Panic Self Help

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Music is one of those pleasures in life that can be almost anything it needs to be.  If someone is down, music can either be their morose companion or that which picks them up and puts them on their feet again.  If someone is tires, a good peppy song can revive their energy and keep their spirit going.  If someone is captive, music can be their freedom, and if someone is stressed or anxious, music can calm them down or take them to a world where their problems are not so frightening.

Just as a soldier marches to the beat of the drum or a crowd sways to the rhythm of the song, the panic attack sufferer can be affected by music to the point that their movements and mood is changed.  While the type of music that affects a person will vary according to the personal preferences of the individual, there are some general rules that can help the panic sufferer get the most out of their musical selections.

It is fairly obvious to most that the beat of the music can affect the heart rate of the listener.  It has been observed that the crowds attending concerts in which the music is that is played has a slower or more smooting tone, as well as beat, is generally more sedate and relexed.  Conversely, music that is ‘angry’ or discordant and has a rapid beat tends to excite or sometimes enrage the crowd listening. 

Because of these observations, the panic sufferer can use music to affect their mood.  By choosing music that is more melodic and slower, the listener will likely experience a change in their heart rate to match the music.  As a result, they should begin feeling more relaxed as they listen to relaxing music.  Similar results will most likely be experienced by listening to ‘relaxation’ sounds such as ocean waves or wind sounds.

There is a place for stimulating music as well for the panic attack sufferer.  Music that can be danced to can be used to burn off excess energy.  It can also be used to distract the mind and keep the person from dwelling on the item that is causing them anxiety.  Stimulating music may not be relaxing, but it can be useful. 

Experiment with music and see how it affects your mood.  Just as food and feelings are tracked using a journal, it is important to make notes on how what is listened to affects the mood of the moment.  Try different type and styles of music.  You might just find a new type that you didn’t know you would enjoy.

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 A panic sufferer is able to help themselves through dietary and lifestyles changes.  While many of these changes mean taking something away that is negatively influencing, there are some things that can be added to improve the quality of life of the panic sufferer and help them to manage their anxiety disorder.  Just as it has been long known that stress reduces the number of vitamins and minerals in the body, it is also known that supplementing the diet with additional vitamins minerals will help the body combat stress.  Although beyond the scope of this article, taking certain herbs have also been shown to help the body combat feelings of anxiety and stress.

Chief among the vitamin supplements that should be taken are the B Vitamins.  There are eleven of these and they all work together to promote energy and support the nervous system.  Don’t worry though about having to take eleven different pills.  They are available packaged together though if a person is under extreme stress, an additional dose of B5 can aid in handling stress.  B5 in particular helps the adrenal gland and that particular gland is particularly busy during stressful situations.

The second vitamin that helps a person deal with stress is vitamin C.  Vitamin C has long been known to have enhancing effects on the immune system.  As an added bonus, Vitamin C, as well as the B vitamins, help energy levels and combat fatigue.  Vitamin C also helps support the adrenal gland right along with the B vitamins.  There are some side effects with taking large doses though.  Unlike Vitamin B, Vitamin C is not water soluble and has been associated with kidney stones.  For all vitamins, even “harmless” ones, a person should be careful at taking too many.

As for minerals, calcium is a natural tranquilizer and calms a person.  A person normally needs at least 1000mg of calcium a day for good health.  Failure to get the minimum amount can lead to problems in the nervous systems, especially with signals going between nerve cells.  The good news is that calcium is readily available from dietary sources so if a supplement is necessary, it is likely to be small.  Any calcium supplement should be taken along with magnesium as the two minerals help each other.  Plus, magnesium is another natural calming substance.

Vitamins B and C along with calcium and magnesium are four dietary substances that are necessary to support good nervous system health and combat panic attacks.  Therapy for panic attacks should include nutritional information on these and other dietary elements such as chromium and cobalt, the lack of which can indicate dietary problems such as hypoglycemia or Vitamin with symptoms similar to those of panic attacks.  A doctor or nutritionist should be able to give you more information on the appropriate dosage that will best help you.

