One of the questions people ask "Are panic attacks dangerous?" The answer
basically is "No!" I say basically because people generally are worried that
panic attacks can diminish their health by causing a heart attack or causing
something else horrific to happen. On the short haul, the answer is no. The
effects of stress caused by multiple attacks over time might be something
that needs to be addressed.
The most pressing problem with a panic attack is that they scare the
daylights out of you when they are happening. Even though I haven't had one
in a long time, I did suffer my first panic attack that started in a dream
while I was asleep. I was with a group of people and someone with a gun
walked in and shot me twice. As I was falling to the floor, I woke up. My
heart rate was about 150 beats per minute, double the normal rate. That
scared me right there and probably made things worse.
Generally, panic attacks last about 30 minutes and then they are gone. Not
so, with my first one. It lasted 3 hours and me trying not to have screaming
fits and running out the front door in fear the whole time. I was terrified
I was going to have a heart attack, however, thankfully it did not happen.
And, apparently, it won't from the usual circumstances connected with panic
attacks. You just deal with the effects of stress brought on by the attack:
the rapid heartbeat and the fear.
Are panic attacks dangerous? "No!" However, if you were undergoing one and
someone told you you'd be all right, you would probably be tempted to grab
them by the throat, shake them until their head fell off and scream at them
the entire time "I'm dying." That really isn't true, but, honey, it feels so
real at the time. That is one of the things that makes a panic attack so
scary.
If you ever suffer a panic attack, close your eyes and start deep breathing.
Try to relax. It should back off in 30 minutes or less. The scariest part of
these panic attacks is the rapid heartbeat that just won't slow down. It
will eventually. It just doesn't seem like it will at the time.
I have found one thing that does seem to slow down the heartbeat, at least
for me. I roll or massage my feet. A massage roller with grooves seems to
work well in that regard especially on the bottom of the left foot where the
acupressure points for the heart are located. These points are a little to
the outside of the foot behind the thick pad located behind the toes. I can
use a roller, tennis ball or golf ball if the acupressure points are not too
sore. For me, the heartbeat normalizes in a few minutes.
I haven't had a panic attack in several years. That doesn't mean I'll never
have another, however, knowing that I have something to slowdown the rapid
heartbeat means that I am not near as fearful of having another in the
future. For, in my case, the rapid heartbeat is the scariest part of a panic
attack. The fact that my first one lasted 3 hours instead of just 30 minutes
scared me even more when I learned of normal duration. Yet, I'm still here.
So, are panic attacks dangerous? No, they just seem dangerous. As with most
things, our reaction to what happens to us and the way we handle the effects
of stress are the most important things. If we don't contribute more to the
frightening effects of a panic attack, we can endure them better. Knowing
that they are of short duration also helps that endurance.
Have a great day.
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