What About Panic Attacks?

One of the most debilitating manifestations of anxiety is the panic attack. These dramatic episodes of anxiety seem to come out of the blue and happen even when there is no real danger. They are usually intense for a few minutes and then subside. The sufferer may experience chest pains, the feeling of smothering, dizziness, heart pounding, depersonalization, hot and cold flashes, sweating, numbness, or nausea. These symptoms may be accompanied by fears of dying, going crazy, and losing control. Those who experience panic attacks often live in fear of their next attack, and this may prevent them from leaving the house, being alone, or driving. Panic attacks are not triggered by a specific phobia.

One of the factors that perpetuates panic attacks is the fear of having another one. The perception that a panic attack is coming on can magnify an awareness of symptoms and then the person begins to tense up and harbor thoughts of doom – just the conditions that drive a panic attack.

If you feel a panic attack coming on, it is helpful just to let it happen, as uncomfortable as this may seem. As is true of any phobia, you have to expose yourself to the feared situation in order for the fear to decrease over time. If you don’t tense up, the symptoms will generally subside within a few minutes. Tensing up will perpetuate the episode. You may feel faint, but you won’t really faint (blood is going to your muscles as you tense up and not to your brain, and this may bring on the sensation of fainting – but your blood pressure and heart rate have increased, so you’re actually less likely to faint). During a panic attack, try to re-channel your thoughts. Challenge your negative thinking (you are not having a heart attack; you will not suffocate; you are not going crazy; you will not die). Trust that this will end soon.

Tell yourself the following – “Well, here it is again. Let me watch my body respond to this, just like I’ve done before. I will survive this and I can handle it. This may be unpleasant, but it’s only anxiety and it will pass. Let me flow through this.”

Dr. Quintal & Associates

5460 Lena Road, Suite 103

Bradenton, FL 34211

941-907-0525

Visit our website for information about Rapid Resolution Therapy: www.drquintal.com

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a common reaction to the stress of everyday life or to a particular situation. It is a normal emotion often associated with a feeling of uneasiness, fear or worry. Everyone feels anxious from time to time—like when you’re running late or interviewing for a job. People with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), however, feel some anxiety or worry almost constantly. They often anticipate disaster or have exaggerated worries about a wide range of issues, from their health to their families to their daily responsibilities. Yet even when they recognize that the worrying is excessive, it is hard to control. GAD affects their body, too. Many people with generalized anxiety disorder visit their doctor with problems—such as sleep trouble or muscle aches—without realizing these are common symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. People suffering from anxiety often experience depression as well. In fact, as many as 90% of the people diagnosed with anxiety also suffer from symptoms of depression. Anxiety disorders are treatable.

Anxiety Disorders

The emotional condition of a person suffering from anxiety is typically accompanied with a variety of uncomfortable physical symptoms including heart palpitations, headaches, hyperventilation...to name a few. (Refer to SYMPTOMS for more details on how to recognize an anxiety disorder.) The onset and occurrence of these symptoms are categorized into different types of anxiety disorders:

• Generalized anxiety: physical symptoms typically last all day, usually mounting from worry and stress related to small and big daily issues such as work, school, health or financial concerns.
  
  
• Panic attacks: the sudden and intense rise of an uncomfortable physical symptom or symptoms (i.e., dizziness, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, sweating) brought on by heightened fear and often the thought of impending doom.
  
  
• Phobias: physical symptoms appear when a person is faced with a particular situation or object triggered by irrational fear; common fears are acrophobia (fear of heights) and claustrophobia (fear of closed spaces). It also can be an intense, persistent and reoccurring fear of certain objects (such as snakes, spiders or blood). These exposures may even trigger a panic attack.
  
  
• Obsession/compulsions: rather than the presence of physical symptoms, this type of anxiety affects a person’s behavior and thought process, typically arising from excessive fear; repetitive actions or rituals, exaggerated and persistent thoughts as well as feeling out of control are typical.
  
  
• Social anxiety: when a person is subjected to public attention or surrounded by other people, unpleasant physical symptoms emerge; the person often has an excessive fear of being criticized or disapproved by others.
  
  
• Post traumatic stress: probably the most severe of anxiety disorders; physical and emotional symptoms follow a specific life-threatening, dangerous or fearful event and usually remain with a person indefinitely. (Please visit www.ptsdtraumatreatment.com for more detailed information about PTSD and effective treatments available.)

Enduring an anxiety disorder can be debilitating and is a serious mental illness. Collectively, anxiety disorders are the most common form of mental illness in the United States affecting over 40 million Americans. People with anxiety disorders seek medical relief for symptoms that mimic physical illnesses. However, there is often an underlying cause or event for the anxiety, though it may not be easily recognized or controlled. If properly diagnosed and treated, people with anxiety disorders can experience freedom and relief and regain control of their lives. (See TREATMENTS for effective therapy for anxiety disorders.)

How Does Rapid Resolution Therapy Work?

Rapid Resolution Therapy utilizes purposeful communication that illicits a response from the subconscious part of the mind. Rapid Resolution Therapy is about adjusting the way a person’s mind has been responding to their world. Meaning, most of us when we think about ‘stuff’, we think that it is the stuff that causes the feelings. Either the stuff that has happened or the stuff that is happening or the stuff that might happen causes me to feel the way that I am feeling.

If we were to think of a guy who is stuck in bumper to bumper traffic; it’s the type of traffic that is not moving and he is going to be late for a meeting. And he gets so angry that he punches his steering wheel. And if we were to ask that guy what caused him to feel that angry he would tell us, of course, that the traffic caused him to feel that way. But, if just a few cars over there was another guy stuck in the identical traffic; yet this guy has got his windows down, his seat is reclined. He is feeling the cool breeze, his radio is on, he is singing loudly to his favorite song. If it was the traffic that caused the feelings, both of those two guys would be having identical feelings. So it is NOT the traffic that causes the feelings, instead the way that the person’s mind has been working. So, Rapid Resolution Therapy works to adjust the mind’s response so that it no longer works in the problematic or dysfunctional way causing the upsetting emotions and feelings that the person has been having.

Dr. Quintal & Associates

5460 Lena Road, Suite 103

Bradenton, FL 34211

941-907-0525

Visit our website for information about Rapid Resolution Therapy: www.drquintal.com