Panic Attacks - You Will Not Have a Heart Attack

You do not have to be scared out of your wits, as I was

You can read all about my true emotional journey, in my book and can read of the contents on my blog post. My chapter 'Discover the signs of an anxiety/panic attack' tells what happened to me and how I learned of the signs and what I personally did to help myself. Meanwhile, I have been researching the subject further to help you, whilst you are awaiting publication of my true story 'The Truth About Depression and How You Can Beat It'.

The passages below (which I cannot take credit for!) was on a site I discovered and goes into the subject more comprehensively. My story was written especially to help you and my further wish is to bring even more information to you. It was sadly lacking in my case and I really do not want you to go through all that I had to. When you get to read my book I think you will find it absolutely incredible, if nothing else - because of the total lack of any proper help - that was not forthcoming to me. I had to fight for any little bit of assistance that I could.

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Ever Wondered What Exactly Is Happening In Your Brain When You Have A Panic Attack?
The University College London have recently published findings in the journal Science (2007), demonstrating that when people experience extreme anxiety or panic, the activity in their brain moves from the front of their brain to the mid brain. This was demonstrated by scans showing higher blood flow to the section of the brain that was most active. The front of the brain (prefrontal cortex) is where decision making and rationalization takes place. The midbrain (periaqueductal grey area) is where survival mechanisms such as fight or flight originate from.

You are probably well aware that a panic attack is a 'fight or flight' response to a perceived threat. The reason the human brain responds like this goes back to our prehistoric past where humans needed their bodies to respond quickly to a perceived physical threat. What this new research is telling us, is that people's mental activity during a panic attack is suddenly moving to the mid brain, resulting in the heightened state of fear and panic. In short, a separate part of your brain becomes more active during a panic attack. The problem, as you well know, is that once the panic attack begins and that heightened state of fear starts, it is very difficult to calm yourself down. In order to restore calm you therefore need the brains mental activity to change.

This is the reason why deep breathing is so ineffective in helping people control a panic attack. All deep breathing does is try and restore calm to the body. Trying to mentally calm the body is like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted. Your brain is the control center and that is where the change needs to happen. During a panic attack your brain has moved into panic mode and in order to really restore order you need to learn how to switch your mental activity back to the rational part of your brain.

If you visit a doctor or psychiatrist you are almost always going to be given a prescription for medication simply because they are short on time and believe it to be the fastest solution to your anxiety problem. I am not judging these professions, many do an excellent job but are sadly too short on time to investigate the issue further and try a different drug free approach with you. (Bonnie says: my book thoroughly endorses this because it is exactly what happened to me! - I even tell you what helped me and further alternative ways in which you can help yourself)

Fact: A Panic Attack Will Not Harm You

I know when you are in the middle of a panic attack it feels like this terrifying experience is so intense, it might just kill you! You feel an array of unusual bodily sensation from dizziness, rapid heart beat to tingles (paresthesias) right through your body. You fear you may have a heart attack or that the anxiety will push you over the edge mentally.

I want to reassure you that even though the sensations can be terrifying, they will not cause you harm. There is very good medical studies to back this up. In fact panic attacks are not too dissimilar from a good aerobic exercise workout. The fear is powered by an overreaction to bodily sensations.

Please Don't Let Your Anxiety Fool You Into Thinking Your Case Is Unique and Not Curable
That is simply not true. There are no lost causes -no matter how long you have been suffering from anxiety. You must not simply go on coping with this condition. You must embrace the opportunity now to change all of that today. It is so very important to remove these self imposed limitations and get rid of the anxiety that is holding your life back from its true potential. Only you can make the move towards this freedom.

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I had a lot of panic attacks and at first I did not even know what was going on. I only found out through a book that what I was having was, in-fact panic attacks. My own book shows you that there are many other symptoms also which I certainly was not aware of, made even more confusing by the fact that anxiety/panic/depression/stress - all have some symptoms the same. Three chapters of my book go into each and you will get to compartmentalize your own symptoms and know the best treatment to suit you.

Please check out and enjoy my other posts - I will keep you updated as to when my book is going to be launched. It will be in both physical (which will not be long as it is just about to be submitted to a publisher) and PDF format (I am currently in the middle of building a website to promote this) It is a complete one off because each chapter is interspersed with what was going on in my life and how I struggled on a day to day basis - just to get through each day.

Please also feel free to send me your comments as I love hearing from you:

howtobeatdepression@googlemail.com

Are you planning to, or have you already, written your own book? If so, I can highly recommend my own publishers. click on the link below for details:

Bonnie

'The Truth About Depression and How You Can Beat It'