Daily Lessons from Life 31 May 2009

Well, it is the last day of May 2009!! 5 months have just zoomed past us!! I have to constantly remind myself of the resolutions I made at the start of the year and work on them conscientiously! Go Lu go!!


"Sun, May 31, 2009 The Straits Times - Panic beyond control


Two separate cases of panic attacks. One was a man, the other a woman and both were executives. The middle-aged man sat in front of me, embarrassed, as I read the referral letter on his panic attacks. Earlier that morning, the middle-aged woman, also with a similar history, had come to see me. Both said they experienced sudden episodes of rapid heart beat, breathlessness and sweating with feelings of going crazy or that they were about to collapse or die. These symptoms occurred out of the blue and did not appear to be directly linked to, say, stress at work. Indeed, their latest panic attacks took place over the weekend, when they were not at work.

The executives had consulted doctors, visited hospital emergency departments and had been given various blood tests, chest X-rays and electrocardiographs (ECGs). All the test results turned out to be normal. The male executive even had a recent scan of his head and no abnormalities were found.


However, for patients with panic attacks, reassurances and advice can sometimes make them feel even more frustrated. Panic attacks come on suddenly at any place without any link to any event or task, making patients feel that they have lost control of their lives.

When someone is in such a state of panic, it is very difficult to do breathing exercises or relaxation therapy or even to remember to calm oneself. The heart races and the person pants.

Another problem panic attack patients suffer from is anticipatory anxiety. Even without any recent panic attacks, they live in fear of an attack coming on while they are out.


There have been more executives and middle managers, especially from the finance and insurance industries, showing panic attack symptoms recently.

In treatment, the aim is to rebuild confidence quickly and stop the panic symptoms once they occur. Having my panic attack patients prepare written statements, like 'This is my old friend panic. I know it's bad now but it will go away soon', or keep religious icons at hand helps. This is because they can then tap into their sense of touch or sight, rather than just rely on the mind, to try and gather thoughts coherently in the midst of an attack.

For some, carrying and touching religious objects or talismans, with their attached calming memories, can convey added reassurance.


If all else fails, short-acting sedatives can be taken to stem an attack. For some sufferers, just having these pills with them at all times is assurance enough, especially if the attacks are not frequent.

Once such a situation is stabilised, patients can be in a calmer state to go through counselling sessions and to review the stressful events in their lives.

Panic attacks are eminently treatable and patients need to be assured that they will not go mad or die. Reassurance, quick relief and effective prevention are needed to get them to regain their self-confidence and recover eventually." "

Something to be aware of and maybe apply to help others! ;-)

Lessons for me are:

1. there are something we DO NOT know we need to know. e.g. this panic attack business. Sometimes we DO NOT know why some people react or respond in certain ways. We MUST learn to accept it!! When people behaved in an incomprehensible to us, we need to know we DO NOT KNOW and DON'T made judgment! Seek to understand why one behaved in that way;

2. now we KNOW giving assurance MAY NOT work in certain situations. In fact, it is a VERY difficult behavior to develop for 'capable' people like ourselves as we should know how to 'solve other people's problems'!! Sometimes, people just need to time and space to vent!!;

3. most importantly we know what to DO when someone has a panic attack vs. a phobia outbreak! Having said that it is wise to note that we need to learn MORE about this phenomenon.

Keep learning. Don't jump to conclusion.