Maybe you are reading this because you are someone who suffers from knocking knees, rapid breathing, heart palpitations and random panic attacks. I ache for you as I used to ache for myself when I felt the spawning of these symptoms from within. Sometimes, I could just breathe through them and everything calmed down in no time, but other times, I landed in the ER at my local hospital. I felt like prey since I rarely knew what was going to trigger them.
They offered me a variety of treatments for my food. Once, in my teens, I had tunnel vision and the cutest of the interns took me by the hand and asked me to talk about everything that was “stressing me out” in my life. I’m not sure if it was just the fact that he was conveying my suffering or the fact that I desperately wanted to see all of his handsome unshaven face that my vision began to organically materialize again in all corners of my limited perception.
My very sweet GP suggested I go see a “counselor” through her own tear stained face after hearing my desperate pleas to help me address the anxiety and fear I was facing more and more each day. I was a tender 25 year old. She suggested this route before I could qualify for prescription anxiety-suppressing drugs. The outcome was not favorable as the “counselor” seemed quite confused and lacking in character structure and actually seemed to need a lot more help than I did.
A little light inside me was struggling to find a solution that was lasting, permanent and natural. Knowing that I was against my own mother’s diagnosis of schizophrenia, manic depression, and her eventual suicide when I was eight years old didn’t help either. As time passed, I began to feel like I was on the verge of “losing my mind” and anxiety attacks brought me closer to this terror. Every hour, I felt an inner terror prickling at the base of my spine. The anxiety episodes began to escalate. I had to figure this out.
If you’re also suffering from a similar situation, it’s important to consider all your options before launching into medication or even meditation. I am a results driven type of person and if I am going to look at a treatment modality I need to know what is going to work, why and what the possible risks and side effects are. I am going to share what I found with you so that you too can fully weigh the consequences. By the way, I resolved my panic attacks long term and haven’t had one in over 20 years. I am 46 years old when I write this. Fortunately, although I know that it was a fairly advanced case that needed panic attack treatmentI was able to solve it naturally.
However, I’m going to start by giving you the advantages and disadvantages of prescription panic attack medications. The unfortunate part is that the chemical protocol is not curative, but suppressive, and increases his chronic condition. Most people know this, because as soon as the drugs are removed, the symptoms reappear in plain sight. Medications can be helpful, in the short term, if you just need to gather your perspective to determine how you want to address your symptoms in the long term. They can give you the illusion of a clearer mind, which can be very helpful in the present, but as a control mechanism, you may be dealing with some very unwanted side effects.
Some of the harmful side effects you may consider will include liver, kidney, and lymphatic toxicity. The other thing to keep in mind is that with these drugs you may not have access to the emotions you love in yourself. I’ve had people say that to me while on their meds. they could no longer feel the emotions of characters in a movie or fully empathize with her daughter’s breakup with her boyfriend. Often people taking anxiety medication feel emotionally “down” and this can leave a person feeling let down in their sphere of life. Unable to fully penetrate the realm of sympathetic or empathic impressions.
My own grandmother, yes on mom’s side, was unfortunately living on tranquilizers for the long haul. Her empty eyes and her empty “yes, dear” response to her every taunt was downright pathetic. I despised her for not having the courage to face the root of her ills and avoided her at all costs because it was like being engaged to a “hollow” woman. She often had the urge to yell at her to see if she could wake her from her living coma. There was no real person to connect with and to me she died years before her physical body succumbed.
Most people don’t know this, but pharmaceutical companies have been using the same tranquilizers and benzodiazepines for years. The main ones available to us modern people are:
- Xanax (alprazolam)
- Klonopin (clonazepam)
- Valium (diazepam)
- Ativan (lorazepam)
While they are fast-acting, providing calm or “relief” within thirty minutes to an hour of taking them, there are longer-term drawbacks that are often not fully explained in a doctor’s office. The calming effect that is perceived for the first time can precipitate a sleepy quality, as I have mentioned, especially over time. Other unwanted side effects can include drowsiness, confusion, and lack of coordination. People will often justify very low doses, but even microdoses of benzodiazepines can cause problems at work, school, or with everyday activities like driving. Some people will report a drug hangover the next day which can affect their motivation and zest for life.
