Strategies to stop a panic attack
For anyone who has experienced a panic attack, you know they’re hell. Panic attacks are sudden surges of fear, panic, or anxiety (and often all simultaneously). They cause both negative physical and emotional responses. You sweat, tremble, and might feel your heart pounding. It seems like you’re detached from reality, like you’re having a heart attack, or that you’re having a stroke. Truly, it's terrible.
With this in mind, is there anything that can be done to prevent them? The short answer is yes. To explore more, click through this gallery.
Substances
Substance abuse can bring panic attacks on, so if you have any disorders that affect anxiety then you need to be more careful. The same goes for legal medication.
Unavoidable triggers
Triggers vary, and they may be impossible to avoid completely. For example, you’re obliged to attend social events and speak in public sometimes.
Forming strategies
The strategies you can employ to help deal with panic attacks range in effectiveness. Furthermore, some can help you at the moment, while others are effective long term.
CBT
It helps people change the way they approach and see challenges in their lives. It can allow individuals to become equipped to develop strategies.
It may change the brain
As well as helping people be more ready when they come face to face with something that triggers them, there’s also evidence that CBT might affect structures in your brain that are responsible for panic symptoms.
Medications
Medications may help. There are medications like benzodiazepines that treat the symptoms. But they’re also addictive and don’t treat the disorder itself. That’s why doctors don’t recommend them for long-term use.
Deep breathing
While hyperventilating is a symptom of panic attacks that increases fear, deep breathing can reduce symptoms of panic during an attack.
Anxiety reducing
It’s suggested that deep breathing doesn’t just cause relaxation, comfort, and alertness, but it also reduces symptoms of anxiety, depression, anger, and confusion.
Shutting your eyes
Closing your eyes can be extremely helpful because this immediately gets rid of any visual cues that might be overwhelming or triggering.
Mindfulness
If you’re not aware of what mindfulness is, it involves focusing on the present, recognizing your emotional state, and meditating to reduce stress.
Focus objects
Having a focus object reflects the previous point of mindfulness. Focusing all of your attention on one thing is helpful to people during an attack.
Analyze it
You can take it further by focusing on the specific details of the object by describing its patterns, colors, shape, and size.
Visualizing nature
Visualizing nature can help people manage anxiety and stress, too. This is more applicable leading up to attacks though. It probably won’t do any good to think about a sunny beach with a light breeze blowing during an attack.
Some 60-80%
You should be aiming to raise your heart rate to around 60-80% of what it’s capable of for at least 20 minutes three times a week to feel the benefits.
Lavender
Lavender is great for relaxing people and can be a good plant to keep around to manage your stress on an ongoing basis. The oil will also do.
Avoid crashes
There are also some foods to avoid. Sugar and coffee aren’t great. They cause spikes and subsequent crashes. The same goes for cigarettes and alcohol.
