Through our hypno-psychotherapy practice, we are constantly seeing clients presenting with symptoms of extreme anxiety and panic attacks. These feelings can and do have a profound impact on the life of a person, often seriously limiting his or her ability to function normally in his or her personal, work or social life.

But what, in fact, is anxiety and how does it relate to panic?

Okay, anxiety itself is merely a symptom created in response to a fear. This is focused on the fear that something bad is going to happen, and this activates the release of the adrenaline hormone in the body, eliciting a response of 'fight or flight.'

Because of this, the body produces a variety of responses that may include elevated heart rate, sweating, muscle tension, rapid respiration, churning stomach and even nausea.

Anxiety can very easily turn into panic feelings when the anxiety symptoms become so acute that they are allowed to consume the person, causing increased feelings of loss of control. As symptoms are felt, they tend to feed the fear, thereby reinforcing it and-hey presto, panic!

A good example of this is hyperventilation, or too fast breathing, which causes us to breathe in a shallow way causing us to exhale too much carbon dioxide, which in turn produces its own symptoms, ranging from pins and needles to muscle rigidity, dizziness and perhaps even spasm.

It's as if the individual is caught in a vicious cycle, with fear causing more fear, symptoms feeding on additional symptoms, and an overwhelming sense of being trapped and sinking rapidly into an inexorable downward spiral.

Needless to say, the person who is forced to endure these experiences can be filled with fear.

Maybe the first thing to do when you're actually experiencing a panic attack is to slow things down and concentrate on breathing calmly. A paper bag can be quickly inflated and held onto the nose and mouth if necessary, allowing the person to breathe in and out a few times, thereby increasing the level of carbon dioxide in the blood and slowing down the breathing.

Link to https://www.integratedholistictherapies.com for more information