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Help is still available for those suffering.
Many of us will be familiar with the feeling of anxiety. The tight feeling in your chest, the racing thoughts and pounding heart. And with the added financial pressures and health concerns caused by the current pandemic, more people than ever are experiencing such symptoms. A survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) at the start of lockdown revealed that anxiety is at an all-time high with more than 25 million people - 49.6% of over-16s in Britain - rating their anxiety as "high". Somewhat alarmingly, this is more than double the amount of people than at the end of 2019, and the highest since records began.
While anxiety is bad enough in itself, in some cases anxiety can develop into a panic attack - a disproportional fight or flight response that causes a sudden rush of adrenaline and the onset of alarming physical sensations. “The body prepares itself for fight or flight by increasing the heart rate and you can get tunnel vision to be able to focus on the threat,” explains Daniel Mansson, clinical psychologist and co-founder of Flow Neuroscience, the headset and therapy app, drug-free treatment for depression. “If the threat is real this reaction is a good way of getting us ready. What happens in a panic attack is that this reaction goes too far and there is an escalation of symptoms and a feeling like the ordeal will never end.”
Symptoms differ. Some feel as if they’re having a heart attack, others believe they can’t breathe, and some even faint or throw up. “A person experiencing a panic attack can have a racing heart, dizziness, tingling, numbness, chest pain and a sense of loss of control. They often occur in combination or directly following each other,” says Daniel.
The visceral nature of panic attacks leave many living in fear of the attacks themselves, adopting avoidance behaviours to steer clear of potential triggers. This, in turn, can result in a hugely restrictive existence lived in fear of fear itself. “What often happens after you have had a panic attack is that you become frightened that it will happen again, maybe in a public place. This often creates avoidance of public places and safety behaviour, such as bringing a person with you when you go shopping. You may even stop exercising as the normal raising of the heart during exercise reminds the body of the panic attack,” says Daniel.
However, these avoidance behaviours only exacerbate the problem, making you fear the panic attacks even more. “Avoiding activities may be the intuitive way of handling panic attacks, but this is not the best way to handle it if you want to get rid of the attacks. Careful exposure to the difficult situations will make it go away.’ Of course, exposure isn’t so easy during an enforced national lockdown, making many people’s perception of panic attacks loom larger than ever. Still, there are a number of things you can do to help yourself cope with panic attacks during lockdown.
Challenge Your Body
“In order to break this pattern of closing off activities you should instead, in a controlled and careful way, keep challenging yourself. There are several very effective treatments for panic attacks and several of them include carefully repeating the symptoms of the attack (spinning around in a chair to replicate the dizziness, run up a hill to get the heart raising, etc). This teaches the body that this is not dangerous and you will be able to break the panic easier if you would experience feelings of panic again.”
Professional Help
“You should always seek professional help if you feel that you cannot handle the situation yourself and if it impacts your life in a negative way,” says Daniel. “There are several online services available to get help without the need to leave the house. One example is myonlinetherapy.com which offers NHS connected psychologists who can help online remotely.”
Gentle Exposure
“Avoiding activities may be the intuitive way of handling panic attacks, but this is not the best way to handle it if you want to get rid of the attacks,” explains Daniel. “Careful exposure to the difficult situations will make it go away. You may need help with this, and a psychologist or a psychiatrist can help with a treatment programme and guidance.”
Mindfulness
“There are many ways to manage panic and anxiety attacks as well as anxiety,” say experts from Anxiety UK. “Mindfulness and meditation is a great way to remain calm and present, and not to be controlled by fears and worries. With an Anxiety UK membership, you will receive a subscription to Headspace, a guided mindfulness and meditation app.”
Take Care of Yourself
“There are four essential areas that you should think extra carefully about and which will affect your mental health in a substantial way,” explains Daniel. “You want to make sure that you eat, sleep, exercise in the best way possible and have some understanding of meditation practices. These four areas affect your ability to handle long term stress which is essential to keeping feelings of depression and anxiety (where panic attacks are the extreme form of) at bay. Flow Neuroscience has developed a free app that teaches you how to manage these areas. “
What to do If Someone is having a Panic Attack
It can be alarming to see someone you care about experience a panic attack. Experts at Anxiety UK stress the importance of staying calm. Help the person get to a quiet area and sit with them, and help them regulate their breathing using standard breathing techniques.
According to Daniel, there is one very important message to communicate to someone in the midst of an attack: “What is important to say is that it will end. The body cannot go on like this for a longer period of time and panic attacks are very seldom longer than 30min with the peak at about 10 min from first symptoms.”
