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Panic Disorder - Awareness

Long time no see, dear Readers! Hello. It's been a while. I hope you've all been doing well :)

So this topic is a pretty serious one. Before we begin, I'd like to make a few points for you to keep in mind while reading:

1. This is not a cry for help. This is a shout to "wake up".

2. I'm not writing this for attention, unhelpful comments, or criticism of any kind. This is to help myself and others. However, those who can relate or have experience regarding this topic are more than welcome to leave comments or even send me messages on the Facebook page and I'll do my very best to help you out.

3. This post is mainly to make people aware of this very real, very terrifying, and very complicated mental illness. I want others to understand that.

4. If by chance you feel like you have experienced anything written in this post, or feel in any way mentally unhealthy, I urge you to seek help, professional or otherwise.

5. Most importantly, regarding point number four, please do not be ashamed of your mental state, and don't be ashamed of asking for help. Your mind comes first before anything as it is the key to you functioning as a human being.

6. A bit of a disclaimer: I'm not a professional, and everything here is based on research and personal experience.

Okay, now that you know what you MUST know, here's what you NEED to know.

What is Panic Disorder?

It's an anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent unexpected panic attacks.

What are panic attacks?

They are sudden periods of intense fear and anxiety.

Is it treatable?

Yes. Seek out a therapist to help you find the best method to treat your panic disorder.

What are the symptoms?

I can 100% vouch for every one of these symptoms as I've seen it all, and they are:

Intense sense of fear and anxiety (about whatever you could possibly think of, like fear that you might be dying or going crazy or even making other people worry for nothing and you shouldn't bee feeling what you're feeling), heart palpitations (irregular heart beat), sweating (a lot of it), shaking, shortness of breath, numbness, dizziness, crying (also a lot of that), and some sense of altered reality ("Am I dreaming?" or like it's all white noise around you). *Side note: a lot of these symptoms could also be linked to more physical illnesses like a heart condition, hyperthyroidism, or drug abuse. If you aren't among the last category, then I recommend getting a check-up before coming to any conclusions.*

How often does this happen?

Oh well that depends on the person and her/his life. If you are having a pretty stressful period of your life, you might experience panic attacks pretty frequently. If you're having a peaceful period, maybe just under a handful of times a month. These are also affected by certain chemicals we put in our bodies (i.e. drugs, smoking, and caffeine). It also depends on how that person tends to think, sometimes. You could be a calm person in general, so you'd get panic attacks less frequently than a generally nervous person.

Why does it happen?

Ah, now here's where it gets complicated. Panic attacks sometimes happen with good reason, such as extreme stress, a close call on a potentially harmful occurrence, fearing the outcome of a certain event, etc. However, sometimes they happen without a reason. You could literally be doing something as calming as going to sleep when you have a panic attack. What both situations have in common, though, is that there is underlying fear all the time. What determines when you have a panic attack is your brain and how it chooses to react to that fear. Sometimes you could even get a panic attack because you're afraid of getting a panic attack again. It's all basically a never-ending cycle of fear.

Why do people even get panic disorder?

Well, the cause is a different topic from the reasons (or stimulus). Upon researching this, the cause was listed as unknown, but the risk factors were listed as things that cause mental/physical harm (family history, smoking, psychological stress, history of child abuse, etc). I think that saying that the cause is unknown refers to the brain chemistry, that it is unknown why the brain as an organ becomes this constantly hyper-nervous, over-driven, organ instead of a normal-looking brain. In my case, the cause is the risk factor.

What can I do to try and live with it better?

Well, I'll try to be as useful and helpful as I can in this part.

What I personally do is I try to relax whenever I can, or whenever I experience senses of panic. For example, most of my more minor attacks happen as I try to sleep, because I'm an over-thinker (over-driven brain and what not) and my mind tends to ask itself very deep and scary questions. Most commonly with me is "What's gonna happen if I just don't wake up?" and then BAM, heart palpitations.

How I get over this is I use a relaxation hypnosis app and I listen to the "sleep better" track. It's called the GH Ultimate Hypnosis and you can download the app for free and it already features the sleep better track for free as well. I listen to this track to help me fall asleep and feel more relaxed.

Another example is that sometimes I get minor ones during the day, and I calm down and get my heart rate to normal by taking long, deep breaths until I feel my pulse is normal again.

I also recommend doing therapeutic activities such as listening to music, coloring, reading, and energy-ridding activities like exercising so you leave yourself too tired to think about much.

