Panic / Anxiety Attacks

Life is hard, it's a statement of fact not fiction. To cope with the day-to-day stresses of life, we have a tendency to try and compartmentalize everything, pigeon-holing as we go. Work in one section, marriage in the next, children in the next and friends in another; sometimes we succeed, but those pesky compartments have a tendency to get muddled and that's where life can become difficult. Things start to fall on top of us and unexpectedly, something can snap and we find ourselves unable to cope, unable to handle something so simple that doubts begin to creep in. Suddenly we're suffering from anxiety, depression and panic attacks, all because we believe we're weak. Life may be hard and just because something simple has niggled its way into our heads, it does not mean we're powerless. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but of strength.

Panic attacks strike out of nowhere, that's why they're dangerous. You can be feeling A-OK, yet all of sudden something with little or no clear reasoning, can trigger an attack, which on average lasts for a staggering twenty to thirty minutes. A panic attack reaches its peak within ten minutes and consists of at least four of thirteen major symptoms:

Shaking, Difficulty in breathing, or shortness of breath (Dyspnoea)
Abnormally rapid heartbeat (Tachycardia)
Excessive sweating (Hyperhydrosis)
Chest tightness
Chest pain
Abnormal sensations of the skin (Paraesthesia)
Raised blood pressure (Hypertension)
Tension and apprehension
The feeling that 'something terrible' is going to happen.
A specific fear of death.

The danger behind panic attacks is they can be difficult for the person to self-diagnose, with many first time sufferers believing they're having a heart attack or a nervous breakdown and subsequently contact the emergency services! This period of intense fear can be very disturbing and ultimately, frightening. It's easy to understand why an attack can feel as though the body as a system is failing, however in reality, the body is actually protecting itself. When an attack is triggered, the body releases adrenaline, a classic fight or flight response in reaction to the fear. This spurt of adrenaline prepares the body for immediate activity with increased heart rate, rapid breathing and sweating. When that activity never happens, the body reacts accordingly, the increased breathing means there is a drop of carbon dioxide in the lungs and blood which leads to other symptoms like dizziness or lightheadness.

Hypnosis offers no 'cure' for panic attacks, but it can help reduce stress levels and within eight to twelve 50 minute sessions, HypnoAnalysis discovers and removes the cause of a problem, symptom or anxiety. It works on cause and effect, because logically every effect must have a cause, just as every action has a reaction. A root cause is deep somewhere in your subconscious and when it's found and removed, a complete and lasting release is achieved and you find yourself wonderfully free from anxiety and more able to handle and deal with an attack.

Mark Phoenix Murphy is currently the only registered consultant Hypnotherapist, Psychotherapist, Pure HypnoAnalyst and HypnoBand Practitioner, and the sole IAPH member on the Costa Blanca and Costa Calida.