panic attacks in children

[juju74]

recently my eleven year old son began wanting to sleep with his bedroom door open,then his light on and recently he has stopped being able to sleep at friends houses saying he feels panicky.then last night he had his friend to stay and had what i would describe as a panic attack..trembling..panicky and said he felt as if he was going crazy.I am really worried and wonder what has brought this on and what we can do to help him through this...thanks

[little coojy]

poor boy,panic attacks are usually caused by a worry of somekind or stress, your son may not even be able to pin point what is woorying him at the moment, i suffered with them for years, keep a paper brown bag handy and when he starts feeling paniky put it over his mouth and nose while he breaths to stop the hyperventalation, invest in some rescue remedy availabe most chemist and tescos it comes in either drops or sray, have a bottle with me always, just put drops under your tongue when feeling starts or you feel worried, take him to see g.p and explain whats been going on, counsiling is the best remedy for these horrible things but its not a quick cure, i was put on a lupina project which is a counsiling course espechially for panic attacks, they come to you at home and help you understand them and how to deal with them and help you find your trigger points, hope you get some help from this they realy are horrid, untill youve had one you realy can't understand the fear that seems to come from no where, i often ended up in bed for days when mine were realy bad they are exahsting, i send my love and support to your son, he will over come it.

[little coojy]

p.s stop any coke he might drink and tea and chocolate anything with caffine in as this aggrivates them.

[blue eyes ;)]

can you think of anything that may have changed in his or your life?when i was 16 i had real bad panic attacks and they lasted a few years.it started because of the stress of my parents divorce and moving house although there doesnt have to be a big life changing event to trigger it off.i felt like i couldnt breathe,trembling and my body froze up which lasted about 20 mins each time.im not too sure how or why these panic attacks stopped eventually but they dont last forever if thats what it is.i did do with my mum for a chat with the doctor which really helped as i too felt i was going mad and was suprised that the doctor recognised the symptoms and that many people go through it.the best thing i heard from the doc is that"no one has vere died from a panic attack" which may sound strange but i thought i would stop breathing every time i had an attack.wish i could help you more....best have a chat with your doc to make sure there are no serious probs.i can say that panic attacks do pass and dont stay forever.take care x

[Rubyrose]

I think they are Anxiety attacks. Panic attacks can happen anywhere at anytime but Anxiety attacks are brought on by a certain situation. Once he is out of a worrying situation does he calm down?

If you take him to the doctors for Gods sake don't let them put him on pills. He will rely on them and think that they cure him even though they will just space him out. Teach him he is strong enough to over come this. I was recently having Anxiety attacks but with help from Hypnotherapy they have stopped. I feel 100% better and I am so glad I never took the pills offered to me many times by my doctor.

My brother is 15 and when he was about 14 he wasn't well at school oneday and he threw up in class. Ever since then whenever he went to school he was worried he was going to be sick. He would say he felt sick everyday for ages but he was making himself feel that way through Anxiety. The doctors gave him some stuff to control stomach acid but thats not what he needed and it didn't do anything for him. He over came it himself by going out with friends and going to school and coming home each day a little more cofident that he wasn't sick.

I hope your son is able to get over this as its a total mind thing. The brain is a powerful tool and it can make you believe anything. It can make grown men think they are having heart attacks. If you are worried about a sympton then the chances are the more you worry, the more you will feel like you have it.

xx

[Rubyrose]

Bach Rescue remedy works and so does Nelsons Aconite 30c's. They are herbal remedies and won't have anything other than a calming affect on him. They can be bought at Boots or large chemists.

When he is having an attacks try and get him to do breathing exercises. Breath in slowly for 4 seconds, hold it for 4 seconds and then breathe out for 4 seconds. Do this for a few mins to get the oxygen flowing round the body. Also a brown paper bag to breath into or get him to count back from 50 to 0. Anything to take his mind of it and it will surely pass.

xx

[juju74]

thanks to you all made me feel better will try a few of the things you suggested xx

[WendyS]

You've had some excellent advice from other people. The only thing I would add is to get your GP to check his heart. Very, very occasionally something like this could be caused not by anxiety, but by an irregular heatbeat which is strong enough to wake an individual up, making them feel shaky, which is what then causes the panic.

[mycats]

Poor kid! I started getting VERY bad panic/anxiety attacks in the middle of the night at about that age. Mine were caused my a sudden realisation that I was gonna die and couldnt do anything about it. Does he have any fears or worries? Maybe he is embarassed to tell you?

[bookermel]

My son is now 13 he has suffered in a similar way since he was about 11. I believe the reason is due to reaching an age where he realises his mortality and coming to terms with that. I think some children are affected by this not just by say a death in the family or friends or pets, but also TV exposure no matter how remote it might seem to an adult can be scary to children just aproaching that age of doom and gloom. Different children react in different ways. My son also had a feeling of going crazy. I think that is due to a feeling of lack of control of the situation.

Things that I have found to help espicially at night.

Nothing too heavy in terms of computer games or TV late in the evening.

Lots of cuddles and reasurance that all is well.

Listening and allowing for calming down time but try not to let the situation decend any lower.

If it is late steering the conversation to happy events. Like looking at something really positive that he has achieved or done in the day, week, year. Anything like "that was a brilliant bit of "schoolwork"/art/ olli on your skateboard /swimming /cooking you did today" "I was so proud were you pleased?" You will know what your child will respond to and if you dont try a few and you will get to know.

Finally I agree that many children get a great deal out of some councilling. My son ocassionally sees one for other issues and it really helps.

Oh and his panic attacks which were a few a week, are now so few and far between last one well over a month ago and many months the one before! With lots of love support and reassurance you will make a difference.

Best of luck

[Gef]

My youngest daughter used to have attacks like this when she was about 12. She would get out of bed and want to go outside "to cool down" and was really disturbed and panicky.. It was quite worrying at the time but as it only happpened once or twice we never got medical advice. Anyway she is now 23. perferctly "normal" and has not had this for over ten years. I think it is just part of growing up. I remember I use to get terrible nightmares at a similar age.