How To Cope With Panic Attacks

Anxiety is the most common of all mental health issues, and it has been steadily increasing since the 1950s.

We all experience anxiety from time to time, but it becomes known as panic when it reaches a more extreme level.

And when a feeling of panic gains momentum, it can turn into what is known as a panic attack.

RESOURCES & LINKS:
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Do unexpected panic attacks occur spontaneously?: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21783179/
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For our first step, it’s important to identify what thoughts, feelings, or situations are most likely to contribute to a panic attack.

This is likely different for everyone, but as with most things in life, there tend to be clues and patterns.

So, if you've had a panic attack, a good place to start is to think back to see if there are any patterns to watch for that could be making your anxiety worse.

Second, it’s important to know what the signs and symptoms of a panic attack are.

Based on my experience with clients over the past 20 plus years, most people have a few telltale physical and psychological symptoms that generally occur when they have a panic attack.

And according to a 2011 study by Dr. Alicia Meuret and colleagues, the two main symptoms you want to watch for are, increased heart rate and shortness of breath, as these are the two signs that people tend to notice first.

You want to pick up on these initial symptoms as soon as possible, so you can begin to try and prevent, or at least minimize, the severity of a panic attack.

For the third step, the goal is to begin calming the body.

The best way to do this is to change how you breathe.

When people become anxious, it’s common to take short, choppy breaths from high in the chest.

Instead of this, you want to begin to take slow, deep breaths from your diaphragm or belly.

With deep breathing, the goal is to lower your heart rate and blood pressure, as both become elevated during a panic attack.

And if you catch your symptoms early, you might be able to largely avoid the uncomfortable physiological symptoms of a panic attack.

If you don’t catch the symptoms early, deep breathing is still worth doing, although the goal needs to be to try and help minimize the physiological symptoms.

Because once your brain has released a large dose of adrenaline (the chemical that leads to much of the uncomfortable feelings in the body), the goal is to hang on for the ride and not make the panic attack worse than it already is.

For our next step, the focus is on calming the mind.

What you say to yourself in your mind is critical at this stage, as it will likely influence whether the panic attack gets better or worse.

The panic attack is probably going to get worse.

So, the goal at this stage is to have calming phrases to say.

And essentially, that’s what you are trying to do here.

The goal is to ride the wave of anxiety, as it will rise to a peak and eventually fall.

For most panic attacks, the worst is usually over within 10 – 20 minutes.

More severe panic attacks can last a little longer, but like all bad things, they will eventually come to an end.

For our fifth step, I encourage people to get moving whenever possible.

During a panic attack, the brain releases large amounts of cortisol and adrenaline, and the sooner you can reduce the levels of these hormones, the better.

And if you can get moving, after you take the initial steps of calming the body and mind, physical activity can help reduce cortisol and adrenaline, which will help you work through the most uncomfortable parts more quickly.

And for my sixth and final step, if you're unable to get moving or continue to experience some of the uncomfortable physiological symptoms of a panic attack, this would be a good time to engage in positive distraction.

So, as defined by HKS Clinical Solutions and Research, positive distraction is:

‘An environmental feature that elicits positive feelings and holds attention, without taxing or stressing the individual, thereby blocking worrisome thoughts.’

So, much more simply put, the goal is to find something positive to do that will help occupy your mind while your body works through the rest of the excess adrenaline that is causing the uncomfortable feelings.

Because what you focus on influences how you feel, and focusing on feeling anxious, or trying to make sense of anxious feelings at this point, will likely be counterproductive.

So, I hope you found these strategies helpful.
If you're experiencing challenges implementing these strategies, please contact us @ https://www.drsullivan.ca/

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