How I’ve Learned to Stop My Panic Attacks

Panic attacks can be frightening to deal with when they are happening. As someone who has dealt with panic attacks for as long as I have been dealing with chronic anxiety, I have found that it is important for me to know how to cope when I experience a panic attack.

What is a panic attack? A panic attack happens when you suddenly experience intense symptoms of anxiety, and it sometimes happens even without knowing why.¹ According to researchers, panic attacks may occur due to an overactive or unusually intense stress response.¹

For myself, when I experience a panic attack, it feels like an overwhelming onslaught of physical symptoms of anxiety that happen out of nowhere. For example, I'll feel my heart suddenly start racing, my head will feel this sudden extreme pressure, almost as though it is being squeezed, I'll start trembling, and I will feel a tingling sensation in my fingers and toes. Sometimes, I will also feel lightheaded and dizzy. It can also feel quite scary because I don't know why I am experiencing it, and I might instead think that there is something seriously wrong.

I've Learned to Lessen Panic Attacks Using These Strategies

The good news is that, nowadays, these don't occur for me as often as they used to. Part of the reason has been that I have been able to cope much more effectively with my anxiety. Another part of the reason is that I started to learn more about what I was experiencing, how to recognize it as early as possible, and then how to calm myself when I do recognize it happening.

In the moment, once I recognize that I am experiencing a panic attack, I acknowledge that it is happening and I remind myself that it isn't something life-threatening like a heart attack. There have been many times in the past when I've begun experiencing a panic attack, and then I am terrified that something is seriously wrong with me, and it just makes the symptoms I am experiencing worsen.

Once I acknowledge the attack, I work on slowing my breathing through slow, deep breaths. This helps to slow my heart rate and calm myself, especially if I've started hyperventilating, which often happens.

I also ground myself through practicing mindfulness; focusing on the current moment, which also helps me to stay calm.

These strategies have helped me lessen the effects of panic attacks, and I've also noticed that, since I have been using these strategies, the attacks happen less often. I also strongly believe that, through the use of self-care strategies like mindfulness meditation, exercise, sleep, and nutrition, I have been able to reduce my anxiety symptoms, and as a result, I do not experience them nearly as often as I used to.

Do you experience panic attacks? If so, how do you reduce the symptoms you experience? In the video I've included, I talk about how I have learned to lessen the attacks. Share your own strategies in the comments below.

Source

1. Panic disorder: when fear overwhelms. (n.d.). National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/panic-disorder-when-fear-overwhelms