SELF-HELP

If you suffer from… * Palpitations * a pounding heart, or an accelerated heart rate * Sweating * Trembling or shaking * Shortness of breath * A choking sensation * Chest pain or discomfort * Nausea or stomach cramps * Derealization (a feeling of unreality) * Fear of losing control or going crazy * Fear of dying Numbness or a tingling sensation * Chills or hot flashes (Source: American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) 2000 Washington, DC.) …then you’ve experienced firsthand some of the possible symptoms of a panic or anxiety attack. If you are reading this page because a loved one suffers from these symptoms and you are trying to understand or help, it’s hard to appreciate what they go through. Just try to imagine what it feels like to experience one, if you can. Here is a typical example: Standing in a supermarket queue, it’s been a long wait but o...

There is phobia that is linked to the experience of panic attacks, and that is agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is the fear of open spaces or of being in crowded, public places such as shopping markets. It is a fear associated with leaving a safe zone, such as the home.  Because of a feeling of being vulnerable, people who experience this fear often suffer from panic attacks in these “open” situations. It is true to say many people who have regular panic attacks experience different degrees of agoraphobia. Some have a lingering background anxiety about being away from home should they experience a panic attack. Other people are so immobilized by this fear that they find it very difficult to leave their home for even a short period. The thinking behind agoraphobia usually follows the line that were a panic attack to occur, who would look after the person, how would he or she get the assistance and reassurance they needed? The vulnerability grows from the feeling that once victims ...