Susan relaxed like every Saturday morning in the nail salon. Her feet were in the tub, the massage chair turned on, and she was getting a great pedicure. She was talking to the other ladies in the room about the weather for the upcoming weekend and the upcoming holidays.
Suddenly, his skin began to itch, he was on fire. He adjusted his feet, maybe the water was too hot. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, he felt his back and armpits become damp with sweat. Susan sat there paralyzed, her heart was beating so fast, the beats were so strong that she felt her chest was going to explode. She couldn’t breathe. Oh Lord! She thought, I’m having a heart attack. The walls were closing in on her, everyone was looking at her, people must think she was crazy.
Had to get out, get out, GET OUT NOW! Susan jumped out of the pedicure chair and ran to the door. He left the living room and entered the parking lot with wet, bare feet. She breathes, breathes, she can breathe again! Suddenly, she realizes that she was barefoot in the parking lot. How could I go back there? What would she say? Is this galling? Does any of this sound familiar?
Panic attacks happen quickly, often without warning, and in places you would never imagine having them. What can be more relaxing than a pedicure?
Understanding what triggers attacks is the first step in preventing them. What really angered Susan was talking about the holidays. Thinking of all the gifts she had to buy, meals to prepare, cards to spend, and other preparations she had to make, put her in a panic mode.
Like most people with panic attacks, you thought you were dying, had a heart attack, or some other serious medical emergency. His only impulse was to run, to flee from the sensations, the experience, the fear. His fight or flight response was triggered.
In fact, most attacks come and go quickly. That’s what scares them so much. They come strong, often out of nowhere, and seriously disrupt a person’s life. Susan’s panic from start to finish lasted less than five minutes. Most attacks last only a couple of minutes, but leave lingering fears and anxiety long after that.
Once Susan was able to breathe again, she realized that she had acted in a shameful way. The mortification that patients experience after an episode often leaves long-lasting effects. Explaining yourself and reassuring others is only the first part of the process. Then he becomes obsessed with avoiding the situation that connects to the panic attack.
Susan did not go to that nail salon again or any other nail salon for years. He lost contact with the ladies in the nail salon, he avoided those same ladies if he saw them around town, in the mall, in the supermarket. Crouching behind the donut display to avoid seeing someone you’ve known for years may seem extreme, but for those suffering from panic attacks it is not.
Susan also stopped going to the salon because she thought sitting in a chair in one of these places was causing a seizure and she did not want to look or act silly at the salon. She justified this by telling everyone that she was growing her hair out. She told herself that she was being economical and that it was a good decision for her family.
Susan’s condition worsened as the weeks and months passed after this first panic attack at the beauty salon. His life was unrecognizable and his priorities were completely out of control.
Why did all this happen? I was terrified of having another panic attack. Left unchecked and untreated, anxiety can become paralyzing, ultimately leading to generalized anxiety disorder or GAD or phobias, such as agoraphobia, a common condition that accompanies attacks.
The good news is that you can help yourself, you can control and prevent your panic attacks. The key to preventing them is understanding the source of your anxiety and then controlling your lifestyle and thought process.
