If I believe that a person is having a panic attack, what ought I to do?

Talk to the person and try to work out if they have any insight into what is occuring. Ask them whether they had ever had a panic attack, like this, ever before. If they reply in a way that suggests that this is a frequent event, then you need to try and calm them down, in both physical and psychological sense.

Don’t forget to first introduced yourself.

If you are not sure whether the person is having a panic attack or a heart attack - then what do you do?

This is a tough one as the differences between a panic attack and more serious disorders are often minor. You will need to take a view, however, and there is no real way to be sure without specialist tests.

If you are uncertain, then follow the basic first aid principles, that is airway, breathing, circulation. Have a look for any medic alert bracelets. Obviously, heed any advice given by the alert. You may well need to call the medics sooner than you might otherwise do.

OK - but if they are having a panic attack - then what do I do?

Firstly you must stay calm. Try to get one or two key ideas across, with the words that you use. Reassure the person that they will be fine and try to explain to them what is happening. Ask them what they think may help them. Try to empower them and get them to feel strong and not small. Being frightened can be life saving.

Sadly, it is sometimes scary in inopportune times, which will lead to people feeling less resourceful and helped.

Sarah’s panic attacks started a few months ago after she was involved in a minor accident while driving her car. Now, she walks to work everyday even though it takes four times as long. Sarah gets anxious and apprehensive simply thinking about sitting in her car.

Daily life has changed for Sarah. Even when crossing a road by foot, Sarah will feel her heart race and palms get sweaty. Sarah was a careful and self-assured driver before but now she has zero confidence. She is afraid of a having another accident.

Panic attacks start occurring even when she is not driving. Sarah feels depressed and frustrated that she can’t do the same things she used to do. Everyday, she encounters excessive and irrational worrying thoughts. This inevitably impairs her work and social relationships.

Post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD for short can develop after a traumatic experience. This might be due to severe physical or emotional pain. A sufferer might experience terrifying flashbacks of a traumatic event.

Someone who knows a victim of PTSD may see there character and behavior completely change and become unrecognizable. It can be hard to know what to do for a sufferer. A sufferer is likely to want to be left alone and not be in the company of others. There is a possibility that sufferers may develop a phobia of people more commonly recognized as social anxiety.

People with anxiety disorders often suffer from sleepless nights. They may feel highly strung on a daily basis and find themselves being extra cautious. In the case of Sarah’s, she doesn’t travel in any vehicle if she can and pays particular attention when crossing the road.

A traumatic driving experience isn’t the only cause of panic attacks while driving however. Panic attacks may occur because of irrational fear and anxiety itself. Often we create our own fears through negative thinking. Negative associations become reinforced when we excessively worry and focus on something that we fear.

Sufferers may find them losing confidence and fearing something that never used to be a problem. The mind is a powerful thing and can make mental associations both negative and positive. A driver might experience panic attacks for a number of reasons. Possible reasons are;

# Driving at high speeds such as on the freeway.
# Driving on a busy road.
# Having a driver cut in front of you.
# Getting beeped at.
# Driving long distances.
# Driving in the dark.

All of these experiences can create feelings of anxiety and fear which can grow. Eliminating negative behaviors and beliefs can be done quite easily with therapy. For more information on how you can overcome fear and panic, click on: anxiety and depression.

If you have been having panic attacks fairly often, it may be a good idea to talk to your doctor about medication for panic attacks that may work well for you. And, even if you don’t want to take prescription medications, there are several natural remedies that you can explore as well.

Antidepressants

Antidepressants are the main panic attack medication prescriptions that your doctor may discuss with you. These medications are also used for those that suffer from severe depression, so you may find that your mood will be boosted after you are taking the medicine for a while. However, it may take several weeks for the medicine to reduce your panic attacks, so you will have to incorporate other treatments in order to get relief quicker.

I Got Rid Of My Panic Attacks After Struggling For Many Years - The best video clips are here

Also, you will have to take the medication constantly, and not just when you have a panic attack in order for the medicine to work.

Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines are another type of medication for panic attacks that you may want to consider if you don’t want to take antidepressants every day. These drugs help to reduce anxiety, and will start working very quickly, usually within 30 minutes. You should take these pills when you are starting to experience a panic disorder in order to relieve the symptoms and calm your heart rate down.

However, benzodiazepines can be very addictive, and when you are looking to get off the medication, the withdrawal symptoms can be very serious. So, it’s best to have a physical exam and make sure that you are in pretty good health before you start the medication, since it can be very taxing in the nervous system when you are ready to quit.

Alternative Treatments

Another alternative if you don’t want to take drugs every day, is natural medication for panic attacks. You can, for example make changes in your diet so that you will be getting right amounts of vitamin B12 and niacin. Although you don’t want to change your diet, you can go to your local health food or grocery store and purchase a supplement that might help you in a great way as well.

Include foods such as raw nuts, beans and lean cuts of chicken. This will in increase your intake of B vitamins. Fresh fruits and vegetables such as watermelon, oranges and broccoli are also good and rich in vitamin C, which will help in boosting your immune system. What these vitamins do is strengthen your nervous system, and will make it more easy for you to think clearly in situations that may cause panic anxiety or attacks.

You may also experience that making deliberate changes to your diet in order to improve your health, your confidence will increase and give you the ability to handle your stress better. No drugs come without side effects, fortunately most of minor significance, although some serious side effects may occur. If you want to avoid them, know that there are alternatives to medication for panic attacks.

It is hard not to talk about anxiety and stress in the conditions of daily existence, regardless if referring to work problems or to the butterflies in the stomach before a first date. Tension is actually part of our life, and it often makes us work harder and do our best to achieve what we have set as a goal. However, anxiety and stress no longer remain stimulating factors when present in too high proportions in one’s life: anxiety disorders are a nervous disease and they have to be treated. Such a health problem makes the sufferer experience anxiety and stress most of the time, even when there is no reason for feeling so.

Anxiety and stress could thus bother you all day long, preventing you from carrying on with regular activities, or you may experience such discomforts in occasional bouts that are incredibly intense and terrifying. It is false to assume that these health problem represent a character flaw; it is not a matter of being weak or strong. Lots of people try the approach of pulling themselves up by the bootstraps, but this very seldom works. Therapy becomes necessary, sometimes supported by the administration of tranquilizers or antidepressants. Therefore, before resuming a normal life, all the factors that cause anxiety and stress have to be identified and dealt with.

There are two components for every disorder caused by anxiety and stress: one biological and another psychological, and therefore the treatment ought to include behavioral and cognitive psychotherapy methods. Family history and genetics influence the appearance and evolution of an anxiety disorder, but other factors too play a significant role in the development of the disease. Substance and alcohol abuse, traumas, major life decisions, the impossibility to cope with too much stress, emotional instability and lots of other problems could be at the root of recurrent panic attacks.

A great deal of responsibility falls on the family to help a person overcome anxiety and stress. It is more than obvious that people with a balanced and harmonious lifestyle who feel happy with their family and living conditions, are less likely to suffer from an anxiety disorder. Nevertheless, coping with stress is something natural in regular life, and the nervous system will fail to cope with it only when there is too much. Moreover, the same family support is incredibly helpful for the recovery of a person suffering from an anxiety disorder. An active involvement in therapy, a good relationship with the doctor, informative research and family environment, represent the most important ways of speeding up recovery.

The author of this article has been published many articles on the websites. The article is not only about anxiety and stress, but also about many other topics. If you want to know more about more articles, please visit the latest websites on cordless barcode scanner and electric guitar kits.