If you have panic attacks, what would you want from a workplace first aider?

[Ineedtobecalm]

I'm a work place first aider, we are under a massive amount of stress at work at the moment. Today I was asked to help a colleague having a panic attack, and I didn't know what to do. I suggested we take a gentle walk outside together once it had passed, and sat with her and tried to be reassuring that it would pass, and tried to be a good listener when she talked and cried.

Is there anything better that I should have done? I'm thinking of suggesting one of the first aiders should a mental health course.

I suffer from random panic attacks and symptoms for me can include vomiting due to adrenaline so some things I've found help me include:

-Beta blockers (obviously most people won't have those prescribed but it can be a good thing to know of to recommend to a patient afterwards if they tell you they have them regularly. You can get them prescribed at the GP)

-Quiet & cool space (empty bathrooms are good as well as an empty room with open window or simply outside somewhere quiet)

-Offer them the opportunity to call someone if they can talk or feel they need to talk (eg relative/friend- sometimes just hearing a familiar voice on the phone can help calm someone down if they can't talk for themselves at the moment)

-Plastic bag/bucket/bin incase of vomiting (usually happens from hyperventilating & adrenaline)

-Space, no crowding, maybe holding their hand. Basically just letting them know you won't leave them alone in this. Some people don't want you to talk though and might just need someone close by

-Put a visible timer on your phone and encourage them to look at the stopwatch- 4 secs breath in, next 6 long exhale and repeat until clock reaches 2 mins. If no better, repeat 2 mins again. It should make their body relax and feel sleepy

The paper bag thing has never worked for me personally.

The most important thing for me is to have somewhere quiet I can go. I already feel shitty having a panic attack, seeing the pitying looks only makes it worse.

Then, I will usually try to manage it on my own. First by breathing, then by meds. Only if both of those don't work I will seek for outside help, so I recommend you asking the sufferer if they actually want help. Maybe they would prefer to be left alone, and you should respect that.

Breathing exercises, grounding is good. What works for me the best however is either talking about it, or, if I don't feel like it, getting distracted. If the second, I don't care what I'm being distracted with, so long as the person talks. I've looked at prom dresses, heard a colleague talk about his music ambitions, etc.

All in all, asking HOW you can help will work. People have different coping mechanisms, and just having someone who cares enough to see you through a panic attack is already hugely relieving.

Finally, please don't touch people if they don't ask for it. If they're crying, offer a glass of water or hand them a tissue. Panic attacks have the sufferer feeling very vulnerable and touch can actually be harmful. (Plus, you're at work.)

Thank you for all these replies! I'm surprised that the mental health first aid courses are held in mixed view, it hadn't occurred to me that they could do harm.

This one is going to sound crazy but my psychotherapist taught me the technique so it must work for people other than me!

If the person rubs their feet on the floor, preferably barefoot, it can really help.

Just don't ask why!

@firstimemamma

This one is going to sound crazy but my psychotherapist taught me the technique so it must work for people other than me!

If the person rubs their feet on the floor, preferably barefoot, it can really help.

Just don't ask why!

Although I have not heard of this before it's putting 2 and 2 together. My dd has terrible attacks, so bad that she passes out. She has a new therapist and when she goes into her rooms she takes off her shoes and socks and there are a few different rugs in the room, different textures. Only after reading this now do I realize why.

I always feel slightly embaressed and ashamed when I’m having a panic attack, so I’d want to be somewhere away from people, and there not to be a lot of fuss.

No fuss, no touching. Yes to fresh air, privacy, water and optional company. I prefer to be outside, if possible. Being gently distracted with ordinary chat can be good too. Breathing exercises. Basically it helps to be with someone who is not too sympathetic but who is very calm themselves. You sound like you did fine tbh.

I never get to the breathing difficulties more like.very jelly like legs and dizzy me as and feeling.sick with feelings of unreality.
If this were to happen at work I would like to go outside and be left alone or talked to in a fun light hearted way.Perhaps some reassurance that I could come.back in when I felt able and offered a drink panic attacks are draining.

I also used to get panic attacks a lot due to emetophobia. I would have been mortified to draw more attention to myself so the best thing to do is take the person away from others, or make sure there are no gawkers nearby. If possible, ask them if they want to go home and arrange for that asap. A cab is best, and offer cab fare if they don't happen to have cash. They will be forever grateful for this tiny gesture and you will 100% get the money back. Many phobics need a safe space during or after an panic attack and knowing they're on their way home makes it better. Trying to ride out an attack in a strange back room in a shop (or something similar) is tough and might be traumatising in retrospect.

In the specific case of emetophobia, you might offer to run to a pharmacy for any OTC medications they might need plus some water. Some are obsessed with a single bodily sensation (nausea, migraine headache, bloating) and might be panicking that it's not going away. So just getting them something to calm it down helps a lot.

I wouldn't expect a first aider to be called tbh.

The colleague in question also has asthma, think they were worried about her appearing breathless. Anyhow, I've had some good tips from this thread which I will try to remember for the future. Thank you all

I'm a mental health first aider at work. One of my favourite techniques like someone said up thread is to count things, sometimes colours , sometimes using senses - so 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, see things you can smell etc. Really good at grounding.

No paper bags - they’re dangerous!

It has only happened once a few weeks ago. I have to wear a face mask all day at work, so my manager sat me down in a quiet place with a cup of cold water, take the mask off, and she talked me through slowly breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. The next day I was worried it could become a regular thing, we discussed this in text messages (I do realise not everyone has that kind of relationship with their manager), and having the advice of breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth written down to remind me helped. I now just repeat in through your nose out through your mouth slowly to myself when I start to feel overwhelmed and so far that is keeping me going. NO HUGS, NO TOUCHING! I know hugs really help a lot of people but not me.

Something cold usually helps me. I agree with all the breathing stuff too, it doesn't have to be very much, just remind them to breathe. And tell them you know it feels bad, but it will pass and they are in control. Have ice packs in a freezer if possible, or cold packs in a fridge. If stuck, grab something from the office kitchen etc, from the fridge, like a can of drink or even a carton of milk. Or flannels with cold water for the neck and face. Don't touch the person, just hand them the cold thing if they would like it. And offer cold water.

Forget to say the cold helps me because I get hot flashes with my attacks but generally it can help as a lot of people get warm and feel faint and sick. If the thing is icy cold it can also shock the system (in a good way) into grounding itself, if that makes sense. There have been times I have been using my cold pack so it's warmed up out of the fridge but DH has grabbed a can of beer instead for me (not to drink!)