Talking Panic Attacks

This week I am going to share some helpful tips and things you can do when you are having a panic attack. What is a panic attack? It is a sudden episode of intense fear or anxiety and physical symptoms, based on a perceived threat rather than imminent danger. Panic attacks are very common and they can happen only once in your life or they can happen every week. They are also caused by so many different things, which is why it is important to learn your triggers. Triggers for panic attacks can include over-breathing, long periods of stress, activities that lead to intense physical reactions (for example exercise, excessive coffee drinking), and physical changes occurring after illness or a sudden change of environment. Anything really can be a trigger. 

Like I said in my intro, I have lots of experience handling anxiety and I have had more panic attacks than I can count. When I first started having them, I knew nothing about it and was very confused as to why it was happening. The main thing to think about when you are having one is to relax. Take deep breaths and make sure you are in a safe place, if not then get yourself to one if you can.  Doing this will help calm you down. Also, people do help, but not a lot of people at one time because that could be overwhelming, just one or a few that you trust and feel comfortable with can help during that time. For me, I like to talk to my mom when I am going through a panic attack because she makes me feel better and can help calm me down. Grounding yourself when you have anxiety is also very helpful (as well as chewing gum). A helpful trick that helps ground me sometimes is the 5 4 3 2 1 senses. It involves identifying 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. By doing so, it helps shift your focus from anxiety-provoking thoughts to the present moment. 

Another thing you can do is take a prescribed medication you have for panic attacks, this is not for everyone because you might not have any prescribed meds (I am going to do another post going more into depth about anxiety medications). If you do have panic attacks, medication does really help to calm me down but it could be a little dangerous. So if you do have them, I would recommend talking to your primary doctor first and see what they say, they might recommend a psychiatrist but sometimes they can be hard to get an appointment with.

For me, I am prescribed Xanax and Hydroxine. The Xanax does act fast and helps to take away the anxiety. However it should not be used too frequently because it can be habit-forming which is scary, so I take that as a last-case scenario. Hydroxine I never really use much because it just makes me tired and the Xanax works better for my panic attacks.

There are many other things you can do to help during a panic attack but these are just a few!!

(I am no doctor!! This is just my personal experience)