in .
Repeat positive affirmations to yourself
A positive affirmation is a phrase or a sentence you repeat to yourself over and over but if you can write it and read it aloud ,the impact is many times more and empowering .
The statement can be
“ I am a calm person I am a powerful person “
or “I am a powerful person I can handle this situation “
Or “ I am a powerful person I have the power of mind “ .
Reading and saying these affirmations out loud can help, but if you’re in a public place and don’t feel comfortable with that, just say it silently to yourself. Make sure to read or speak the words slowly in your mind.
Get help of psychologist /Counselor
In order to prevent repeated occurrences ,you must seek the help of a psychologist .You can reach out to us at
Alka Mansik Pramarsh Foundation
Family Therapy India
http://www.familytherapyindia.com
Or email
mansikpramarsh@gmail.com
Sachin (name changed)a young boy of 12 and a student of grade 7th had been termed a big nuisance by his class teachers.They could hardly control his activities.He would just not sit at one place in the classroom. His indiscipline created problems for his teachers in school . Of late he had started arguing back with his tutors at home .There have been complaints of his misbehaving with other children of his class . His mother, a single parent was at her wits end,not knowing how to proceed about. She was advised by the school to consult a psychologist.
Akshat {name changed} another child was standing outside the school Principal’s office.This was the third time in the current session when his parents have been called to the school by the authorities.Akshat had been sliding down the side railing of the second floor stairs all alone, when he had been intercepted by his class incharge.A joint evaluation by the school teachers,psychologist and psychiatrist diagnosed severe ADHD in the child. Our experience with treating ADHD children in many such cases have proved that mindful perceptive meditation can train and condition the young brain to concentrate better and hold focus even in the event of child suffering from ADHD.Such a holistic intervention and alternative treatment have benefited many and can help your child maintain self regulation, self discipline, and developing a better attention span.
We have observed that many adults and children affected by ADHD find it very challenging to sustain their attention, and they exhibit a very hyper state of mind in situations where they are expected to remain calm and attentive.
Mindful perceptive meditation exercise develops the inner peace of mind,establishes positive relationship with the self and brings about sense of confidence and stability of mind.It helps regulate functioning of the endocrine glands of body and creates good hormones in the body. Since mindful perceptive meditation involves perception of breathing, perception of centres of our psychic hence brings about a sea change in the mindset of the protagonists.It enhances attention span. It trains the mind in the process of self-observation , trains to take care of all kinds of negativity and develop an internal power of positivity, attention, and to develop different faculties of mind and intellect . It makes the subject better aware of his or her emotional state of mind and impulsivity.
HOW DOES YOUR CENTER TEACH THE PRACTICE OF MINDFUL PERCEPTIVE MEDITATION ?
HOW AND WHERE CAN MY CHILD JOIN MINDFUL PERCEPTIVE MEDITATION PROGRAM?
Ashu (name changed) could not do anything in life ever since he had been diagnosed of schizophrenia by the psychiatrist. He had been prescribed psychotic medicines by different psychiatrist doctors wherever his family had taken him to them .Yet nothing helped. His fears and phobias had worsened with time. The voices in his head continued disturbing him. His logical cognitive ability had been completely distorted and for him all the delusions had become the real images and characters.
Similarly Sheena (name changed) continued with the fear and phobia of persecution at the hands of a person who had long moved out of her life five years ago. Sheena had been diagnosed of delusional disorder (a psychotic disorder).Her life had become completely miserable as she would often get lost into her phobia and would not be able to conduct her normal day to day routine life.
Soon a very significant improvement could be noticed in certain negative symptoms, (e.g., negativity about self and family, sense of doom, lack of interest in surroundings and /lack of drive) started yielding to positive thoughts on all these issues .The clients did respond well as we noticed Ashu and Sheena both had begun looking at the positive aspects of their life. Their sense of appreciation for some aspects of their lives could be felt in their daily interaction with us. We could see their interest reviving in their day to day life too exhibiting positive symptoms.
Family will survive all storms with a little patience and perseverance.
“Perceptive Meditation enables you live in and with your breath taking your mind away from your anxiety stress and worries of life .It empowers you to live in the moment with complete mindfulness of your soul ,body and mind “. Ramneek Kapoor.
Mindful Perceptive Meditation on Psychic Centres is a very powerful, evidence-based meditation tool for enhancing emotional ,psychological and mental health.
