When some people experience their first panic attack, they misinterpret the signs as being a heart attack. This is because they share some similar symptoms such as a tight chest, difficultly in breathing and the fear that they are going to die. Panic attack usually does not cause death however, if it is a common reoccurrence it may cause serious disorders in organs. Therefore it is necessary to understand and know the cause of a panic attack in order to treat the problem and prevent them from occurring.

1) Chinese medicine considers panic attacks to be associated with liver and heart disorders as well as emotional disorders.

Emotional disorders or over-emotions can cause disease. This theory was mentioned by Traditional Chinese Doctors over two-thousand years ago that when there is a sudden or long term persistent emotional stimuli it may cause the functional disorder and disease of certain organs, especially the liver and heart as well as qi. As Traditional Medicine considers the mental activity to be related closely to the internal organs, once there is a disruption in normal mental activity there will also be a disruption in the organs functioning. We call this the internal injury by seven emotions. The seven emotions being joy, anger, melancholy, anxiety, grief, fear and terror. This theory these days are becoming recognized by scientists and doctors in which they found the association between the environmental stimuli causing a greater emotional effect on people. Compared to fifty years ago, the society has changed from a relaxed nature to a more fast-paced and stress orientated lifestyle due to family, financial worries, work, study and other factors. Due to this it becomes a greater issue impacting on our health. So emotional disorder is not only the cause of a panic attack, but may also be the cause of  problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attack, obesity and insomnia etc.

2) How does the emotional disorder damage the functioning of the heart and liver?

Chinese medicine believes that the heart is in charge of mental, conscious and thinking activities. Whilst the liver functions by smoothing and regulating the flow of qi and blood.  As we mentioned before, that when the body has an emotional attack it will disturb the functioning of the liver and heart and therefore may cause a dysfunction in the liver and heart which may cause a panic attack.

3) The symptoms of a panic attack

Palpitations, shaking, short of breath, tightness or pain in the chest, bruise colour on certain parts of the body (like the tip of the fingers, lips, face or around the mouth), dizziness and headache. When these symptoms arise, the whole body may loose control and one may fear for their life.

4) The treatment for panic attack

When people come to see me after they have experienced a panic attack I will usually check their pulse and tongue, collect their symptoms to find the organs which are causing the disorder and we can give the following treatment such as Traditional acupuncture, chinese medicine tablets and/or meridian massage. From the treatment, its aim is to repair the organs from the last panic attack and to remove the bodies stress and to strengthen the internal organs to help prevent this from occurring again.

5) Prevention of panic attacks

i) First of all we now know that a panic attack is associated with emotional issues especially depression and stress. Therefore it is important to organize your lifestyle to help reduce or stop the stress. (You can talk to a psychologist).

ii)  You could also eat some foods which are beneficial for the liver and heart such as green tea, peppermint tea, celery, carrots, oranges, lotus seeds (if you would like to know more information about the foods to eat, please check my website about diet therapy).

iii) You can also listen to gentle and soft music, go for a relaxing walk, or swim. It is best to avoid strenuous or fast exercise.

iv) After the first panic attack please visit your GP and experienced TCM practitioner to get good treatment.

Panic attacks can be prevented and treated by traditional Chinese medicine.