Aspartame has severe negative side effects. Dr Blaylock is the first Doctor (surgeon in fact) with high authority who published a book about this subject.

When I still had my panic attacks, I worried a lot when I got panic attack symptoms like vertigo and headaches. I even had a couple of very expensive brain-scans done, just to be sure.

It took me a while to figure out what was causing those symptoms: aspartame.

To me, this product is a product of decay that kills brain cells by changing the way the neurons operate in our brain. Aspartame is a neurotoxin. A great website about this subject is AspartameKills.com

The companies behind aspartame changed the name recently (from nutrasweet to splenda) to foul consumers who were more and more avoiding it.

What dazzles me is why companies like Coca Cola still keep using it in their diet coke, but even keep introducing it in newer brands like Coke Zero etc.

In my opinion, aspartame will be the cigaret of the future. First we think the product is all ok, then some voices start to complain. Those voices are then attacked by the big companies behind the product….but a couple of years later, when more and more people die or develop tumors because of aspartame, it is finally made clear that aspartame…kills.

But an economic downturn like the one we are currently experiencing might make matters worse.

It’s hard to hold on to a job these days, let alone when you have panic attacks on top of that.

I remember how I felt about a meeting. The minute the door would close, my heart would start to pound a little bit faster, I would start to sweat a little bit more and it would become ever more difficult to actually focus on what was being said.

When it was my time to speak, the panic attack came really close. I wanted to run away, but I couldn’t and that made me even more anxious. I would continuously have thoughts like: “I want to  run away, but I can’t. If my boss sees I’m not feeling so well he’s going to think I’m weak, I’m a pussy, so I have to remain strong…..”

I didn’t realize this at the time, but it’s exactly that kind of thinking that actually brings on panic attacks, that causes them.

So it might be a good idea to relax and to focus on the meeting itself.

Someone who suffers from an intense reaction to fear, which results in physical reactions, is known to be having a panic attack. A typical panic attack will start with breathing, or pulse quickening, and rapidly progress into a full panic attack. Individuals can sometimes be calmed with the help of reassuring support people, but sometimes medication is necessary to help calm the individual. Understanding the causes of panic attacks, the early signs, diagnosis criteria and therapy techniques are all important to fully understanding what a panic attack is.

Causes

Many different things can cause a panic attack to get started. These attacks can run in a family and be part of the heredity of individuals. Specific phobias or fears can also cause the panic attack to start and then the continued fear of these phobias may initiate continued attacks, even when the phobic item is not present. People with a passive style of communication tend to be more prone to panic attacks and individuals on certain types of medications. Additionally, the physical symptom of hyperventilation can itself lead to a panic attack.

Early Signs

A feeling of having hot flashes and a quickening of the pulse are common early signs for a panic attacks. Individuals might also feel shortness of breath and dizziness, which leads to light-headedness and possibly hyperventilation. The physical symptoms of a panic attack can lead to heart palpitations and paresthesias, or tingling sensations. The initial symptoms of shortness of breath and chest pain will often bring individuals into the emergency room for fear they are having a heart attack.

Diagnosis

Individuals who have a discrete period of intense fear or discomfort and four of the physical symptoms described above, can be diagnosed with panic attacks per the DSM-IV. Although the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-IV list specific physical symptoms, it is possible that patients can have other physical symptoms, such as headaches, screaming or crying and also meet the diagnostic criteria.

Talk Therapy

After a panic attack has subsided the addition of talk therapy into a patient’s life may help with processing the cause of the panic attacks. Through skilled questioning and in depth therapeutic techniques, the therapist can help the patient identify early symptoms and coping skills to put to use at first sign of these symptoms.  Individuals may initially start by seeing a therapist one or two times per week while they are first learning about their panic attacks and exploring coping skills, then therapy might be only once a month to maintain the learning and provide resources to the patient.

Medication Therapy

Many individuals will require medication in conjunction with talk therapy. Because panic attacks can be so debilitating to someone’s life, taking medication to help lessen or eliminate the attacks is often helpful. Some patients may receive ongoing medication, which they take daily, to help prevent panic attacks, while other patients might receive medication that they can take as needed if they feel a panic attack is setting in.

Panic attacks are a full body reaction to a stress or fear. As the body starts to react to this phobia, the thought process of the individual continues the panic attack out of fear of the unknown. Individuals who are able to attend therapy and have medication management can often lessen their panic attacks. Holistic approaches to managing panic attacks are also extremely effective, for some patients, and help them avoid the unknowns which come from using psychotropic medications. Understanding the early signs and causes of a panic attack is essential for patients who wish to learn the necessary skills to prevent future attacks.