Talk To Someone Friendly
Another very effective technique is to talk to someone you like and trust, especially on the phone. Don’t be shy about your anxiety – tell them you feel anxious and explain what you’re feeling.
Talking to nice, empathetic people keeps your mind off of your symptoms, and the supportive nature of friends and family gives you an added boost of confidence. If you’re suffering from a panic attack, it also helps you feel more confident that if something were wrong, you’d have someone that can watch over you.
Stopping Panic: What To Do When You’re Having A Panic Attack
Here, some strategies that have worked for others that may help you:
Just breath, deeply. Relaxing your body can help sidestep a panic attack. Practice breathing in through your nose for a count of five, hold it for five, and then breathe out through your mouth for a count of five. Or take a class in meditation and breathing techniques.
Count backward. If you suddenly feel your heart pounding or experience other physical clues that a panic attack is barreling for you, try this distraction suggested by Rob Cole, LHMC, clinical director of mental health services at Banyan Treatment Centers. Start counting backward from 100 by 3s. The act of counting at random intervals helps you to focus and override the anxious thoughts that are trying to sneak into your psyche. Better still keep loose change in your pocket. Add a dime to a nickel, then add two pennies, and so on. By controlling your thoughts and focusing on something outside yourself you will being to feel calmer.
Get grounded. Grounding yourself is another helpful technique. Tune yourself into 4 things around you that you can see, 3 things you can touch, 2 that you smell and 1 you can taste. Again, forcing your mind to consider something outside yourself helps, says Cole.
Try DBT. Caroline, 16, has found helpful and shes discovered that her panic attacks may be heightened if not triggered by bright light. Her tip: wear sunglasses. She also shies away from conversation during the attack. Dont ask me if Im OK, she says.
What Triggers Anxiety Attacks
Life events often linked to anxiety disorders include childhood abuse and neglect, a death of a loved one, or being attacked or seeing violence. Drug withdrawal or misuse. Certain drugs may be used to hide or decrease certain anxiety symptoms. Anxiety disorder often goes hand in hand with alcohol and substance use.
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Stop An Anxiety Attack With Belly Breathing
Feeling short of breath is a hallmark symptom of an anxiety attack. But you can make the feeling worse by taking short, shallow breaths. Try belly breathing instead to stop the anxiety attack.
Carbonell compares the type of breathing youll need with the breathing of infants, whose bellies rise and fall with each inhale and exhale. When an anxiety attack starts, exhale deeply, loosen your shoulders, and focus on some longer, deeper inhales and exhales that let your belly rise and fall. Place one hand on your belly if you need to feel this happening.
Breathing Exercise For Panic Attacks
If youre breathing quickly during a panic attack, doing a breathing exercise can ease your other symptoms. Try this:
- breathe in as slowly, deeply and gently as you can, through your nose
- breathe out slowly, deeply and gently through your mouth
- some people find it helpful to count steadily from one to five on each in-breath and each out-breath
- close your eyes and focus on your breathing
You should start to feel better in a few minutes. You may feel tired afterwards.
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Anxiety Attack Symptoms Include:
- Nausea or stomach cramps.
- Feeling detached or unreal.
Its important to seek help if youre starting to avoid certain situations because youre afraid of having a panic attack. The truth is that panic attacks are highly treatable. In fact, many people are panic free within just 5 to 8 treatment sessions.
When To Seek Professional Help
While self-help coping strategies can be very effective, if your worries, fears, or anxiety attacks have become so great that theyre causing extreme distress or disrupting your daily routine, its important to seek professional help.
If youre experiencing a lot of physical symptoms, you should start by getting a medical checkup. Your doctor can check to make sure that your anxiety isnt caused by a medical condition, such as a thyroid problem, hypoglycemia, or asthma. Since certain drugs and supplements can cause anxiety, your doctor will also want to know about any prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, herbal remedies, and recreational drugs youre taking.
If your physician rules out a medical cause, the next step is to consult with a therapist who has experience treating anxiety disorders. The therapist will work with you to determine the cause and type of your disorder and devise a course of treatment.
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To Relax And Calm An Anxiety Attack Talk Out Loud To Yourself
Talking out loud to yourself is a great way to calm an anxiety attack.
Look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that you are experiencing an anxiety attack but it wont last. Tell yourself that you are not having a heart attack, rather it is just a brief moment of intense anxiety.
When you remind yourself out loud of these facts, they counter your fears and help you calm down.
