When we get anxious or scared, our bodies release stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones can be helpful in some situations, but they could also cause severe physical symptoms, such as increased heart rate, rapid breathing, and sweating. In some cases, it can escalate to a panic attack.
Panic attacks are sudden exaggerated responses from the body to fear, anger, stress, or even excitement, and are usually unrelated to any external threats. It is a feeling of sudden and intense anxiety that causes physical symptoms like rapid heartbeats, fast breathing, dizziness, shivering, and muscle tension and can last from 5 to 20 minutes. Having a panic attack can be scary and unexpected, do you know what to do when it hits you? Here are 5 techniques to try to stop or handle panic attacks.
Recognize That You’re Having a Panic Attack
The first step and the healthiest way to deal with any panic attack is to identify you are having one. Once you do, you will remind yourself and your brain that this is a temporary situation and it will pass and everything is going to be fine. Try to set the fear aside and focus on other techniques to reduce the symptoms and stop the attack. Try not to fight your symptoms but keep reminding yourself that they will pass.
Focus on Your Breathing
Just close your eyes and breathe gently; inhale through your nose deeply and let all that air out slowly through your mouth. Count from 1 to 5 on each inhale and exhale. After a few minutes, you should start feeling better, and this technique will also help you feel calmer.
Try to Relax
Start with relaxing your muscles. Stretch one muscle at a time and then relax it, apply this on all of your muscles until your whole body is relaxed. Imagine your happy place, think about things you can see, hear, smell, and feel around you. Visualizing a quiet, calm, and relaxing place can help you relax, and reduce stress and anxiety. Moreover, repeating a mantra internally such as “This too shall pass,” can be relaxing and reassuring; just repeat it on a loop in your head until you feel that the panic attack starts to fade.
Find a Focus Object
Choose one obvious object and state everything you can notice about it. Describe the patterns, color, shapes, texture, and size to yourself. Focus on this object with all your energy, and your panic symptoms may diminish. Instead, you can count or focus on all the objects with the same color or shape. For example, count all the green objects around you or any circular objects.
Stay Grounded
Since panic attacks can cause a feeling of detachment or separation from reality, this technique will keep your mind stay in the present. For instance, notice three things you can touch, four things you can see around you, and three things you can hear. When you are grounded, your mind has other things to do than focusing on your fears or shifting from one worry to another.
Keep in mind that panic attacks are frightening, but they're not dangerous and will not cause you any physical harm. If you’re experiencing extreme panic attacks you should seek professional help to check whether you suffer from any disorders like panic disorder or not.
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