Sedatives

When the panic strikes, it's in our hands to overcome it. As a matter of fact, nothing is needed to overcome it, it will pass by itself. The only thing in our control is how exactly it will develop. The rule of thumb is not to fight it, and not to flight it, although that's exactly the natural reaction. It's flight or fight response our body dictates us, and it's hard to change the mind set to let it go, surrender and wait it out. In the beginning attacks are very acute, because we are new to this feeling, so we need some help. Also, it's very important not to stress further our already tired and sensitized nervous system, not to stretch it further creating unnecessary suffering.

To help our body and brain it's good to use sedatives. The very first drug you'll most likely get from your doctor is some kind of benzodiazepine. Those drugs are quite old, and we are considerably lucky to get modern versions, but in essence it's the same old barbiturates which helped people to overcome anxiety and stave epileptic seizures for  more than a century. They are very powerful and do great job helping in acute anxiety attacks. The effect us very quick, after only minute or two after administering the drug there is a massive relief, the sanity comes back and you left to wonder why you had the panic attack in a first place.

Xanax and Lorazepam are usual suspects when you talk to people who suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. Those drugs are very dangerous and addictive, they help really well in the beginning, but our body gets used to them relatively quick, thus we may develop addiction, the withdrawal symptoms are exactly those we try to beat - anxiety and agitation, but it's not the biggest risk. Those drugs are extremely depressive, and depression is usually coming during nervous illness even without any helpers. Our tired mind soon becomes despaired and hopeless in a fight against the condition, and depressive qualities of benzodiazepines help to spiral sufferer into depression quicker, and keep him depressed longer. It's good to know that the same drugs are used to help people suffering from epilepsy, one of more famous of such people was a lead singer of Joy Division - Ian Curtis. One of the reasons he became so depressed is the side effect of anticonvulsants  he was prescribed. Remember, although those drugs bring immediate relief and are extremely effective in the beginning, these are false path, they represent flight, they are not cure.

Sleep aids tend to help in more subtle and less pronounced way. Simple Gravol tablets may help to get much needed sleep, the only true cure against attacks. Giving your body and brain much needed rest is very important, and those simple sedatives help. Unfortunately they are very basic, taking them regularly is ineffective, so take them only when unable to sleep. Anxiolitics (Xanax and Lorazepam) will also put you to sleep, but as we concluded, they are only for acute cases, don't waste their precious power and cause your body to resist them for treating insomnia.

Sleepy time teas. Don't expect any wonders from herbal teas. First of all they are tonics, which means you have to drink those teas for a period of time to get desired effect, but it's worth it. Besides their calming and soothing influence, they'll make you following routine, which in turn makes you sleep better. So drink sleepy time teas as much as you want. I personally found that drinking those teas helps to shorten attacks and makes it easier to wait them out without fighting. The teas which are commercially available are not very potent, so it's worth considering making your own mix. A very simple such mix is the one of dried hops and chamomile. Use five parts of chamomile to one part of dried hops, take one table spoon of the mixture for one cup and steep it for 10-15 minutes. Be careful not to get carried away with hops.

Sedative herbs are probably the best way to help your body to rest from constant state of anxiety. Talk to your naturopath, those doctors practice traditional Chinese medicine. They will know everything about western medicine drugs, and they know the power of herbs. The great thing about herbs - they are naturally occurring, there is no need to synthesize them. They usually work in a gentle non-invasive way and have limited side effects. Don't be discouraged by lack of "evidence" from scientific studies, let yourself rely on the thousands years of experience and practice of traditional Chinese medicine. The other great thing is naturopathic doctor will change formula and adopt it to your specific needs, something pills can never achieve, the only lever we have while dealing with pills - is a dosage. With herbs it's much more flexible, subtle and at the end more beneficial.  All that said, remember that herbs on their own are not the cure, they are mere helpers, the illness comes from our mind, and our mind alone is the one responsible to cure it.

Relaxation techniques, breathing exercises, yoga, qi-gong and prayer are our true helpers and cures from anxiety attacks. Relaxing our body and mind, training ourselves to be at the present moment, not to dwell on the past, not to +cringe in anticipation of the future, is the key to recovery. Mentioned above exercises teach us to do that, I'll talk about them in my next entry.