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Reasons Behind Anxiety Attack
The following are some of the causes of panic attacks or anxiety attacks:
1. Neurological Imbalance Imbalance or disruption of neurochemicals or neurotransmitters in your brain could be one of the causes. You will need professional medical advice in these situations.
2. Drug abuse Excessive use of alcohol and illegal drugs has been linked to anxiety.
3. Caffeine Intake it could be because of drinking too much coffee and tea and especially the evening intake as coffee is a stimulant, and this can lead to anxiety attacks.
4. Poor Lifestyles Lack of or poor exercise schedule or poor eating habits or sleeping habits can lead to anxiety attacks.
5. Medical conditions Anxiety may be caused because of some medical conditions, for instance, heart-related issues, respiratory disorders, etc
6. Unstable Mental Health People facing any sort of mental disorder are prone to have an anxiety attack.
7. Genetics One can have an anxiety attack if anyone in a blood relationship has a history of anxiety attacks.
8. DisturbingIncidents -If anyone has been through or witnessed any disturbing incidents, they are prone to develop an anxiety attack.
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I Think My Partner Has Anxiety What Should I Do
People with anxiety often know that they are feeling anxious all the time. As you will know, different people react differently to personal feedback and when it comes to addressing anxiety, quite often, partners can aggravate the situation despite their good intentions.
Here are a few tips to show that you care and are empathetic to their feelings of anxiety:
When Might I Have Panic Attacks
Panic attacks happen at different times for everyone. Some people have one panic attack then dont ever experience another, or you might find that you have them regularly, or several in a short space of time. You might notice that particular places, situations or activities seem to trigger panic attacks. For example, they might happen before a stressful appointment.
Most panic attacks last between 5 to 20 minutes. They can come on very quickly. Your symptoms will usually be at their worst within 10 minutes. You might also experience symptoms of a panic attack over a longer period of time. This could be because youre having a second panic attack, or youre experiencing other symptoms of anxiety.
My panic attacks seem to come out of the blue now. But in fact, they seem to be triggered mainly at night when I want to go to sleep but cannot stop my mind racing, experiencing worry and panic about anything that may be on my mind.
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Smell Lavender Essential Oil
Acknowledge It And Write Down The Signs And Symptoms
Having an anxiety attack is definitely scary. It can also feel like a heart attack.
But once you know youre having an anxiety attack, acknowledge that it is happening.
Now, try to jot down a few of the symptoms, feelings, and thoughts you are experiencing. By writing it down, you can see it from a different perspective. This makes it less overwhelming.
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How To Calm Down From An Anxiety Attack: 5 Practical Self
An anxiety attack is a sudden wave of intense fear and anxiety, accompanied by a pounding heart, a tightening chest, shallow breathing, and the sensation that the world is crumbling around you. This overwhelming experience is common but nonetheless frightening and confusing, and even just one attack can instill a deep fear of the experience happening again.
Attacks are incredibly uncomfortable and can lead those who are prone to avoidance behaviors. In themselves, theyre not usually harmful in the long term, but the lengths one may go to avoid them can be damaging, such as substance misuse, social isolation, and even self-harm.
In this article, well offer some evidence-based methods and techniques to help you on how to calm down from an anxiety attack. Each persons experience of an attack is unique, so what works for one person may not be as effective for another. As such, its wise to have various tools and techniques under your belt to apply when you need them.
If youre one of the 1 in 5 US adults or 1 in 13 people globally who struggle with an anxiety disorder, then you may already be all too familiar with anxiety/panic attacks. No matter how much experience you have with them, theyre always a pain. Rationally, you know that youre not really in danger, but your rational mind and your body disagree and send you into hyperdrive survival mode.
Sufficient Sleep And Exercise
Sufficient and proper sleep is always required. Its difficult to get adequate sleep when you have a panic attack. You will be able to sleep soundly without fear or panic attacks if you take the medications exactly the way your doctor prescribes.
Exercise on a regular basis can assist you in diverting your mind. Aerobic activity aids in the reduction of stress and the improvement of mood. Regular and light exercise will also help in relieving anxiety attacks.
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I Am Anxious All The Time What Should I Do
The first thing to do is remind yourself that anxiety is a normal response to stress and stress is a daily part of our personal and professional lives.
Its OK to feel anxious. But at the same time, avoiding anxiety and distracting yourself will often make things worse.
Therefore, if you are feeling anxious all the time and you believe that it is getting in the way of your relationships, ability to perform at work, and in your quality of life, you should definitely do something about it.
