One of the things that has perplexed me about Panic Attack treatment is that approaches often seems contradictory. Here are some examples of different approaches out there:
*Concentrate on your thoughts
*Focus on your breathing
*Distract yourself from the bodily sensations
*Try not to think about the panic
* Let the panic happen
Understandably so, I've been feeling a bit confused and overwhelmed in trying to decipher this whole process. One of the most perplexing concepts of all to me is the one that says to basically allow the panic to happen. What the F***? I mean, seriously? I HATE panic attacks. Why would I invite them to "just happen?"
Lucky for me, my therapist at ASDI is fabulous and was able to shed some light on this today.
Her words:
"It sounds contradictory for us to tell you to just allow the panic attack to happen when you are here to stop yourself from having panic attacks," (yeah, no sh** Sherlock--my words. sorry, i really do love her!) "But no one can control their body's reactions to things. Think of it this way; when you finish running a race, you will be out of breath and your heart will be beating fast. If someone said to you, 'Stop breathing fast!' You would not be physically able to do it. In fact, the harder you tried to do so, the more difficult it would become. You would have to wait a few minutes for your body to gradually calm itself and return to resting rate."
"A Panic Attack is similar in that you cannot just will your body to calm down. The more you try to do so, the more worked up you will become. Instead, just accept that it is happening and will take a few minutes to pass. But, it will pass... just like after a race."
Sounds simple enough now...we'll see how well it works in the midst of an attack. For now, I'm happy to grab my running shoes and test that theory...oh, and also to have an analogy I can relate to and understand!
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