AN INTRODUCTION TO MENTAL HEALTH - The Nossal Institute for ...

• Negative thinking can also lead to excess worry
People sometimes think in ways that make their worries worse. For example:
• You can think of an unpleasant situation and then make it worse by dwelling on it.
• You can spend a lot of time worrying about things that may never happen.
• You can misinterpret the behaviours and thoughts of other people around you in a
negative way.
• Being scared of specific situations can lead to panic
• Most people are scared of something such as lizards or spiders, but some people
have excessive fear of such things.
• Some people are scared of everyday situations such as getting on a crowded bus.
• When people avoid these situations because they might cause a panic attack it can
severely affect the quality of their life.
How to help a person who is having a panic attack
Remind the participants of the symptoms of Panic Disorder (see Session Three, Activity 6).
1. Assess the risk of harm to self or others
• If you are unsure if the person is having a panic attack or a life threatening condition
such as heart attack or asthma attack call for a doctor immediately.
• If possible move the person to a quiet, safe place.
• Stay with the person until he/she has recovered.
2. Listen without judgement
• Stay calm yourself and help the person to relax by encouraging slow relaxed
breathing to match your own breathing (breathe in for 3 seconds through your nose
and pause for 3 seconds before breathing out for 3 seconds then repeat).
3. Give reassurance and information
• Explain that the attack will soon stop and he/she will feel better.
• Reassure the person that their symptoms are not a sign of serious physical illness.
• Explain that worry and fear are the cause of the symptoms.
4. Encourage the person to get appropriate help
5. Encourage self-help treatments
• Explain that if the person can learn to reduce the amount he/she worries, it will help
break the cycle of worry leading to panic, which then leads to further worry.
• Teach a relaxation technique that can be used at times of stress (see below).
• Suggest ways to change thinking and attitudes that contribute to worry, for
example:
“Something is wrong with me, I must be a weak person” Can be replaced with:
“I feel this way because I worry too much, these feelings are temporary”
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