Posts Tagged ‘yoga’

Say Goodbye To Panic Attack

It has been quite a while since I last had my morning walk in Jakarta. When I opened the windows, I felt a cool breeze touching my face. So I thought this could be a good day to have my morning walk.
I was right! The weather was just perfect. The sky was bright and clear without a single cloud floating in it. And for those of you who knows Jakarta….this is like a miracle! I was savoring this pleasant Jakarta weather when I realised that if I were seeing this 14 years ago, I would have not been able to even enjoy this beautiful moment. I used to have panic attack, that’s why!
Living with PTSD (we will discuss this topic separately) doesn’t come alone. It comes with a whole bundle of all the other mental, psychological and physical issues that comes with it. And one of them is Anxiety/Panic Attack!

It really can make one handicap especially in social life. People would see me as an extrovert. But underneath the façade, I’m a total chaos inside with anxiety. And when the anxiety takes it toll, it just blows up to a terrible panic attack. When someone suffers from panic attacks, the whole life becomes a mess. Most can’t even travel from their homes in fear of having panic in a strange place. And I didn’t really want anyone to know I was suffering from it. I was too afraid that people around me would think I’m crazy. It’s already bad thinking thay way and on top of it all sometimes when the panic attack gets so bad, I thought I was having a heart attack because I couldn’t breathe and I thought I was dying.
I always dreaded going to parties. Especially to parties which I know that I have not been to familiar with the company that I would be meeting. I could not even visualise myself going to concerts, wedding parties and the likes. It would have been just too much for me and I would have developed anxiety just in no time. That is why I have always avoided going to one and always finding excuses to attend one. And if I did go, I would find me a quite corner. Everytime I used to comeback from dance clubs or pubs, I would develop an ulcer after that because I was coping with the anxiety while being there.
So even looking at beautiful sceneries would sometimes like hypnotise me to go back to my past traumatic events and then it would just give me anxieties to the point of panic attacks at times. Depressing… really!
The doctors would give me antidepressants and also sedatives. I remembered that all those medications gave me blank stares, drowsy….and basically I was a zombie, a truly the walking dead!
I was experiencing these symtomps:

  • Palpitations, or accelerated heart rate
  • Sweating
  • Chills or hot flashes
  • Tremble or shaking
  • Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering
  • Feeling of choking
  • Chest pain or discomfort
  • Feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded or faint
  • Feelings of unreality or being detached from oneself
  • Fear of losing control or going crazy
  • Fear of dying
  • Nausea or abdominal distress

I’m free from all that now! How? Through Ayurveda, a 5000 years old science of healing and life. Ayurvedic healings include meditation, yoga and herbs in their treatments. In Ayurveda, anxiety and panic attacks is primarily due to aggravated Vata dosha in the nervous system. Therefore the primary treatment is to balance the Vata dosha.

In an ayurvedic treatment, a regular full body massage known as Abhyanga and also Shirodhara helps to reduce ongoing set of attacks. Besides the body treatment, the use of herbs and the regular practice of meditation and yoga is part of the ayurvedic treatment. Meditation and yoga helps to regulate deep breathing so that the brain can receive the correct dose of oxygen in our brain. Therefore it can also help improve our focus and redirect our mind and thoughts in the right direction. This way we can redirect our mind and treat the panic attack.
Here are some recommendations to treating panic attacks:

  • Indian ginseng or Ashwagandha. Studies have confirmed it’s powerful anti anxiety fighting properties and also a good adaptogen to boost immune system and anti aging effect.
  • Chyawanprash. An ayurvedic number one remedy because of its mixture of many herbs which rejuvenate mind and body.
  • Gotukola or Centella Asiatica. Known also as pegagan in Indonesia and used in Indonesian cuisine such as Asinan Bogor. The Sundanese calls it dulang sontak and even eat this as raw salads aka lalapan 😅 The Balinese calls them piduh
  • Ayurvedic Vata Tea. We make our own Vata tea and mixtures of herbs such as ginger and nutmeg can help calm the Vata dosha
  • Take a bath with ginger and baking soda
  • Try an Ayurvedic Abhyanga Massage, it not only relaxes and calms you but it also rejuvenates you at the same time
  • Go for an Indian head massage, Shirodhara. The flow of warm oil will stimulate the endorphins to calm the mind
  • Use Ayurvedic Vata Oil to calm the nervous system through daily self massage each time before taking a shower. The oil will also make your skin glow :)
  • Do a Corpse Posture or Shavasana. Think about it….a corpse don’t have emotion while people with panic attack is overloaded with emotion. So it is a good counter situation.
  • Drink Almond milk with saffron, ginger and nutmeg for a good natural sedative
  • Put some Vata Churna spices on your food to neutralise the incompatible Vata dosha food
  • Most important of all….MEDITATE!

So even looking at beautiful sceneries would sometimes like hypnotise me to go back to my past traumatic events and then it would just give me anxieties to the point of panic attacks at times. Depressing… really!

Let’s get rid of panic attack with these safe methods and start living. Gone are those days of anxieties and not being able to enjoy beautiful events and surroundings. Let’s embrace a new anxiety free life and finally enjoy calm. If I did it, so can you! Namaste…

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