These are tips I've found online that I haven't tried but will begin to do so:

1. Challenge an anxious thought.

This is to combat those thoughts like the one I get when I'm trying to sleep. The first step is to identify them (helpful or unhelpful?). Then, reframe or correct that thought to make it more accurate, realistic, and more adaptive (so answer that thought/question in a way that is logical, realistic, and helpful).

2. Say an encouraging statement.

So it's like you're helping yourself. You're your own reassuring companion, patting on your back, and telling yourself that your panic attack will pass, and that you're doing fine trying to calm down. Tell yourself that your feelings of anxiety are just feelings and that they will pass, as well as remind yourself that you've come up with strategy/strategies to fight it.

3. Stay connected to others.

This is absolutely vital and exactly why I wrote this post. Not enough people realize that they might have a friend or family member who has an anxiety disorder. So you need to have people around you that understand what you go through during a panic attack, and will be next to you for as long as it takes to help you calm down. It also helps to talk about why you were having a panic attack after you've calmed down with a close friend or relative. It helps you process those thoughts in a normal way, and you get a better grasp on how to do better reacting to it next time, should that problem happen again.

4. Avoid caffeine.

I didn't even think my caffeine consumption was remotely related to my panic attacks, but apparently caffeine is a substance that exacerbates anxiety. It makes you more amped up, which is the last thing people with anxiety need. So I'm going to cut out coffee from my life, and will try not to drink more than 2 cups of tea per day ('cause they happen to have caffeine too). I suggest the same to you.

5. Avoid mind-altering substances.

This means avoid drugs and alcohol. They may make you feel better in the short term, but speaking long term they do the exact opposite. Sometimes even the short-term effect can be harmful. Panic attacks are bad enough if you are straight and sober, so imagine that times 10 for people who consume narcotics and alcohol.

6. Accept your anxiety.

This is where it gets tricky. The issue isn't the fear/anxiety, per se, but it is in fact the way we approach that fear/anxiety. When we try to deny that we're afraid or anxious, that's when we begin to panic, because denial doesn't make it go away, it's just ignoring it temporarily. You ignoring it is letting it get worse. Imagine it as a leech. You've acquired one, it is attached to you, and is sucking your blood. If you ignore it being there, it's just gonna keep sucking your blood until it gets bigger and bigger and you feel worse and worse. However, address it right off the bat, and you'll get rid of it quicker.

The first step towards acceptance is admitting it. Admit you're afraid, admit you're anxious, and admit you're starting to panic about it. Then ask your panic "What do I have to do to make you leave me alone for a good long while?" and commence calming yourself down.

Here's a few precautions I'd like you to take:

Please make sure you're hydrating and keep a bottle of water present all the time.

Have something sweet ready for when you start to feel dizzy. Eating it will help you become alert again and more able to calm down.

Don't isolate yourself no matter how much you want to. Go to someone you feel calm with and who knows how to calm you down.

Try as much as possible to get minimum 7 hours of sleep. Lack of sleep increases the likelihood of having a panic attack.

A couple of questions you might be wondering about, concerning my case:

Do I have panic disorder?

Yes. I self diagnosed myself from research. I haven't been to a psychiatrist or a professional about this to be absolutely sure, but I definitely have it.

Am I okay?

Well, in general I guess I am. However my state of mind these days isn't. I only hope everyone around me understands that I have issues that I'm trying my best to deal with. Some days, I'm perfectly normal, some I'm more energetic than usual, other days I'm down in the dumps. But that's all part of the disorder package.

How can we help?

Understand. Please understand that I'm not over-emotional because "I'm a girl", that I'm not over-reacting and if I am, please understand that I cannot help it. The most I can do is try to be calm as much as possible for as long as possible. Just be the calming presence I need. If you don't know how to help me, the best you can do is to not pressure me if you can help it. What I need most from you is to think about the possibility of others being like me. Others very close to you, very near and dear. Please think of what they go through on a regular basis, and be there for them. They need it more than you both realize.

That's about it. I wanted to let you all know what this annoying problem is that I have to live with, like an annoying room-mate in my life. And mainly, I wanted you all to know that this is very real. It exists, whether we want it to or not. Because there is a stigma against mental illness, for some reason, I wanted to bring this one into light because I personally experience it regularly.

There's one thing I want to make clear, though. Because of this, and with the load of my final year of university, I've decided to put this blog on hold. I don't know if I'm going to be pulling the plug on this completely or not, I haven't decided yet. But I can't muster anything up to write. So I'm going to focus on my issues that are currently on hand. I hope you all understand, and I'll try to come back if I can.

Thanks for reading, guys. Give yourselves a hug, go give someone you love a hug, and know that you're not alone in this. I'm here for you in the comments and in the messages on the facebook page.

Hue Mann, over and out!! ;)

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