Panic Attacks

Panic attacks are not only unpleasant and unexpected but they are also very common indeed with most adults having experienced some form of panic attack at least at some point in their lives.

What is a panic attack exactly?

In general terms, a panic attack is a sudden release of the fight or flight hormone adrenalin in response to a perceived danger. Panic attacks can be quite spontaneous and tigger for no conscious reason.

Any panic attack usually last between 5 and 20 minutes, and although it may feel as though you are in serious trouble, they aren't dangerous and shouldn't cause any physical harm. It is unlikely you will be admitted to hospital if you have a panic attack.

Unfortunately for anyone suffering from a panic attack, you may feel overwhelmed by an unpleasant sense of fear and a sense of unreality, as if you’re detached from the world around you.

Since panic attacks result from the response of the body to a sudden release of adrenalin, the subject of a panic attack can experience any of the following symptoms

shortness of breath (hyperventilation)

How can hypnotherapy and NLP help?

Most panic attacks are triggered because of the pictures and thoughts we all tend to create which aren't always productive or positive. These thoughts in turn can result in strong emotional responses which can then lead to the body believing it is experiencing some form of threat or danger which it must either face head on or run away from even if that 'threat' isn't even real or immediate.

For this reason hypnosis and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) can be powerful tools in helping to neutralise these perceived threats and thus bringing back balance to the mind and body very quickly. Here at the Cumbria Hypnosis Habit Change Clinic we teach our clients a number of powerful psychological tools for changing those initial perceptions, which typically can trigger a panic attack.

Trying to slow your breathing may help in panic attacks but it is only part of the solution. At Cumbria Hypnosis you are shown how to recognise the signals which alert you to a potential attack and you are taught how to train the brain how to not only control the thought before it gets out of hand but also how to remove the source altogether.

▶ A one-minute de-stress technique from David

More on David’s YouTube channel.