5 Ways to Stop an Anxiety or Panic Attack
Anxiety and Panic Attacks are common and anyone who has experienced them will appreciate how scary they can be. Fortunately, there are ways to stop them!
For those of us who have experienced or witnessed a panic attack, we can appreciate how scary and unpleasant they can be.
Whether you’re affected by them yourself or know someone who is, it is helpful to know ways in which you can stop them.
What is a panic attack?
Before we discuss how they can be stopped, it’s helpful to take a quick look at what panic attacks are and why they happen.
As the name suggests, panic attacks involve sudden and intense feelings of anxiety. This fear tends to be associated with physical sensations which can further intensify feelings of anxiousness. The myriad of symptoms which arise during panic attacks are a natural response to a sudden surge in “stress chemicals” such as adrenaline.
These prepare your body for urgent action against a threatening situation. This is often referred to as the “fight or flight response”. Symptoms such as a racing heartbeat, dizziness and feeling shaky are all consequences of your body gearing up for battle.
Learn more about the nature of panic and anxiety attacks here.
How do I stop panic attacks?
1. Remember that they’re not dangerous
It might not feel like it, but panic attacks are a normal physiological response. The symptoms that arise during these moments are totally in keeping with severe stress and are not signs that anything harmful is happening. They are not dangerous in themselves. It can be helpful to familiarise yourself with the common symptoms.
2. Remember the feeling won’t last
At the peak of a panic attack, the body is flooded with adrenaline and other “stress chemicals”. In minutes, these chemicals will run out and the symptoms will subside. Making it through a panic attack can serve as a powerful reassurance that nothing bad is going to happen. Knowing feelings of panic will inevitably subside can help stop them occurring in the first place.
3. Shift your focus
Panic attacks are often referred to as self-perpetuating. This is because the more fearful we feel, the worse our physical symptoms are, and in turn, the more scared we feel! This means that panic attacks tend to build-up before they subside.
If we can distract ourselves at the start, we may be able to stop this fear spiral from escalating. Focusing on other things such as taking slow deep breaths, or the sights and sounds around us can often help us stay on top of the fear. Practicing exercises such as progressive muscle relaxation and defusion, which can be found in Mind Ease, can be really helpful.
4. Open up to others
Feelings of panic can be very scary and when they happen, we can feel alone and isolated from those around us. Letting a friend know what you’re going through can help make the situation less scary. They can also support you through it.
Talking about anxiety can be difficult but feeling like you’re not alone can be really valuable.
5. Prevention is better than cure
Panic attacks often occur when we’re feeling particularly stressed or when we don’t feel at our best. Practicing self-care can help us reduce our base level of anxiety and make it less likely that we spiral into panic. This can involve taking care of our overall health. Exercising regularly, reducing our caffeine and alcohol consumption can be particularly beneficial.
Learn more about the value of self-care.
What else can I try?
The strategies listed above are just some of the techniques that many people find helpful in stopping panic attacks. Sometimes we may also need a little extra help and that’s totally ok.
Mind Ease has a large array of useful exercises and activities which can help reduce anxious feelings. You may also find it helpful to talk to your doctor or a psychologist who can support you further.
Remember, avoiding situations which trigger anxious feelings and panic may feel helpful in the short term but often worsen our anxiety longer term and lead to us avoiding similar situations in the future. Overcoming panic attacks can be very challenging but with the right techniques and support you can learn to beat them.
Stress is like water
We all experience stress in our lives.
It can be helpful to think about this as a glass of water with the water representing stress. Each of us have different levels of water in our glass and, during difficult times in our lives, the water level may rise. In a moment where we enter a state of panic, the water in our glass is right at the brim and starts to overflow. It’s the overflowing of the water that leads to unpleasant symptoms associated with a panic attack.
Fortunately, there are many things we can do to reduce the water level in our glass.
What’s more, we can also increase the size of our glass!
The latter refers to building resilience which can help to insulate us against high stress levels.
Hopefully the five methods of stopping panic attacks described here will help you prevent the water from overflowing and, even if it does, you’ll be able to stop it fast.
Mind Ease provides an array of different exercises and activities which can be beneficial in helping with feelings of panic and acute anxiety.
