subject: Panic Attacks! What To Do To Regain Balance And Control [print this page] Panic attacks? What to do when you find yourself in the midst of panic or heightened anxiety? The symptoms vary from simply feeling completely detached from what's going on around you, to real physical palpitations, trembling, sweats and even genuinely fearing you may die.
While the symptoms vary from person to person, once you realize that you are having or prone to having panic attacks, you will more than likely seek ways to either stop them or avoid them in the future.
This article is not meant to replace professional help or answer every question you may have. Rather, I want to give you a few simple tools to regain balance and begin the process of healing your anxiety.
The most important tool when you find yourself in the middle of an anxiety or panic attack is simply to be aware of what's going on. While external events and circumstances may have triggered your panic attack, you need to gently tell yourself that you are having a reaction that is not serving you. Don't be critical of yourself, but recognize that you want to regain a little control and move back to feeling more balance.
Once you have this recognition, just try to calmly ask yourself what would make you feel better. Do you need to find a quiet place to chill out for a few minutes? Maybe go for a short walk. If you are with a group of people, you may need to excuse yourself from them for a short while. If they are a close group of friends, you may want to let them know what is going on for their support.
While the advice above is true in any circumstance, there are a few skills and you can develop or be aware of in learning to control panic attacks. What to do should be something that you don't have to figure out when you are in the thick of it. Here's a few things that can really help in the long run.
Learn to control your breathing. As simple as it sounds, simply learning to bring yourself into a relaxed, slow and deep breathing pattern can quickly restore real balance to your system. It's good to practice when you have quiet and free times, so its already a skill when you find yourself in the middle of a panic attack.
Get regular exercise. There are so many benefits to regular exercise that I won't even bother to list them, but the basic truth is that it will help to bring strength and balance back to your life. It simply makes you feel better.
Avoid stimulants like smoking and caffeine. For many stimulants can be the trigger that puts your nervous system over the edge. They weaken your ability to control panic and anxiety.
Get plenty of rest (sleep).Too many people in our world are sleep deprived and the damage to quality of life is real. Develop good sleeping habits, make sure getting regular sleep is a priority. Life exercise, this will make you feel stronger and more balanced.
Panic attacks.What to do? These few pointers are important first steps in gaining control of uncomfortable panic attacks and being in charge of you life at all times.
