How To Stop Panic Attacks - 7 Methods
Somewhere in a rapid succession, you feel the terror of a panic attack onset
. Heart races in the chest. Breathing fast. Feeling faint, dizzy, unreal. Your mouth goes dry, you notice sweat and pains in the abdomen. You think maybe this is a heart attack. Maybe the end. Of course symptoms vary in kind and intensity, but that's the basic picture.
If you are reading this, I assume you have come to realize that your panic attack was not a heart attack. The two can easily be confused. Perhaps you were even diagnosed as not having had a heart attack.
I. Recognize the panic attack for what it is
That is step one in any plan to stop panic attacks: Understand that your attacks are not a sign that you are going to die. They can drain you of energy and be part of larger problems. They demand attention and treatment. But they are not fatal.
II. Breathing focus
Panic attacks require your full attention for a time. You need to drop other responsibilities (I know, they come at bad times!) and focus on the fight. One of the most effective methods first off is focusing on your breathing. If you do that well enough (not even perfectly), you can accomplish a few helpful things all at once.
a. If you focus your mind on your breathing, you turn your mind away from thoughts that make you feel more anxious. You distract yourself.
b. Slower, controlled breathing can decrease your anxiety symptoms. Hyperventilation upsets proper pH and the oxygen/carbon dioxide ratio in your brain (and elsewhere), which often causes dizziness, a feeling of unreality or dying, and numbness, each of which in turn raises anxiety level. Slower breathing restores the proper pH and the oxygen/carbon dioxide ratio for your activity level and short circuits these anxiety-producing feelings.
c. Slower, deep, and controlled breathing can serve as a calming influence. It helps you remember to relax your neck and upper body muscles. The long and deep exhale is often relaxing.
III. Take things that calm you
You may already take prescription drugs, maybe even ones used to treat anxiety or depression. If this is the case, you need to talk to your doctor before taking any nutritional supplements for anxiety and panic. There may be complications. Or in some cases, drugs may increase your level of anxiety or deplete some nutritional element in your body. A doctor needs to handle these issues.
But if you are not on any prescription drugs, a variety of vitamins, herbs, amino acids, minerals, and aromatherapy and homeopathy materials are known for their mild calming, sedating influence.
A bit of reading, trial and error may be needed to find the most effective supplements or foods to lessen your anxiety. But if you have something on hand at the beginning of an attack (or in a particularly stressful situation like giving a speech or driving), you may want to take something to help restrain your anxiety.
IV. Regular exercise
Exercise during a panic attack may not always be even physically desirable or socially practical, but if some kind of modest physical activity could be achieved during an attack (like walking outside), depending on severity of the attack, the distraction and diversion may help.
Between attacks, regular exercise raises endorphin levels, thus mood. Exercise also helps the body get rid of lactic acid more efficiently, which may help sensitive people feel more calm.
V. Relax
If your schedule includes things you enjoy, that can help carry you through difficult times. It is not that we avoid responsibility, but that responsibility includes periods of relaxation.
Listen to music that calms you. Work at a favorite hobby. Go for a walk in a quiet, pretty place. Meditate. Periodically do whatever serves to reduce your blood pressure and give yourself a break from a frenetic pace.
Relaxation certainly includes disciplined sleeping. This means relaxing before bed, going to bed at a reasonable hour regularly, keeping the bedroom free of noise and light as much as possible (even a clock radio light shining in the eyes decreases sleep quality), and sleeping long enough.
VI. Avoid taking stimulants
Anxiety sufferers generally should avoid alcohol, sugar, and caffeine. The latter can be found in soft drinks even in varieties where one may not expect it. Caffeine and other stimulants may also be found in energy drinks and supplements (e.g., guarana). The L-theanine in green tea helps counter caffeine, by the way.
Panic attack sufferers often live in a heightened state of anxiety whether they realize it or not. There is little sense in making oneself more susceptible to panic by adding stimulants. Even video games and media use can ramp up stress levels (or relax, depending).
Alcohol may serve to suppress wound-up nerves, but it can also depress mood, which anxiety sufferers hardly need.
VII. Therapy and the Long Term
Panic attack onset may be irrational, but usually there are underlying causes. Over the long haul, addressing these causes or probable causes is often necessary.
A traumatic experience, habits of negative thinking, relationship and character issues, excessive stress (e.g., toxins in one's living environment, emotional or substance abuse, job stress and so on) may need to be identified and addressed.
Therapy can be professional, such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), or more or less self-administered, such as Emotion Freeing Technique (EFT). A good friend, parent, job supervisor, or minister may add invaluable advise or emotional support. Don't do it alone. Changing jobs or location may be needed.
Usually morbid or irrationally negative thoughts need to be identified as they occur, recorded, and positive affirmations deliberately constructed and rehearsed in place of the negative thinking.
If one combines different short and long term strategies with a degree of discipline and consistency, the fight to stop panic attacks can reasonably be expected to end in victory.
Copyright (c) 2010 Peter Rubel
by: Peter Rubel
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