Your anxiety symptoms can be alleviated with a few simple exercises/techniques. These include breathing exercises, mindfulness awareness exercises, self-safe hypnosis, and progressive muscle relaxation.
Physical exercise such as going for a walk, hitting the weights or doing high intensity interval training at the gym, and yoga and tai chi are effective ways to release repressed emotions. These forms of physical exercise has been shown to help calm your mind. Many people report that they feel as though they have gained perspective post-workout.
When symptoms of anxiety persist over a long period of time, there may be a deeper cause for your anxiety. For example, your constant feelings of anxiousness may stem from unresolved issues within your relationship, or feelings of dissatisfaction with your job or career. It is recommended that you talk to a mental health professional such as a psychologist or a qualified counsellor to help find a solution to your anxiety.
Signs And Symptoms Of Panic Disorder
While many people experience just one or two panic attacks without further episodes or complicationsand theres little reason to worry if thats yousome people go on to develop panic disorder. Panic disorder is characterized by repeated panic attacks, combined with major changes in behavior or persistent anxiety over having further attacks.
You may be suffering from panic disorder if you:
- Experience frequent, unexpected panic attacks that arent tied to a specific situation
- Worry a lot about having another panic attack
- Are behaving differently because of the panic attacks, such as avoiding places where youve previously panicked
While a single panic attack may only last a few minutes, the effects of the experience can leave a lasting imprint. If you have panic disorder, the recurrent panic attacks take an emotional toll. The memory of the intense fear and terror that you felt during the attacks can negatively impact your self-confidence and cause serious disruption to your everyday life. Eventually, this leads to the following panic disorder symptoms:
Anticipatory anxiety Instead of feeling relaxed and like your normal self in between panic attacks, you feel anxious and tense. This anxiety stems from a fear of having future panic attacks. This fear of fear is present most of the time, and can be extremely disabling.
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Ways For How To Calm Down When Anxiety Strikes
Anxiety is a terrible feeling. Your heart races. Your mind races even faster. You feel like all of the problems that have been hovering at the back of your mind suddenly need to be dealt with all at once. You imagine terrible things happening even though theres no good reason to think that they are. You panic.
How can you deal with this awful feeling when it creeps up on you. Here are ten ways to help yourself calm down when youre feeling anxious:
Burn Off Your Anxiety
When youre anxious, it can sometimes be too hard to perform a technique like deep breathing, as your adrenaline makes it difficult for you to concentrate.
In these moments, try doing something that rids your body of this adrenaline, which could include:
- Chores that need a lot of energy to complete
- High intensity exercise
- Dancing around the house to loud music
- Any aerobic exercise
- Go outside and get some fresh air
Its important to try and release the anxiety youre feeling. These activities can calm your brain and body, helping you to focus and think rationally. If doing something physical isnt working, try writing your anxiety away. An anxiety journal can help get negative thoughts out of you head or be used as a way to think clearly about how youre going to remain calm once youve finished writing.
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Name What Youre Feeling
When youre experiencing an anxious episode, you may not realize whats going on until youre really in the thick of it.
Recognizing anxiety for what it is may help you calm down quicker.
Name that this is anxiety not reality and that it will pass, says Kim Hertz, a psychotherapist at New York Therapy Practice. When you are in a heightened state of anxiety, you want to disrupt that cycle, and for some people, thought-stopping techniques are effective and as simple as saying stop to the internalized messaging that heightens anxiety.
In other words, consider recognizing that what youre feeling is anxiety and talking yourself through it.
Embrace absolute truths, says Steven Sultanoff, clinical psychologist and professor at Pepperdine University. I will get through this one way or another.
Naming your sensations and feelings may help you step away from them. This is anxiety, it is not you and it wont last forever.
What Causes Panic Disorder
While the exact causes are not known, what researchers do know is that panic disorder does sometimes run in families. And it is often seen in individuals who suffer from other anxiety disorders explains Cole.
For example, a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder may experience a panic attack when their schedule or compulsions are interrupted. Individuals who struggle with specific phobias are also susceptible to panic attacks. A person with an extreme fear of heights may experience a panic attack in a penthouse apartment.
And for someone with generalized anxiety disorder , a condition characterized by extreme fear or worry, the unending anxiety can escalate to a panic attack. People with post-traumatic stress disorder have a higher incidence of panic disorder than the general population. Illness or traumatic events increase the chances of panic attacks.
People with hyperthyroidism , mitral valve prolapse, and other conditions or diseases also may be more easily triggered.
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