Does it matter if you breath into a paper or plastic bag when having a panic attack?
Hmm, there is two different schools of thought on kthis really. During the panic attack people have a tendency to hyperventilate causeing muscle cramps higher aniexity and chest pain. The breathing into a paper bag was initially designed to , one callme the person and have them focus on their breathing and slow it down, and two to have them “re-breath” Carbon dioxide to help calm the body down. It is also accomplished with a non-rebreathing mask. The other school of thought is to let the person hypr ventilate and pass out then the body will automaticly reset and usually you will wake right back up and fell some better. My personal way of thinking is the first the biggest portion of getting better during a panic attack is to be able to calm yourself. What ever way works the best for you I woudl say use.
That whole “myth” about breathing into a bag when panicking isn’t a myth after all. It actually does help. But in a very unhealthy way. Think of it this way: someone decides they want to commit suicide, so they start up their car inside the garage with the garage door closed. The carbon monoxide builds up, they drift off to sleep and slowly suffocate in their sleep from lack of oxygen. When you exhale and inhale into and from a bag you are essentially doing the same thing. The reason you become calm is because you are depressing the brain through lack of oxygen. It doesn’t matter how big your breaths, you can gulp for air all you want, there is no oxygen to be found. This is akin to the sense of euphoria when one breathes in Nitrous Oxide, or when you stand up too fast and almost pass out. It’s all about lack of oxygen. It may seem fun at the time, but it is really bad for the brain. Probably best to lay off the oxygen deprivation.
From a performance viewpoint, either will do. Plastic however is more risky to use because it more easily sticks to the skin and can seal off access to mouth and nose – which adds to the panic mode of the person. Plastic bag may also have residue from print ink, plastic monomers, plastic low MW polymer, etc and these are not good to inhale. (Paper may have some of this but usually a lot less). Paper is more porous than plastic and tears easier – and this also reduces risk of the paper vs the plastic. For these practical safety reasons, I would suggest paper bag.
