Panic Attacks Small tips against breathlessness, anxiety and racing heart

Tachycardia, sweating, circling tension, quick breathing and great anxiety. Even if there is no real danger, some people over come a veritable panic attack. Where does this come from and what can those affected do at the moment of the acute attack? The opinions of experts sometimes go apart.

Tachycardia, sweaty hands and great fear. "In addition, there is a massive pressure on the chest," says Thorsten Schmidt. For about 5 years, Thorsten has such seizures. "At first I thought I had a heart attack. So I was hospitalized a few times in a clinic. However, everything was organically in order there. "At some point a doctor told him that he may be suffering from panic attacks.

In a panic attack can be good persuasion, give security and exercise. Image: pathdoc - fotolia

Many Germans suffer from panic attacks. According to the Robert Koch Institute about 2 percent of Germans. However, the number of unreported cases is likely to be much higher, since not every panic attack is interpreted by those affected as such.

"The bad thing is that it can come over me everywhere," says Thorsten Schmidt. "In the subway, when eating in the restaurant or at work." And always the fear of fear plays an important role. "Behind this is usually the fear of a loss of control," explains Christa Roth-Sackenheim, chairman of the Professional Association of German Psychiatrists (BVDP). "Those affected feel helpless in the situation and they can not come out without further ado."

The trigger for the attacks, for example, when a family member dies, you had to watch helplessly in an accident or change such as a wedding or the birth of a child. Often there is an organic cause behind the supposedly mental illness. This is the case, for example, when patients suffer from hyperthyroidism. Then drugs can help quickly to regain balance.

Physical activity can calm the body
Relatively successful is physical activity. Who can, should in such a situation "go jogging, walking stairs or doing squats," says Prof. Dr. med. Borwin Bandelow, Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University of Göttingen.
Through physical activity, the symptoms previously classified by the patient as dangerous and life-threatening, return to the processes of the body. This, in turn, can calm those affected by a panic attack, as the psychiatrist explains.

During the attack, non-controllable mechanisms of the sympathetic nervous system occur, which puts the patient in an acute readiness to flee. This happens regardless of the external circumstances. Those affected then suffer from palpitations (pulse over 100), sweating, urgency and shortness of breath. A panic attack can take between 3 and 30 minutes. Many think the first time they are suffering a heart attack. "This is experienced by many as if fear were the result of perceived physical symptoms," explains Roth-Sackenheim.

"The typical symptoms of a panic attack can be sudden respiratory distress and anxiety, as well as dizziness, sweating and a feeling of fainting, all the way to dread. In some people, such physical symptoms are less prominent. On the other hand, mental symptoms such as pronounced thoughts of fear or the feeling of completely "standing beside oneself" predominate, "reports Dr. med. Christa Roth-Sackenheim. If you experience a panic attack, you can use various means to reduce it. "On the one hand, it makes sense to realize that this unpleasant condition will not last long. Most of the attack is over after 10 to 30 minutes. As a further immediate measure, a conscious, as deep and as slow abdominal breathing is helpful, because an accelerated breathing usually worsens the symptoms. "Because anxiety associated with increased muscular tension, sufferers can also try to relax their muscles consciously. This succeeds the better, the more experienced a person is in it.

No conscious inhaling and exhaling
Completely different opinion is Prof. dr. Borwin Bandelov. While many therapists advise anxious patients to consciously inhale and exhale, he is an opponent of this method because it "directs the concentration to the body's reactions, and that only further increases the panic." During the panic attack, sufferers should be cognitively aware that the attack is "over after 30 to 120 minutes" and no health consequences persist. "If you can do that, you can already calm down," explains the psychiatrist.
A panic attack can hit anyone. Often, these are associated with agoraphobia, stress, post-traumatic stress disorder or disease anxiety. If the panic attacks occur several times a year, sufferers should consult a doctor. In general, the causes and symptoms can be treated well in the context of behavioral or psychotherapy. Before a therapy is started, however, organic causes such as cardiovascular disease or hyperthyroidism should be clarified. (Sb)