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Research shows that caffeine is one of the chief dietary agents of nervous tension but is by no means the sole instigator.  Sugar and nicotine are also substances that studies have indicated contribute to panic attacks.  The level that they are present in the diet can be a factor in the severity of anxiety attacks and respite from those attacks can occur by removing them from the diet.  Stopping intake of these three substances can improve the life of the anxiety attack sufferer by allowing their medical professional to dimish drug levels as they experience fewer attacks.

As far as body stressors go, nicotine is very powerful.  Nicotine impacts the body as sharply as caffeine but with more perilous consequences.  Like caffeine, nicotine is physically addictive, but in contrast to caffeine, it is also mentally addictive.  Nicotine has a reputation for calming a person down in the midst of or following a stressful circumstance, but that respite is only brief.  When a nicotine consumer does not have the material in their veins, they are often jumpy or twitchy while they wait for their next cigarette.  This anxiety also affects the sleep cycle and causes the smoker to not rest very well.  Plenty of sleep is essential for a panic sufferer to reduce thoughts of panic.

A more difficult substance to diminish from the diet is sugar.  The body, particularly the brain, needs glucose to properly operate, but the body is particular about what kind of sugar it needs most.  Glucose is the sugar that the body needs to function most efficiently, and it is best derived from complex carbohydrates.  Complex carbohydrates process slowly and provide a consistent release of glucose into the body.  This is different from simple sugars because they breakdown into glucose very quickly and put too much glucose into the body too quickly.  Frequent exposure to a constant supply of high levels of glucose can lead to health problems such as diabetes or hypoglycemia. 

Hypoglycemia has symptoms that imitate those of anxiety attacks and some medical professionals believe that some anxiety attack suffers may actually be experiencing hypoglycemia.  Using a meal log to look for anxiety attack symptoms that occur 3-4 hours after a meal and disappear as soon as something is eaten is one of many ways to help narrow down what is the cause of the symptoms.  A medical professional can also determine hypoglycemia through a simple blood test. 

If hypoglycemia is revealed, it can be corrected by limiting consumption of simple sugars.  Consume complex carbohydrates such as dense breads and whole grains instead of pastas and refined grains.  Eat a protein or complex carbohydrate snack between meals to keep blood sugar consistent and eat fresh fruit in place of of candy.  Fresh fruits contain more complex sugars than do candies.

Experiencing attacks of panic does not make for pleasant experiences, but there are steps that can be taken that do not necessitate medication to control the anxiety.  Self help is available through food choices and by making sure that correct lifestyle decisions are made.  Talk with a doctor about the options available and know that you can help yourself.

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Doctors have long maintained that certain foods such as simple sugars and caffeine energize the body while other foods like raw mushrooms, which contains tryptophan, calm it down.  Being aware that foods impact the body, it makes sense that what is eaten can contribute to feelings of anxiety by exciting the body and causing stress.   Stress is a widely believed cause of panic and anxiety attacks.

While changing a diet is not likely to eliminate all panic attacks, it is worth retraining eating habits if the amount of attacks are decreased even a little bit or allows a medical professional to reduce the level ofmedicine prescribed to the patient.  Another benefit is that better eating habits also have benefits for the heart and other organs beyond just those connected with the mind.

The first tool in the battle to get on the path to eating better and reducing foods that contribute to anxiety attacks is to begin a food log.  A food log is simply a book or pad on which the kind and amount of food consumed is tracked. It gives a history of what has been eaten and can be used to search for anxiety triggers.  An example of this would be if an individual suffered an attack and then after it was finished they went back and saw that they had consumed more caffeine than usual in the hours leading up to the attack.

It is just as important to track feelings as it is to track what is consumed. Since emotions are a powerful component of any panic attack, having a view to how a person feels will yield clues to how they might react in the near future.  Add also the tracking of anxiety levels, and a person has the keys needed for powerful insights into how diet affects them individually. This information becomes a starting point to help the personreclaim control in life.

The meal log becomes a key to assist the person who suffers an anxiety attack to take their life back.  Because the person suffering from an anxiety attack feels powerless when the attack comes, they need to build in ways to gain control in their lives.  By logging the foods that are eaten, the feelings experienced, and the frequency of anxiety attacks, the person suffering can proactively exert control in their life.  They may still feel powerless in the midst of the attack, but knowing that they have the power to positively affect their situation will help reduce the very anxiety that triggers the attacks.