Depending on the individual, some will cite a feeling of “revving up” or a worsened state of anxiety that precipitates mania, impulsiveness, hallucinations, hostility, anger, and even the panic attacks themselves, which is the opposite result that the individual seeks. patient. Over time, the drug can build up in the system, if proper detoxification is not employed, leaving the patient feeling as if they are permanently intoxicated.
Look out for these common side effects of benzodiazepines or tranquilizers and work with your doctor to adjust the dose or change the type of medication until these symptoms are minimal:
- Drowsiness
- Lack of energy
- Clumsiness
- slow reflexes
- difficulty speaking
- confusion and disorientation
- Depression Dizziness
- Dizziness Thinking and judgment problems Memory loss, forgetfulness Nausea, upset stomach Blurred or double vision
Benzodiazepines are also associated with depression. You will need to watch out for long-term side effects of benzodiazepines, such as suicidal feelings. The feeling of being disconnected from your spouse, children, and parents can worsen over time and unfortunately affect long-term relationships. My mother and grandmother were a testament to this for me.
If you choose the chemical drug route, it is imperative that the anti-anxiety medication is not combined with any other drug. Also, an overdose can be fatal when taken in large doses or combined with any other central nervous system depressant. Taking anti-anxiety medications with alcohol, prescription pain relievers, or sleeping pills can be deadly. Dangerous drug interactions can also occur when anti-anxiety medications are taken with antihistamines, which are found in many over-the-counter cold and allergy medications. Keep in mind that antidepressants like Prozac and Zoloft can also increase your toxicity.
If you have a little room to breathe and your panic attacks aren’t hitting you like waves of labor. You can take a look at more natural ways to deal with your condition. This was the route I started with myself, and it helped me tremendously. Although my more advanced symptoms eventually propelled me into the realm of principled natural medicine, I followed this route of regimen practices first, as medication protocols scared me the most. As you can imagine, I was willing to try anything to avoid the fate of my grandmother and mother. Cooped up, exhausted on prescription drugs, or suicidal were not viable options for me. I needed to solve this directly.
Some of the viable non-drug panic attack treatment options available may begin with psychodynamics, including cognitive behavioral therapy, for example. I used a system called Heilkunst Medicine (the whole art of healing and curing) to solve my own ailments which organizes all treatments in three jurisdictions starting with a base on dietary and lifestyle changes, followed by homeopathic medicine and then therapies. cognitive-behavioral approaches to address core fears and belief structures. Not all of their practitioners practice these three jurisdictions, but I’m happy to help you find one if you need one. The first jurisdiction of Heilkunst treatment encourages regular exercise, adequate sleep, a healthier diet, the improvement of your relationships and a complete detoxification. Often people find that adding a regular protocol of oils, minerals, vegetables, and eliminating grains from their diet, by itself, can have cathartic effects on their panic attacks. Addressing sugar spikes and lack of proper nutrition with whole food supplements can help calm potential moments of anxiety.
Live Blood analysis by an excellent doctor can also help uncover the cause of your panic attacks by indicating heavy metal toxicity and discerning if you are actually absorbing the water. Water has the function of expanding the cell, just as your body is trying to expand due to anxiety. If each cell is armored and locked in salt, so is your body in general. When anxiety breaks out, it will push uncomfortably against your armored cells causing a tension in your body that causes sweating, heart palpitations and a general acceleration as if it were going to explode.
Your anxiety is just trying to “expand” you and dissolve your armor. It just does it with a lot of suffering and debilitating effects. Unfortunately, nature can be a bit crude in the way it tries to work things out on your behalf. By providing sound, logical tools such as homeopathic medicines, which are based on nature’s law of healing “like cures like”, and by following cognitive therapies including character analysis and biofeedback, you can truly eliminate the cause of your anxiety. and approach it with treatment protocols that work and solve your problems in the long term without side effects, just like I did.
I found that it’s not really about suppressing or repressing your anxiety at all. It’s more about resolving the overflow and then converting and channeling the power of those e-motions (= “energy in motion”) into a medium where they fully serve you through insight, creativity and inspiration. In the end, you will have much more awareness and an environment of feelings and life impressions that will enrich your life, not dull it.
