I was shocked when my daughter told me that she suffers with crippling panic attacks – I just want to help
DEAR DEIDRE: ON the face of it, my daughter appears to have it all.
She has a first class honours degree, a great job, and is happy in love with a wonderful man.
She is in the process of buying her first house, she has a great set of friends and had a very happy, loving childhood.
She’s 31. She’s kind and beautiful and all appeared well.
I’m her 59-year-old mum.
I was shocked when she confided in me that she suffers with crippling panic attacks and severe anxiety.
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I never knew she was struggling.
It has come out of the blue, as far as I am concerned.
As her mum, I just want to help and take it all away but I know I can’t hand her an instant solution.
I am worried that she feels under pressure to be perfect.
We’ve always been so close. It upsets me terribly to know she’s suffering.
READ MORE FROM DEAR DEIDRE
DEIDRE SAYS: Living with anxiety and panic attacks can be debilitating.
Your daughter’s mind and body are interwoven so her anxious thoughts are coming out as physical anxiety.
Panic attacks happen when we feel threatened and our bodies become flooded with adrenaline normally lasting 20 minutes at most, so reassure your daughter the scary physical feelings never last.
Urge her to see her GP and ask about CBT which explains how our thoughts manifest in physical feelings and helps people develop coping strategies.
My support packs on anxiety and panic attacks will help.