Panic Attacks

Panic attack therapy help in Brighton and Hove, Sussex and on Skype internationally.

Panic attacks seem to be on the increase in Brighton and Hove and around the world and I have helped hundreds of clients manage and set themselves free from the fear and anxiety creating them.  Panic attacks can be helped with hypnotherapy, NLP, IEMT, and various forms of counselling very successfully.

There are some very powerful and simple techniques you can learn to manage and change a panic attack into something calmer and easier to deal with.  You will learn this in your very first session and clients have told me that his has been life changing as they often no longer feared the situations they began to dread experiencing.  Fear of fear can often feel overwelming but it can be changed with some work with your brilliant mind to change how what is triggering the anxiety that leads to panic.

I can help you learn to calm and manage your mind, life is full of ups and downs and learning to work with fear and anxiety is an investment for life which will help you change your life to experience more of what you want and deserve to.  Contact me for more information.

What is a panic attack?

Wikipedia brilliantly describes this with some great links to explore further.

Panic attacks are periods of intense fear or apprehension that are of sudden onset^[1] and of relatively brief duration. Panic attacks usually begin abruptly, reach a peak within 10 minutes, and subside over the next several hours. Often those afflicted will experience significant anticipatory anxiety and limited symptom attacks in between attacks, in situations where attacks have previously occurred. The effects of a panic attack vary. Some, notably first-time sufferers, may call for emergency services. Many who experience a panic attack, mostly for the first time, fear they are having a heart attack or a nervous breakdown.^[2] Experiencing a panic attack has been said to be one of the most intensely frightening, upsetting and uncomfortable experiences of a person's life and may take days to initially recover from.^[3] Repeated panic attacks are considered a syndrome of panic disorder. ^[4] Screening tools like Panic Disorder Severity Scale can be used to detect possible cases of disorder, and suggest the need for a formal diagnostic assessment. ^{[5] [6]}

Sufferers of panic attacks often report a fear or sense of dying, "going crazy," or experiencing a heart attack or "flashing vision," feeling faint or nauseated, a numb sensation throughout the body, heavy breathing (and almost always, hyperventilation), or losing control of themselves. Some people also suffer from tunnel vision, mostly due to blood flow leaving the head to more critical parts of the body in defense. These feelings may provoke a strong urge to escape or flee the place where the attack began (a consequence of the sympathetic "fight-or-flight response") in which the hormone which causes this response is released in significant amounts. This response floods the body with hormones, particularly epinephrine (adrenaline), that aid it in defending against harm.^[3]

A panic attack is a response of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). The most common symptoms may include trembling, dyspnea (shortness of breath), , chest pain (or chest tightness), hot flashes, cold flashes, burning sensations (particularly in the facial or neck area), sweating, nausea, dizziness (or slight vertigo), light-headedness, hyperventilation, paresthesias (tingling sensations), sensations of choking or smothering, difficulty moving and derealization. These physical symptoms are interpreted with alarm in people prone to panic attacks. This results in increased anxiety, and forms a positive feedback loop.^[7]

Often the onset of shortness of breath and chest pain are the predominant symptoms; the sufferer incorrectly appraises this as a sign or symptom of a heart attack. This can result in the person experiencing a panic attack seeking treatment in an emergency room.

Panic attacks are distinguished from other forms of anxiety by their intensity and their sudden, episodic nature.^[3] They are often experienced in conjunction with anxiety disorders and other psychological conditions, although panic attacks are not usually indicative of a mental disorder.

If you suffer with panic attacks then please contact me for a free consultation.  Life is too short for a life of fear when you can learn to manage your mind and set it free from anxiety disorders which can lead to panic attacks.

The Life Doctor.