Psychologist shares advice on panic attacks

Following the 5.6 magnitude earthquake on Monday, hospitals and health centers, especially in the enterprise zone, reported the arrival of many patients suffering from asthma and panic attacks.

A mother has described her experience when her daughter had her first panic attack after Monday’s earthquake.

“Some teachers and a few parents were at the hospital to check on the girls, but not enough to check on them all, so no one was with my daughter before I arrived. When I arrived, she was in and out of consciousness,” Natalie said. Lebbon.

“I wouldn’t want to relive that experience of seeing her having a panic attack. She was sitting in the wheelchair and her head was resting on it. I think she was unconscious and I was trying to talk to her to let her know that “She stood up in shock and started convulsing again, then she just lowered her head, looking like someone had fallen asleep, and I started screaming,” she added.

A nurse rushed in with smelling salts which revived her daughter but she still wouldn’t speak.

“She was looking at me like she was a shell, she was giving me this dead look like she didn’t know who I was,” Lebbon said, his voice shaking. “It’s like she wanted to answer but couldn’t answer. I thought I was going to lose her.”

According to clinical psychologist Deborah Smith, most Jamaicans who have never experienced panic attacks do not take them seriously and warn that in some circumstances they can be very serious. Smith, a specialist in trauma therapy, said touch can be helpful during a panic attack.

“Clinging and hugging is a way to make the child feel safe and protected. It is very important that the parent talks to the child. Talk to the child about what is happening, but do it calmly, because if it [the parents] are not calm, then the child will not be calm enough to relax,” she said.

Breathing exercises are also recommended and should be practiced even by those administering assistance, as they allow them to control their own emotions rather than increasing the anxiety of the person experiencing the attack. There are also basic exercises, like naming what you can see, smell and hear. This forces the child to pay attention to something else rather than what scares them.

“If the child becomes hysterical to the point where he doesn’t register anything around him and all of these methods have failed, then it’s time to take the child to the hospital,” Smith explained.

“Teachers will need to undergo training to learn relaxation and calming techniques to keep children calm enough to avoid panic attacks. They could make this part of the guidance and counseling program or mental health to teach students, and for parents, it could be a public health campaign to demonstrate the use of these exercises,” Smith advised.