opinion of parents & non parents sought children having panic attacks in public

[RainbowUnicorn]

i observed a child having a full blown panic attack today which appeared to be triggered from anxiety built on probable fatigue low blood sugar and hypersensativity to other peoples emotions and social dynamics.

being the only other person immediately beside them i wondered what if anything in any way i should interact given the mother was at her witts end and possibly  struggling with many things going on late for work and she may be an only parent worried about losing her job if she doesnt get there soon.
attachment issues which she clearly was attempting to teach the girl which she seemed to be doing ok.
however...
all that said... it was clearly obvious to me this girl had a chemical or neuralogical driver to her condition and probably needs to have specialised mentoring advice on how to go about handling various things, god only knows what its like for a girl in modern society to be going through puberty at age 11 while being hypersensitive to people and social scenes all mixed in.

anywho....
i was at a bit of a loss at how or if to respond to this girl freaking out as if she was going to die.
i recognised the mania build to fatal drive level emotive drive. i felt deeply responsible to try and help but hands tied because not my child not my family and the mother seemed like she didnt want to interact at all with me or anyone else.
(trying to play the im doing my thing you need to cope with your nerves and tiredness routine so i didnt want to upset that)
social dynamic ... i am complete stranger to the 2 girls and their mum but part of an environment whom they were participating with representing their school[maybe the representing the school thing added a bit of complexity of stumbling hurdles Re school imagine feeling of guilt etc... not that they had any need to as kids are kids) with.(cant get more specific)

next time this type of thing happens i want the perfect thing to say and do... thats all ... (helpful thing to do im being realistic and stating my idealism)

thoughts ye learned folk and merry thread readers in passing ?

[Carol]

We know intervening can be a very dangerous thing to do, making matters worse. As a person who had panic attacks, the last thing I wanted was someone to notice I was having a problem. On the other hand, what child would not want Mom to have good coping skills and make everything okay?

You might ask if a cup of coffee or chocolate bar would help? Diverting attention can help. But if your gut feeling says don't intervene, go with your gut feeling.

For yourself, say a prayer for these people, and project into the ether calmness and safety. We are not sure if this helps or not. There are reasons to believe prayers do help, and reasons to find that hard to believe, but it sure can not hurt. I have on occasion stopped near a crisis and prayed until the crisis passed. Did my effort make a difference? I don't know, but I did what I could do, and that is better than doing nothing at all and feeling powerless or guilty for not trying.

[RainbowUnicorn]

We know intervening can be a very dangerous thing to do, making matters worse.  As a person who had panic attacks, the last thing I wanted was someone to notice I was having a problem.  On the other hand, what child would not want Mom to have good coping skills and make everything okay?

You might ask if a cup of coffee or chocolate bar would help?  Diverting attention can help.  But if your gut feeling says don't intervene, go with your gut feeling.

For yourself, say a prayer for these people, and project into the ether calmness and safety.  We are not sure if this helps or not.  There are reasons to believe prayers do help, and reasons to find that hard to believe, but it sure can not hurt.  I have on occasion stopped near a crisis and prayed until the crisis passed.  Did my effort make a difference?  I don't know, but I did what I could do, and that is better than doing nothing at all and feeling powerless or guilty for not trying.

Thanks Carol