An Example Of Treating An Anxiety Attack
July 2nd, 2010Many people do not know where to turn to access services for mental health needs so they find it more comfortable to ask someone they know how to do this. Here is a story about such a situation.
There was a woman who was having sharp chest pains. She did not have a history of heart disease so I assumed that the pains were another of the symptoms of an anxiety attack. When we were in an office I had her concentrate on doing some deep breathing exercises with me. I calmly rubbed her hands and kept repeating the instructions for the breathing that I was doing with her. She had been heavily perspiring so I opened a window, even though it was very cold outside. The cold air along with the deep breathing began to calm her.
She admitted that she had been quite anxious over the past few days and that she had not taken her medication that day. As we talked most of the symptoms of the anxiety attack dissipated.