Magnesium for Anxiety and Panic Attacks - Magnesium deficiency can cause some pretty alarming problems, including heart attacks. I’ll speak about magnesium and heart health in this case but first let me talk about the stress of panic attacks that can make a person feel that they are having a heart attack several times a day.
Panic attacks have the added side effect of opening the door to polypharmacy (the use of multiple drugs). Doctors don’t really know what panic attacks are or what causes them but they are familiar with anti-anxiety drugs. So, most people who experience even one panic attack are immediately treated with anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax or Ativan. If those drugs don’t work, more are added. These drugs can include Prozac, other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants, and even antipsychotics.
A panic attack is not necessarily a disease. I’ll explain in a moment how even low blood sugar can trigger symptoms that are misdiagnosed as panic attacks. And lack of magnesium can make them worse. If we’re missing a key natural component of the nutrient fuel our bodies need in order to properly operate, doesn’t it make sense to supply that natural fuel first before looking to drugs to suppress the symptoms? Magnesium is an important treatment for panic attacks because it helps calm the body in many different ways. It helps promote muscle relaxation, nervous system balance, proper adrenal function, and the production of
normal amounts of serotonin.
If you are deficient in magnesium your muscles can be abnormally tight. Magnesium makes muscles relax; calcium does the opposite. If you have too much calcium and not enough magnesium, your muscles become tense and tight. They can even develop calcium deposits, something that can occur in those suffering from fibromyalgia. Tight jaw muscles can lead to teeth grinding and headaches. It’s like your walking around with all your muscles clenched and you don’t even know it. Try that for a few minutes and see how painful that can be.
When magnesium levels are deficient, you can be walking around as tight as a drum and don’t know why you are experiencing anger, apathy, apprehension, confusion, eye twitches, fatigue, insomnia, muscle weakness, nervousness, poor concentration, poor memory, a racing heart, and trembling. I’ve seen accomplished and competent people melt into puddles of tears when they develop anxiety and panic attacks. But it’s not psychological as doctors claim. It can simply stem from a nutritional deficiency of magnesium and a poor diet.
One of the main triggers of a panic attack is low blood sugar. You’re late for work and you grab a coffee and donut. Your blood sugar soars and propels you into your day. But on the drive to work your blood sugar crashes. Your adrenal glands release adrenaline to break down the sugar stored in your liver. This keeps your brain from starving and prevents you from falling to the floor in a faint. However, the adrenaline surge makes your heart race and your palms sweat in a fight or flight response. Sitting at the wheel of your car your mind starts racing, spinning into a cycle of worry and panic. If you’re crossing a bridge at the same time, you may even develop a phobia of bridges and high places.
If you go to see your medical doctor, he or she probably won’t ask you what you had for breakfast but they will give you a diagnosis of panic disorder and write a prescription for Xanax. If your doctor asks you if you’ve felt down lately, have trouble sleeping, and feel you are under too much stress (which are all symptoms of magnesium deficiency), you may be also offered an antidepressant like Prozac. These drugs are handed outlike mood candy. But make no mistake, these drugs are very powerful chemical compounds with long lists of alarming side effects. And recent studies show they may work only 40 percent of the time to make people feel better. That means they work less often than placebos. If you are a Type A personality living on adrenaline, time pressure, and stress, you can be a walking magnesium wasteland. Most people know that Type A’s are susceptible to heart disease, muscle spasms, hypersensitivity, and irritability. It’s not your genes, however. You’ve got a magnesium deficiency caused by stress which burns up this vital mineral leaving you vulnerable to stress-related conditions.
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