The Duke of Sussex has detailed various occasions he has suffered panic attacks in his new memoir, Spare.
In the summer of 2013, after the Warrior Games, he was “in trouble”, Harry says, “toggling between bouts of debilitating lethargy and terrifying panic attacks”. Despite his years of experience in the public eye speaking at events and doing high profile interviews, he writes that he suddenly found himself “incapable” of fulfilling these duties.
In his tell-all book he said: “Hours before a speech or public appearance I’d be soaked in sweat. Then, during the event itself, I’d be unable to think, my mind buzzing with fear and fantasies of running away.
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“The panic often started with putting on a suit first thing in the morning. Strange – that was my trigger: The Suit. As I buttoned up my shirt I could feel my blood pressure soaring. As I knotted my tie, I could feel my throat closing. By the time I was pulling on the jacket, lacing the smart shoes, sweat was running down my cheeks and back.”
What is a panic attack?
“During a panic attack, the body’s autonomous fight-or-flight response takes over,” explains Dr Lynne Green, chief clinical officer at mental wellbeing app, Kooth. “This is a stress reaction that likely evolved out of the survival needs of our early ancestors, and activates the nervous system to help prepare the body to fight or flee.”
The result is a very overwhelming sense of anxiety, fear, or a feeling of dread that something terrible is going to happen, at the same time as one or more physical symptoms. “We can feel shortness of breath, tight chest, tingly fingers or hands, slightly sweaty, dizzy, fast pulse,” says Stefan Chmelik, integrated healthcare expert and inventor of Sensate neural acoustic technology.
How common are they?
“It is estimated that most people will experience at least one of these out-of-the-blue attacks at some point in their life,” says Dr Andrea Reinecke, from the University of Oxford’s Department of Psychiatry.
However, some people may be more susceptible to panic attacks than others, says Green. She added: “There are lots of factors that might increase the risk of an individual having panic attacks, including certain medications, traumatic events and memories, substance misuse and pre-existing health conditions. However, the number one factor is significant stress.”
What are the common causes of panic attacks?
“Panic attacks tend to occur in cases of severe anxiety,” says Green. “They can happen completely out of the blue and without an obvious cause, or they may be expected, for example in relation to a known trigger such as exposure to something that feels scary.”
A trigger could be something like having to do a presentation at work, being stuck on crowded public transport, or driving in heavy traffic. Or simply reaching peak overwhelm at the end of a very stressful period of time.
Green adds: “In situations where there is obvious danger, [people] would be expected to be fearful of the danger. However, where there is no obvious danger, individuals tend to be more fearful of the symptoms themselves – sometimes even believing them to be life threatening, such as evidence of an imminent heart attack.”
What should you do when a panic attack hits?
As a racing heartbeat is common during a panic attack, focusing on your breathing can help. “Breathing out is the key during a panic attack,” says Chmelik. “Say to yourself, ‘When in doubt, breathe out’. Breathe out and say, ‘It’s OK, thank you highly evolved nervous system for alerting me to what you think is a problem. But I see it and it’s OK – you can step down now. I’m not in danger’.”
If you’ve experienced a panic attack before, you can practise breathing techniques to prepare in case it happens again. Chmelik added: “If you can practice the art of breathing out [and] not holding your breath when you feel good or OK or content, then it’s easier to apply this to an anxiety situation, because your body already knows and remembers how to do this.”
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