April 2021
Now I have had many years, well decades, of experience with both anxiety and panic attacks. This is one area I understand completely. Having navigated my life having episodes on and off. Anxiety is seen as a dysfunctional reaction to stress (Hechtman, L., 2019) and usually comes from life events we have endured. Similar with panic attacks.
However, panic attacks can come from trauma, PTSD, medical conditions such as hyperthyroidism, vestibular dysfunction or issues with neurotransmitters and hormones such as GABA, serotonin, or cortisol. There is a sympathetic nervous system involvement and can come from the Alarm phase. Many, myself included, say it is a physical process and reaction not a cognitive. Many do not understand this. Especially if they have never experienced it themselves. It is seen as a personality issue. That the person is timid or overly cautious.
The psychological component is the fact that people get sensitised to triggers and so then it becomes a cognitive issue. The sensations of panic attacks are unpleasant so understandably people try to avoid the triggers. Avoidance, dizziness, numbness and tingly sensations in fingers and toes (an imbalance in CO2 and oxygen due to hyperventilation), a feeling of being smothered and sometimes choking. The heart rate may go up and palpitations occur. There are panic attacks that are acute and subside quickly or another condition separate from this is called Panic Disorder where it is part of a persons everyday life down to how to tackle crowds, queues or situations.
Remember it is first a physiological response to a stressor. Its about the body and brain and its overreaction to trauma or perceived danger. In particular, the amygdala. In childhood trauma, whilst the brain is developing, the amygdala actually overdevelops and grows. The stress response is effectively, sometimes, stuck on ‘ON’. So, the brain chemicals and stress chemicals run through the body longer or easier than they do in a normal person. Before you know it, your body is reacting to a trigger that you may not have been aware of. A smell, sound, lighting, or situation.
Situational panic attacks are where you start to recognise where you are likely to have a panic attack and so pre-empt it and may now start to bring it on unwittingly. A fear of an attack then actually brings this on. This now is a learnt behaviour and now has come into the realm of cognitive as well as physical.
Anxiety may go hand in hand as a person may feel that it has taken over their life. Anxiety is also present without panic attacks in some people and can be a response to perceive or actual events and can be crippling in themselves.
The best way to deal with this on a naturopathic level means we must take a full case and to see what the client’s history and family history is about. To assess whether appropriate referral is needed for a psychologist or for allopathic medication. On another note, we can help with diet and foods that are building blocks for the neurotransmitters. Is the client perimenopausal? Adolescent? Under a lot of stress? Or are they suffering trauma? We can work alongside a GP.
We also provide herbal medicines which can help sleep, anxiety, regulate the HPA axis and balance cortisol, GABA, and serotonin. Nutrient deficiencies can be addressed and digestive issues which contribute to these deficiencies also addressed. It can be a complex condition as no two cases are the same and you all have different stories to tell. However, one on one we naturopaths work hard to help you and to tailor your treatment specifically to you. I am dual qualified as a naturopath and a counsellor, plus I have personal experience with these conditions, so I am totally prepared to help you as much as I can. As are my colleagues.
I shall leave you with all this so you can digest it and I shall say hi again next month. I do hope you are all well and keeping safe?
Lisa