Panic attacks: Treatment with hypnosis

June 02, 2021

Regularly suffering from panic attacks is incredibly annoying. For example, I once helped someone who had been suffering from panic attacks for 20 years, since the age of ¹⁸. This had quite an impact on his life and this may be recognizable to you

Panic attacks: What it feels like

In his case, the panic attacks were related to his health, as he struggled with heart arrhythmias from which he could faint.

This made him feel vulnerable, because if that were to happen, he would be dependent on other people.

As far as he was concerned, 2 things could happen:

He would be robbed while he was "out" there.
People would call an ambulance and make all the fuss while he would recover.

In either scenario, he made no sense.

Another problem was that whenever he was somewhere with other people, he would start worrying that he might experience heart palpitations, which in turn would trigger a panic attack.

Or he became afraid of feeling a panic attack, fear of the anxiety.

With that, fear of a panic attack, especially in public, became a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. The busier the environment, the busier he became about the above scenarios.

Not very soothing.

Perhaps this is recognizable to you, and if not, you may also recognize panic attacks by the following:

Great sense of doom
Sweat
Vibrate
Getting Disoriented
Dizziness
Clenched throat
Nausea
Lack of appetite[1].

The impact of panic attacks

The panic attacks also had a major impact on his life. For example, he began to avoid places where he was afraid of having a panic attack. As a result, he became socially isolated and did fewer and fewer things.

This is a recognizable phenomenon which is also confirmed by scientists. If you suffer from a panic attack more often than once, it can cause social isolation and cessation of normal activities[2].

On the beach, for example, he prefers to walk when no one else is around, so that means taking a walk on the beach only in the winter.

When he did go somewhere, he always took a whole food pack with him because it made him feel in control of his body.

For example, when he noticed that he started having palpitations, he would drink some water and eat something to take care of his body.

So the whole life is planned around fear. Perhaps this is also recognizable to you.

Hypnotherapy for panic attacks

You can get medication for panic attacks, but that's not always what someone wants. So was this man I helped, because of side effects that medication can have.

Science also indicates that hypnotherapy can be a good treatment for anxiety disorders for people who for some reason do not want to take medication.

Researchers indicate that with hypnosis then the following handles can be given:

Relaxation Exercises
Showing the power of the mind over the body
Strengthening the ego
Strengthening Awareness
Modulating and regulating symptoms
Self-hypnosis
Positive thoughts [3]

For the third and fourth handles, as a hypnotherapist you often look at beliefs. You then try to figure out why someone is anxious and having panic attacks, so you can then help the person with that.

Where does your anxiety causing panic attacks come from?

In the case of the man I helped, there were a number of factors that combined to cause the panic attacks.

First, he had suffered heart arrhythmia at ¹⁸, had gone to the hospital with this in which everything was measured. Doctors said nothing could go wrong outside of sports.

Of course, he continued to exercise, but at one point during his workout, his heart rate reached 280 beats per minute. This was incredibly painful. As a result, he also felt several times as if he were about to die.

Second, he grew up in an unsafe neighborhood where kids would pull out knives. This is where his fear of being mugged comes from—the fear that if he were to “let his guard down” during one of those moments when his heart starts racing.

Then the hassle when people call 911 when there's not too much going on. Your whole day is ruined if you are taken to the hospital and who knows, they may want to keep you there for observation and the like, also something not convenient in your life.

That’s why he thinks it’s important to have control over his body—and that’s exactly what isn’t really possible.

For you, you can also check to see if you have certain indirect fears or concerns that cause panic attacks, such as beliefs you were taught in childhood why it would be awkward to "go out," for example, or whatever your fear is that causes you to suffer from panic attacks.

Do you find it difficult to pinpoint this? Then regression can play a role here. With regression, you go back to the very first moment you felt what is now causing a panic attack. Usually, this leads you to something from your childhood, such as a child threatening you with a knife, or something else. This is different for everyone.

Then, in your mind, you go and do something with that moment to remove that belief. In the case of the man above, that could very well have been his adult self saying to his younger self that he doesn't live there anymore and doesn't go to places like that and so there is nothing to worry about.

This is a technique that has been studied for overcoming panic attacks and it works. For example, it helps you feel more in control, know yourself better and remove symptoms that always go on and on (see source 1).

What works best for you in terms of visualizations and regression may be different than the example for this man, but a hypnotherapist will help you with that.

Ridiculing an illogical belief

In addition to finding out where a belief comes from and then doing something with that memory to prevent panic attacks, you can also ridicule a belief.

For example, feeling like you need to control your entire body. This, of course, is impossible. Most organs function on their own anyway, and in fact, only breathing is something you can control and which functions on its own when you are not paying attention.

Imagine having to control your spleen, liver, intestines and everything. That's so many tasks at once, you'd be dead in 3 minutes. Let alone if you also have to start consciously controlling your heart rate.

By being able to laugh at such an illogical belief by drawing it to the ridiculous you also give the illogical belief less power, making it easier for you to let it go and thus not suffer from panic.

There are many ways you can ridicule an illogical belief. For example, you can visualize fears very big and very small or play a kind of movie in your head as if it were an old Charly Chaplin movie.

Self-hypnosis for reducing panic attacks

If you have had hypnotherapy, self-hypnosis can also help you hold onto your new improved state (see source 2). That is, the state in which you no longer suffer from panic attacks.

This can be done, for example, by repeating suggestions that give you new helping beliefs in your unconscious a firmer position.

You then relax at home first on the couch or on your bed and then repeat out loud or in your mind suggestions given to you by your hypnotherapist.

These may include suggestions such as:

"I live in a safe environment."

"Everything is running its course."

"My life is different now."

These are just examples, depending on your beliefs and issues that cause panic attacks you may get other suggestions. In some cases, you can also get an audio recording that helps you get into the hypnotic state and gives suggestions to you, so you don't actually have to do anything except lie on the couch and listen to it.

Would you like to learn more about hypnosis and how you can use it to help yourself and others? Then join our free online masterclass on hypnosis or sign up for one of our training programs.

Sources:

[1] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00029157.1990.10402820

[2] https://www.proquest.com/openview/12bb7f27a58af480cae8467866165015/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=29082

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6876801/