artist, member of the international art fund
“My profession is an artist, and a few years ago I flew to Vienna to meet my client. It was probably excitement, but it was on that flight that I experienced a panic attack at high altitude.
Suddenly I realized that I was sitting on a chair a few kilometers from the ground. My heart began to change the rhythm, and I had to literally persuade myself to take a breath, and after that, without fail, do not forget to exhale. I remember that he had a tremor in his hands; probably, this is what is called “trembling with fear.”
This is what I experienced at the time:
feeling of horror and fear that now the plane will crash; fast heart rate; I found it difficult to breathe, I had the feeling that my brain “forgot” how to do it; he was covered in sweat; there was a feeling of fog, I did not get up from the chair, but I think if I tried, then most likely it would be difficult for me to keep my balance; shaking chills.
Also read:
What is a panic attack and how to overcome it? A guide to mental balance
Despite the concerns, the business meeting was a success, but there was a way back. He was afraid that the panic attack would happen again, but there was no way to deal with it.
At the time, I was doing yoga, and to be honest, even on the plane I realized that no breathing/relaxation practice was working for me. So “shock therapy” came to mind.
Having never experienced anything like this before, I trusted my intuition and, remembering the common truth “a wedge hits a wedge”, I went to the Prater amusement park in Vienna.
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Of course, the place was beautiful in itself, but I had a specific goal. The Prater Tower, the world’s tallest chain carousel at the time, is located in this park. I went there – I saw how the local old women fluttered merrily on the chairs and climbed to a height of 117 meters.
Happy faces, blushes and eyes shining with joy – these are the faces of strangers that I remember. The expression on my face could hardly inspire anyone. However, I gathered my will into a fist, bought a ticket and firmly decided to destroy my fear in the bud.
Also read:
Feelings of anxiety may be related to your lifestyle. how to fix it
Once in the attraction, I learned to breathe again, again gently convinced myself not to forget the sequence of inhalation and exhalation. To be honest, you feel the greatest horror even from the fact that you hang out at such a great height, just holding on to the chains on your sides. Fear is instilled by the roar of the wind, the roar of the storm, standing in the ears. I felt like I was in the middle of a giant tornado.
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I tried to focus on my serene neighbors, who seemed to genuinely enjoy the process. I decided to literally show my brain what it means to “sit in a chair high up”, how it would actually feel. So that in the future the brain can make a rational decision: whether it is worth launching a panic attack or there are not enough reasons for it.
What is the end result? Panic attacks have not visited me until today, for which I am incredibly glad. Will I dare to gift myself the Tower of Terror again? All can be!
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doctor’s opinion
psychiatrist, psychotherapist, somnologist, professor of the department of the Northwestern State Medical University named after II Mechnikov
“The symptoms and experiences described used to be called sympathoadrenal crisis. It is now called a panic attack accompanied by autonomic symptoms (palpitations, tremors, cold sweats, cloudy head with fear of catastrophe/death/madness (fear of losing control).”
Often, it is precisely the moment of neuropsychic weakening (congested transport/subway/airplane), where there is the least control over external events, that triggers a cascade of anxiety reactions that lead to panic.
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The reason does not lie at all in the plane and not in the subway either, it is just a drop that overflows the cup. It is based on internal conflicts, experiences. The same with the heroine of this story: the creative person went to a meeting with the client and was worried.
In the process of psychotherapy, we literally break down the causes of anxiety into possible components:
the desire to do everything perfectly, and not just right – destructive perfectionism; doubts about one’s own competencies (with attitudes like “where are you going”, and here is the impostor syndrome); experiences “and to whom do I leave my family, and what and how is my partner?”, doubts “do I have to go to Vienna?” (in the case of heroin).
Also read:
7 situations that are important to survive correctly, otherwise health may drop
Without rationally solving it, one experiences inner excitement, feelings of excitement, worries, doubts. And here A. Einstein’s law of conservation of energy works:
Nothing is taken from nothing and does not disappear into nothing, but only passes from one state to another.
If we talk about self-help techniques, really co-ownership behavior can be “wedge-wedge” options – go to fear. If you have a fear of heights, ride the rides, starting small and with insurance. If you are afraid of snakes, then a terrarium with a zoo specialist who will show and tell you everything. But this only works in case of fear, an isolated phobia.
And to work with the panic attack described by the girl, you can use other self-help tools:
Count everything around and name (objects, people), touch five, smell three and lick one.Another technique is to breathe in a square by four (visualization with a breathing technique, better diaphragmatic). Relaxation according to Jacobson also works perfectly in a rolling feeling of anxiety to fear, the key is to shift attention from the internal (intrapsychic) to the external (extrapsychic). Even talking about an abstract topic with a friend (or fellow traveler) is already effective in preventing panic from breaking out. On average, it takes 5-10 minutes. Anti-anxiety drugs block stress hormones on a biochemical level. Exercise can reduce the level of adrenaline, the high content of which causes anxiety and fear.
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And remember: no one has ever died from a panic attack! This is a functional state within the human resource. Yes, it spoils the quality of life, some of my patients refused to fly or use public transport, thereby limiting their lives.
In short: it is important to work on cause and effect relationships with the psychotherapist, that the plan is only a drop, but the cascade of reactions was launched by the same previous internal excitement. Having resolved the internal conflict at the rational and sensual levels, we rebuild the broken relationships of the personality, and then the symptoms will not return.
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