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Are Panic Attacks Controllable? By Licensed Psychologist Dr Randy Cale

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 Are panic attacks controllable? Well, the answer is a resounding yes and no. Perhaps, I know that sounds rather wishy washy, but let's think about it for a moment. If you've had a panic attack, you probably know how terrifying that experience is. Your heart's racing, you're sweating, you perhaps have a fear of dying. It's a utterly horrifying experience. And... Our bodies and brains aren't able to make sense because often we have the appearance or panic attacks have the appearance of coming out of nowhere. There's very solid research, however, that shows that when we track individuals with a history of panic attacks, what happens is their CO2 levels are dropping in the half hour, 45 minutes before. What's that indicative of? Shallow, rapid breathing. And so one of the things that is effective at helping with panic attacks is to begin to monitor your breathing and to really be clear that longer, deeper breaths, I know it doesn't sound sexy, it doesn&

Why Those Panic Attacks Are So Hard To Get Rid Of

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 Why Those Panic Attacks Are So Hard To Get Rid Of By Licensed Psychologist Dr Randy Cale https://capitaldistrictneurofeedback.com/conditions-treated/anxiety/ Why those panic attacks are so hard to get rid of. Well, if you've had panic attacks, you know it's terrifying. That heart's racing, you're sweating. You can feel your pulse, your thoughts are running crazy. You think you might be dying. Many of you may have been to the emergency room to just make sure everything's okay, which is wise, very wise. But panic attacks are so difficult to manage because there is such a rapid increase due to adrenaline. of adrenaline into the system because the body's been signaled to do so. And once that adrenaline there is there in the system, it's affecting the body in so many ways that it's hard to cognitively sort of rationally override that. And if any of you have had that experience, you know that to be true. But also what's happening is that there's dysre

Four simple steps to relief from those panic symptoms

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  Four simple steps to relief from those panic symptoms   Four simple steps to relief from those panic symptoms. If you’ve had panic attacks, I don’t need to tell you how terrifying that is. The rush of adrenaline in our system is sending the heart racing. We start sweating. We tend to believe we’re going to die and we can’t keep up with our thoughts. It is spooky. So where do we start here? First of all, let’s look at the data. The data is overwhelming. You’re not going to die in the midst of a panic attack. We must come to believe and know this with great certainty in order to keep on track with what’s going to help us long term. I’m not saying it’s easy because it’s very, very difficult. Many of you may have been to medical facilities, been checked out, and you know that you’re not having a heart attack. The key here is as a panic is unfolding to develop this sense of absolute certainty that you’re okay, that you’re okay. This is the first and most critical step along this journey. 

Give It Your Best Effort: One Key to Your Child’s Happiness

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  In recent years, there has been an alarming tendency to find adolescents and young adults seeking only the path of ease. In other words, when allowed to apply real effort to learn, grow, or improve…they choose to   ‘sit it out.’   Certainly, a contributor to this is the role of immediate gratification, but we’ll cover that next week. For now, we are looking at the absence of sincere effort and impact on their future lives. The rationale for laziness, from a teenager’s perspective, sounds like this: “Oh, I don’t want to work that hard.” “It’s not worth it. I just want to play my games.” “Mom and Dad work too hard. I don’t want to be like them.” “I do okay without really studying…so who cares!” “I’ll work harder when I get older.” “I will be a YouTube influencer; I don’t have to really work.” “I don’t enjoy working. I just want to have fun.” Seeking the Easy Way Out: The Formula for Misery In many ways, we find that choices based on what requires the least effort are the inevitable for

Dealing with Children’s Worries

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Daily, the news is filled with horrific incidents worldwide, such as terrorism or the seemingly endless shooting sprees at workplaces, schools, and military bases. In addition, the political climate reflected in the media intrigues many parents and children to become bystanders, absorbing a considerable amount of judgment and conflict. If not thoughtful, fearful headlines and stories are present as adults watch the news, while innocent children absorb the emotional content as they play with their toys or eat breakfast. Many parents are concerned about children’s exposure to many sources of potential anxiety and ask how to handle this. It is important to emphasize that fear is at the heart of anxiety, so our job is to manage exposure and response to fearful events in many ways. Here are a few easy guidelines to think about: 1. Reassurance is beneficial to children. When significant events occur in which people are harmed or injured or when terrorism or tragedy is discussed, children ben

Can Neurofeedback Improve Mental Performance?

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  Whether for sport, music, or something else, does your child want to enhance their abilities but find that their mind is getting in the way? If you want your child to perform better, read on to find out how a few revolutionary technologies can help. First: • Heart rate variability training: You may have seen heart rate variability training showing up everywhere these days. A lot of people are talking about it. However, it is important to understand that there’s a nuance to this form of training that involves more than just watching a YouTube video of a screen going up and down while you breathe with it. But can many people improve their heart rate variability this way? Probably, but I have also found that many people do not, despite months of using heart rate variability breathing. For this reason, it is better to use biofeedback equipment to measure heart rate variability and ensure that you’re making progress. The literature on this topic is remarkable. With sustained practice usin

Why Is Neurofeedback So Effective?

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  This is a question that often comes from parents or individuals who have done their research and see that neurofeedback is now rated as a level four or five intervention for many mental health disorders, including ADD, anxiety, OCD, and depression. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr2mg43AYzw Level five is as high as it gets with mental health interventions. Many therapies and medications are level two or three, so neurofeedback is garnering attention despite not being a quick fix like them. Neurofeedback’s effectiveness has been proven, which is interesting because it does not force the brain to do anything. We are not feeding it some drug or electrical impulse; all we do is allow the brain to do its natural thing. Imagine we have a very strong brainwave, like a theta wave, and we want it to come down because it’s associated with more ease, happiness, and enjoyment and fewer ADD, anxiety, and focus problems. With neurofeedback, we reward that brainwave when it naturally comes down ju