How to Diffuse a Panic Attack

If you are among the many people who suffer from panic attacks (also called anxiety attacks), then you know how horrifying it can be when they occur. Sufferers of panic often feel like they are losing control over their body or their consciousness. During an attack, we often feel like we are going to faint, "go crazy", or even die, due to the psychological and physiological activity going on in our bodies. The heart races, the chest muscles tighten, and hyperventilation and upset stomach often occur, along with a rush of adrenaline that is known to cause a sense of dread or impending doom. Panic attacks can disable a person's everyday life if one does not know how to manage them effectively. As one who has coped with panic attacks for years, I am here to share the most effective tips I have learned from professionals ... and also some that I've taught myself. Here are my best instructions for how to diffuse a frightening panic attack.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Yourself.
• An open mind to try what you are reading.

1. Know your triggers. Even though panic can strike at any time or place, chronic sufferers usually can identify certain situations or environments that make an attack more likely to occur. Some common triggers are driving, the bright lights of a supermarket, large crowds of people, and the like. Simply recognizing the elements of your surroundings that are more likely to make you panic does help. It can give you back (at least partly!) the sense of control that panic makes you lose.

2. If you're already struggling in the throes of an attack, force yourself--difficult though it may be--to take 10 consecutive deep breathes. Count them. If you lose concentration after just a couple of breaths, start over. And keep starting over until you get to 10. This will get your brain off of oxygen overload and get rid of that lightheadedness, and your other vitals will start to level off, too. Your chest muscles will start to relax and that pain will begin to dissapate.

3. Keep taking slow, deep, controlled breaths. Move to a more secure location now, if you can. If not, try to get somewhere to just sit for a minute so you can take a break and continue to settle down.

4. Now, take a mental inventory of what is going on in your body and mind. What other sensations are you feeling physically? What kind of mental stressors are in your life today? By now you should know if you are experiencing a real medical problem or just a panic attack.

5. If your panic attacks have become a regular thing, it's time to seek the help of a professional. You may need a doctor, a psychologist, or both. I recommend a psychologist who utilizes cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help you gain control over anxiety and panic. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps you re-train your brain's reactions to panic-provoking stimuli.

6. Learn about meditation and incorporate just a few minutes of it into your daily routine. Meditation has so many proven mental and physical benefits, and it definitely helps you to maintain an even keel throughout the day. Or, simply exercise to get all those feel-good chemicals in your brain flowing.

7. Last but not least, if you feel inclined to do so, invoke the help of a higher power to help you manage your anxiety. Frequent panic attacks must be managed from many angles for a truly effective outcome. Good luck!