Interestingly, the word "panic" comes from the name of the ancient Greek god Pan. According to myths and legends, the god Pan always appeared suddenly, thereby terrifying all people, and they lost their sense of reality, ceased to be aware of their actions, someone ran away, someone froze in place, endangering themselves, and sometimes death.
It is precisely "suddenly" and "unexpectedly", "horror" and "loss of reality" that become important characteristics of panic attacks. Panic attacks, having occurred once, are likely to appear again and again, forming the so-called panic attack crisis. The intervals between panic attacks in different people can vary: for some they occur once a month, while for others they are observed several times a week. Interestingly, women are more prone to panic attacks than men, and their age is approximately 20-40 years. Although these data are quite relative depending on the region of residence.
Of course, the basis of panic attacks are psychological reasons:
- depressive-anxious personality traits
- long-term emotional stress
- problems with alcohol
- childhood psychological trauma (conflict situation in the family, overprotective parents, emotional isolation of children when parents are busy working or arranging his life)
- unresolved intrapersonal conflicts.
Unfortunately, people who suffer from panic attacks limit their lifestyle. Since panic attacks occur most often in crowded places (transport, theaters, concerts, shops, offices), most of them try not to use transport, limit communication with others and stay in public places. But you should not succumb to your illness. It is better to contact a specialist (psychotherapist in Tallinn) and together with him find the root causes of panic and get rid of the tormenting symptoms. In parallel with psychotherapy, drug treatment will not be superfluous.
But there are a number of ways that can help you cope with yourself during the onset of a panic attack. The most important – switch your attention, preventing yourself from focusing on negative experiences.
• Count cars, people, ads, hum a song or read poetry;
• Put on a thin elastic band around your wrist. At the time of the first symptoms of panic, tighten the elastic band and release it so that it clicks on the skin;
• Breathe calmly, slightly lengthening the exhalation. You can count to yourself: one, two – take a breath, one, two, three, four – exhale.
• Learn relaxation techniques. Feeling the approach of the first symptoms, try to relax, this will relieve muscle tension, which in turn will reduce anxiety.
And finally, I would like to note that following the correct daily routine, good nutrition, walking in nature and physical activity will help not only reduce and mitigate the frequency of panic attacks, but also generally prevent their occurrence. Take care of yourself and be healthy!
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