subject: Overcome Panic Attacks: Find Out What To Do! [print this page] The trap of panic The trap of panic
Many specialists describe the panic attacks and panic disorders as a (very real) trap in two basic key areas. To overcome panic attacks demands effort, perseverance and dedication. The first trap considers a person who, suffering a crisis, trusts that whatever he is doing is unsafe (ie, he will get a heart attack, he will faint, he will lose the reason, he will lose the control) when, in real terms, a panic attack does not create any danger in any way to him. Secondly, those affected by a panic attack will fall into the trap of carrying out anything that they deem safe will help them to stay away from crisis when what they actually do is to worsen their situation on how to overcome panic attacks. Such actions include behaviors of evasion, as well as trying to control/overcome panic attacks, fight them, fall into superstitions and rituals to avoid panic attacks and attain self-protection. That is, what is done to deal with panic attacks ends up locking them in, in most cases (Carbonell, 2004).
According to Giorgio Nardone and Federica Cagnoni (Arezzo), a first experience, either real or unreal, can bring into the person's mind a new possibility of perceptual reaction: the fear. From that experience, everything that is carried out is done to protect himself from the real or imaginary danger. Nonetheless, this reaction does not work; on the contrary, it just confirms the threat, which worsens the effects and creates a classic situation of panic reaction, both in terms of fear generalization in the psyche as well as in the behavioral response, thus making it harder to overcome panic attacks.
In particular, there have been identified three representative solutions that try to overcome panic attacks: 1) avoidance, 2) request for help and 3) attempt to control.
Avoidance. The consequence of avoiding, in fact, represents a confirmation to the person of the threat of the prevented situation which, in turns, prepares subsequent evasive behaviors. As result, not only the fear increases but it also grows the person's skepticism to overcome panic attacks with their own resources, thus boosting up the phobia and the reactions. As a consequence, the disorder turns out to be more disabling and limiting.
Request for help. Once the vicious circle of avoidance is turned on, the person often uses a second "strategy" that is sometimes counterproductive: the request for assistance, that is, the need to always be dependant and comforted by someone who is willing to intervene in a crisis in order to help the affected person to overcome panic attacks. The provision of help supports the person to calm down, but steadily it leads to an increased fear situation. As a matter of fact, the possibility of having someone or something (a substance or drug) to rapidly intervene in the provision of help, ends up reassuring the person that he/she is incapable of confronting the feared situation all by him/herself.
Attempt to control. The control of physiological and behavioral reactions allows for a perceptual cycle that helps the person face his fear. However, in an attempt to maintain control at any costs on the body itself and on its psychiatric functions a paradoxical situation raises: when the person centers his attention on physiological responses (heart rate, breathing, balance, etc.), it inevitably leads to an alteration of some of this same functions, causing a fear that generates more changes and puts the individual further away from the position to overcome panic attacks.
