Such thoughts can be frightening but they also accentuate and prolong the panic.
Once you have experienced a panic attack, you often worry that it might happen again and you begin to look out for slight changes that may indicate there is something amiss.
In fact, you become an expert at detecting those normal changes in your body, which are usually ignored.
Once you imagine that something may be wrong, you become a little frightened, triggering the body's fear reactions and building into a panic attack.
When it can happen?
Panic feelings are common. Nearly everybody has felt overwhelmed by a sense of fear at some time or another and often for no good reason.
At times these feelings can become more frequent and prevent you from being able to do things you want to do. This often happens if you are very tired or under a lot of stress, making your normal life seem difficult.
However with some practise in methods of managing the feelings, it is possible to control a panic attack and gradually prevent it from happening at all.
Are panic attacks harmful?
No. No-one can "die of fright" and panic attacks cannot send you crazy or mad, although for a while you may not feel like yourself.
Though panic feelings are unpleasant, they cannot in any way harm you or damage vital organs.
The feelings themselves are quite normal. It is just that they occur in an ordinary situation rather than in a dangerous or frightening one.
We have a leaflet on Panic Attacks which includes the above information and some guidelines to help you cope with them. Please contact us if you would like us to send you our leaflet.
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