Having a panic or anxiety attack can be a terrifying and overwhelming experience. Here are a few tips and hints for learning to cope with panic and anxiety attacks.
Stop, Float, Rebut Fear, panic, and adrenaline will naturally dissipate in their own time. What keeps panic and adrenaline from dissipating is that we keep scaring ourselves with our thoughts.
- Stop scaring yourself. Sometimes imagining yelling “stop” at the top of your lungs can help. Imagining the thoughts as spam email, or a drunk on the train platform, or schoolkids screaming in the back of a school bus, can help you stop taking the scary thoughts so literally.
- Float with the feeling. Once the adrenaline kicks in it will take a while for it to dissipate. Fighting or struggling against the feeling of anxiety only makes it worse. Mindful acceptance of the feelings gives the adrenaline a chance to dissipate.
- Rebut the scary thoughts. A short, memorized phrase can help displace the catastrophic thinking. You’re not actually in danger, your mind is just playing a trick on you. Try saying to yourself, “It’s not danger, it’s just discomfort.”
Relaxed breathing can help to make you more comfortable while waiting for a panic attack to pass and the adrenaline to dissipate. This is a quick and simple way to help the parasympathetic (soothing) part of your nervous system to get back online. It is important to begin with a long, deep exhale. After the exhale, simply breath more deeply and slowly than you normally would into the lower part of the belly for several minutes. It can help to place a hand on the belly so that you can feel the rise and fall with the breath.
Exercise is tremendously important in reducing anxiety. Regular exercise reduces stress and alters the brain chemistry to help you cope better. To see a strong impact from exercise (equal to that of medication without the side effects) 150 minutes of aerobic exercise a week is recommended
Mindfulness Practice such as sitting meditation can be tremendously helpful in better coping with anxiety. Mindfulness can help you to come back to living the present moment and disengage from the scary thoughts about the future. Mindfulness can help train your brain to become calmer and less reactive to stress and anxiety.