PANIC ATTACKS

I had them for years. Best advice I can give is to keep a PAPER BAG in your handbag, not easy to find, and put it over your mouth and nose and breathe heavily and slowly. If this isn't possible do very slow breathing over and over till it stops . Keep saying to yourself, this is only a panic attack. It will stop and I'm not dying!

When my dh died 4 years ago I had terrifying panic attacks. I also had to move house twice which didn't help. The attacks are subsiding but I still get them if things go wrong and that can be paying bills through to anxiety about my family. In my case the trigger was my husband dying but they can be caused by such a wide variety of things. I was on valium for two years which helped me through the worst times but I stopped taking it about 18 months ago. All the above suggestions are good. I find I go to a sensible place in my mind and try to think rationally and I get comfort from others who have been through awful times and are still standing.

There are lots of techniques to use and it really is worth googling them.

One is to accept the feelings of panic but to mentally speak to them and tell them to bugger off - or to imagine putting them into a railway carriage and watching them vanish over the horizon. They will come back, but just keep doing it till they go away. Again it is about putting you in control.

There is the concept of "two brains" where your primitive brain is on overdrive and your rational brain has lost the battle - the idea is to help your rational brain to be on the winning side and take control.

I am glad that you found a relaxation track - it is good to get it downloaded onto a CD or iPod so that you can practice the techniques several times a day until they become second nature and you can switch them on at will and they are ready at your disposal when a panic attack starts.

One technique as soon as you feel it coming on is to screw your fists up whilst breathing in, then let them slowly relax whilst slowly breathing out. You can do that anywhere and any time and can repeat it as many times as you need to.