Anxiety Panic Attack Management - 2

[Guest guest]

[After discussing depression in Post # 1549 in this series of

articles, we

will deal with the Ayurvedic view on Anxiety and Panic Attacks (APA)

faced

by most of us due to the stress and strain of modern life especially

in

metropolitan and city areas. In the first article (#13750) the author

introduced and

familiarized the reader with this disorder. The second article in

this

series offers some additional familiarization while ayurvedic views,

and

herbal treatments will be dealt with in subsequent posts. While APA

is the

main focus here, the information also applies to many other disorders

coming

under the heading of mood and behaviour disorders. Much of this

information

already exists on the internet but the author has presented it in a

simplified form which may be of interest and help to sufferers.

Additional

matter is included from the author's own experience.]

 

Complaints of aching muscles and general fatigue are both common

following

APA. Muscular tension causes feelings of pain and tightness

throughout the

body. The chest, neck and shoulders are the most common sites for

residual

pains and fatigue. Shortness of breath and rib pain become the most

distressing symptoms, as the patient frequently worries about the

heart

which then makes the chest and breasts sore or numb. Pains in the

chest and

back may radiate to towards the head giving similar feelings to those

of a

migraine. The sensation of heaviness in the eyelids, cheeks, jaws and

other

facial muscles, can also give a feeling of paralysis. Light massage

on the

cheeks, head and neck can relieve these symptoms as the blood vessels

in

these areas relax and expand by being massaged.

 

Since blood vessels can contract a little, the feeling of numbness,

cramps

in left hand and left leg are also experienced by many patients.

Restlessness is another word used by some patients to describe the

experience.

 

As the nervous system covers the whole body including the skin, the

feelings

of APA are felt throughout the body. Though most of the APA symptoms

are

horrific and frightening, they are nevertheless harmless and are

simply

exaggerated or accentuated experiences of normal bodily reactions and

sensations. " It is all in your mind " is the comment by doctors, but

patients

still feel these sensations in a very real way.

 

The nervous debility arising from stress causes fatigue, insomnia and weakness.

Coughing, asthma attacks, water retention and even leucoderma are likely when

such a debility continues for a long time. Other than physical weakness, waist

pain and uterus pain can occur for ladies. In many cases, they loose libido

after birth of one or two children. Though they may not show any major symptoms

of anxiety attacks, the root cause of loss of libido is the stress. The root

cause of stress in ladies who are only housewives, lies in the modern nuclear

families, where responsibilities increase after children are born, and no other

lady is availble in the house to share them. By nature they are emotionally

attached to the children, and any difficulty in the wellness of children

stresses them.

 

 

THough not necessary for ayurvedists, it is interesting and helpful to

understand why these anxiety symptoms/feelings appear from the viewpoint of

modern science which treats body as a chemical plant to be manipulated by drugs

and radiation. According to modern science, any of the anxiety or mental

symptoms are associated with irregular levels or activity of neurotransmitters

in

the brain. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that carry signals across

nerve endings. Neurotransmitters that seem to involve anxiety include

norepinephrine, GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) and serotonin which is

concentrated in the locus ceruleus (a nerve cluster that lies near

the brain's fourth ventricle). Increased activity of norepinephrine is

associated with anxiety and we find that decreased activity

diminishes that anxiety. Increased levels of GABA and serotonin also seem to

reduce anxiety. All of these neurotransmitters interact during heightened

anxiety.

 

It appears that the body still functions and responds in a very

prehistoric

way with regard to anxiety. The way the bodily reaction works is as

if we

were still being chased by wild animals and need to constantly run

for our

lives. However, today most of our problems are about finance,

relationships

and jobs. Post #8367 from the archives is an example of this. None of these

problems are solved by running for one's life

or by

standing and fighting. Quite simply, the brain can not differentiate

between

life threatening danger and lesser stresses. This flight or fight

response

is based on adrenalin, the hormone of fear.

 

Adrenalin works by prioritising the blood supply, making sure that

oxygenated blood is available through the brain to help make split

second decisions. The blood supply is taken from areas where it is not needed in

these times of danger, such as the stomach or sexual organs, because if one is

in a life threatening situation, one is not going to stop and eat a meal or

engage in sexual intercourse. This is why when someone is continually stressed

they may feel sick, find themselves unable to eat, or they may experience a

reduced libido. This also gives us a clue to treat APA by oxygenating the blood.

While Oxygen leads us to liberation from fear, depressed thoughts, carbon

dioxide boosts the melancholic thoughts.

 

The body tends to act inappropriately to everyday stresses and

adrenalin production may be unnecessarily initiated in response to a minor

stress. A chain reaction is then set in motion - one starts to sweat, feel sick

and suffer palpitations and the whole stress response takes over. One then

starts worrying about the way one feels and this then exaggerates anxiety and

the chain reaction begins all over again.

 

When modern drugs such as tranquilisers are taken, their effect is to

suppress the body's natural response. This can lead to severe

problems in addition to the adverse/side effects of the drugs themselves.

Firstly the stress response can actually be very useful at times when we are

presented with real danger, whereas those taking tranquilisers lose this

response. This is similar to the action of the drug Clomid, in the case of women

suffering from non-ovulatory cycles. Once ovulation is induced by a drug, the

ovaries become addicted to it and need more of the drug for action later.

Secondly the speed of reactions to everyday stimuli may be reduced

just as the reactions necessary for driving and operating machinery

safely may also be reduced. Thirdly long term use of tranquillisers causes

suppression of adrenalin resulting in rebound anxiety. The effect of all these

actions increases adrenal fatigue and leads to adrenal exhaustion, a state which

is much more difficult to cure than the original anxiety itself. However, APA

and Adrenal exhaustion should not be treated as two disease states, since glands

are involved in both and endocrine glands work always in harmony with each

other. This observation gives a clue to the treatment too. The medicines

directed towards anxiety can also take care of adrenal exhaustion, if formulated

by an expert. In many anxiety cases, author found underfunctioning of

ovaries/testes so that estrogen/testosterone hormones may have ben reduced.

Estrogen is a feel good hormone while testosterone gives vigor and boosts

adrenals when needed. Hormone modulating herbs/combinations also soften anxiety

attacks.

 

In the next post in this series the Ayurvedic perspective of these

mood and behaviour disorders will be further discussed. Astrological

configurations in the natal chart which are risk factors for the APA

will also be discussed.

 

The editing help from Jane MacRoss is gratefully acknowledged.

 

Dr Bhate

 

_________________________________

The doctors checked everything but could not find anything.They did also a MRI

of my brain.Then they checked hyperventilation and it was positive.

 

Now I am suffering last 2 years with the following symptoms::

 

headache( on top of my head) feel as I am not there in my surroundings

strange feeling in my leftside or rightside of body including tongue

dark in my vision

memory and concentration problem

depressed

fear that I am going to die soon

fear that soon I will have some serious illness e.g.

alziehmer,stroke,paralytic etc

 

Can you please help me out?? Shall I be ever cured of this?What

should I do??