Health

Am I suffering from panic attacks?

When I get stressed I hyperventilate and get a strange feeling in my hands and feet. A friend tells me this is a panic attack. How can I prevent it happening?
M Mears, Leeds

Phillip Hodson, psychotherapist and counsellor, replies:
What happens when you hyperventilate is that too much carbon dioxide disappears from your bloodstream. The result is a horrible feeling as your brain stops functioning properly and all sorts of biological alarms go off.

You can even believe you're having a real heart attack and the experience is utterly terrifying. Fortunately, you're not, and if you can slow down your breathing the system must return to normal. Trouble is, most people get panic attacks in tricky places like on planes or in lifts and, by avoiding those places, believe running away is the cure.

Instead, close your eyes, stay still and breathe from the belly in slow regular patterns - breathe in for three seconds, out for three seconds and pause for one second between breaths. Do this for ten minutes with real concentration and you will become calm.