How Are Panic Attacks and OCD Related?

Dealing with panic attacks, like obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD, are typically addressed with a multi-treatment approach, consisting of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), exposure-response and prevention (ERP) therapy. Also, medication, natural remedies, and self-help tools. If you are wondering if there is a connection between panic attacks and OCD, this post will answer that question..

As a matter of fact, individuals with OCD who experience these obsessive fears of panic attacks may or may not experience actual episodes of panic. However, they can end up focusing obsessively on such a possibility and exhibit compulsions like rumination, excessive checking for signs of activation or distress. Also, this belief could lead to a potential episode of panic, and avoidance of stressful or anxiety-provoking stimuli.

Connection Between OCD and Panic Attacks

According to studies, OCD is linked to panic attacks. Researchers have found that OCD sufferers are at risk of experiencing panic attacks, and people who experience panic attacks are at risk of developing OCD. Consequently, people with panic attacks may develop OCD as a way to cope with the distress caused by these attacks. More specifically, a person with panic disorder, or who experiences frequent or chronic panic attacks may engage in rituals or routines to ease their stress, anxiety, and emotional distress.

Altogether, panic attacks can elevate your heart rate and blood pressure, and cause your breathing to become shallow, which can be extremely upsetting. Therefore, these changes could cause you to hyperventilate, triggering dizziness and lightheadedness. Hence, if you struggle with OCD, you may react to these sensations by engaging in certain compulsions, such as excessive cleaning or rearranging things to make yourself feel better.

Accordingly, panic attack OCD involves an often debilitating fear of experiencing anxiety and panic. Since the mental, emotional, and physiological signs of anxiety and panic (mind racing, heart pounding, physical tension, emotional distress) can be quite difficult to deal with in any given moment, it is natural for many people to worry about and anticipate anxiety and panic to some degree. That anticipation, however, can lead to more anxiety as the affected individual makes continual efforts to predict, prepare for, and prevent potential episodes of anxiety and panic.

Coping With Panic Attacks and OCD

 Breathing for Panic Attacks

Before starting the breathing pattern, adopt a comfortable sitting position and place the tip of the tongue on the tissue right behind the top front teeth.

To use the 4-7-8 technique, focus on the following breathing pattern:

emptying the lungs of air
breathing in quietly through the nose for 4 seconds
holding the breath for a count of 7 seconds
exhaling forcefully through the mouth, pursing the lips, and making a “whoosh” sound for 8 seconds
repeating the cycle up to 4 times
A person may feel lightheaded after doing this for the first few times. Therefore, it is advisable to try this technique when sitting or lying down to prevent dizziness or falls.

Although, the total number of seconds that the pattern lasts is less important than keeping the ratio. Therefore, a person who cannot hold their breath for long enough may try a shorter pattern instead, such as:

breathing in through the nose for 2 seconds
holding the breath for a count of 3.5 seconds
exhaling through the mouth for 4 seconds
As long as a person maintains the correct ratio, they may notice benefits after several days or weeks of doing 4-7-8 breathing consistently one to two times a day.

 Hypnotherapy for Panic Attacks

Basically, take control of your panic attacks with the use of hypnotherapy to delve into your subconscious and use the power of suggestion to encourage good, lasting change. Henceforth, the suggestions used will be tailored to your needs, to help find what causes your panic attacks and why.

Suggestions can include:

“You are in control of this, you are safe.”
“Slow steady breathing will help you feel calm.”
“You don’t need protecting right now.”

When you feel a panic attack coming on, your subconscious will remember these suggestions to help you cope.

Using hypnotherapy to take control of your anxiety will help to rebuild your self-belief, boost confidence. Also, reduce feelings of fear and worry, and learn and build on your ability to access a calmer state of mind. Which you need to help cope with the overwhelming emotions you feel.

Therefore, benefits of hypnotherapy for anxiety include but are certainly not limited to:

Reduced symptoms of anxiety
Reduced situational fear, dental and medical procedures for example
Reduced negative and fear based thoughts
Increased sense of self-efficacy and self-mastery
Improved self-regulation
Improved breathing technique

Even more, panic attacks may cause or worsen the feelings of anxiety, as you fear the next attack, not knowing when it will occur. By the same token, since relaxation is a key part of hypnotherapy, you can learn relaxation techniques in your hypnotherapy for anxiety to help reduce overall stress and worry, which lowers risk of another attack.

Coping With OCD

Subsequently, OCD can be very difficult to manage at times. Some things we might try to make us feel better can sometimes make our OCD worse.
Panic Attack OCD – Common Obsessions:

What if I’m experiencing a panic attack or about to experience one?
What if this situation makes me stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed, and leads to a panic attack?
What if I get a panic attack in front of other people?
What if I have a panic attack and never recover?
What is happening to me?
Why am I going through this?
How can I know if I’m going to panic?

 CBT and ERP

***Anybody else tired of panic attacks?***

Furthermore, Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with Exposure and response prevention (ERP) are the most recommended talking treatment for OCD.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) focuses on how your thoughts, beliefs and attitudes affect your feelings and behaviour.

Equally important, Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is designed to treat OCD. During ERP, your therapist may encourage you to do, say or think things about your obsessions or fears. Then they will help you to try to tolerate the distress or uncertainty, instead of doing a compulsion. Therefore, it encourages you to confront and accept your obsessions, and resist the urge to carry out compulsions.

Given that, managing OCD can be an ongoing process. Occasionally, you may find that there are times where things feel manageable and other times where it’s much harder. Try to be patient with yourself.

Conclusion

Calming an anxiety attack,also takes patience with subsequently getting the attack under control. In any event, individuals with OCD struggle with a debilitating fear of experiencing panic attacks. Overall, this leads to frequent and intense intrusive thoughts relating to the possibility of experiencing panic attacks, as well as compulsive rumination, checking and avoidance of potentially anxiety provoking stimuli.

When someone is experiencing both obsessive doubts, worries, or memories related to panic attacks, coupled with compulsive behaviors like avoidance, reassurance-seeking, internal checking, they may be suffering from OCD—even if they also suffer from an anxiety or panic disorder.

Through Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy, you can learn to perceive between intrusive ideas or worries about experiencing a panic attack and the actual signs of experiencing one. You will also build confidence in your ability to work through and react to stressful or anxiety-provoking situations in healthy ways rather than through compulsions that may only reinforce your fears.