Experience with anxiety teaches that it is never helpful to say “it’s only a panic attack” to somebody suffering through one. In addition to causing shortness of breath, muscle pain and vomiting, a panic attack can mimic cardiac arrest and other serious health problems. Doctors in urgent care clinics and emergency rooms often are faced with patients who are unaware that their symptoms are caused by emotional upheaval, rather than a physical crisis. Knowing how to cope with panic attacks will help to avoid unnecessary doctor’s visits.
The first step to coping with panic attacks is to recognize the sympoms that come with the onset of an attack. While knowing it is happening won’t make it go away, understanding that it is not a life threatening crisis will help alleviate some of your concerns Hormonal reactions to stress include flooding the body with what it needs to defend itself in a dangerous situation. This hormone increases heart rate, flushes the skin and can cause heavy perspiration. Nausea and chest pains that mimic heart trouble are often seen in anxious patients. Delusions of impending death or doom are often suffered during intense anxiety attacks.
In the event of an anxiety attack, it is important to take a moment to find a safe, quiet place to spend a few minutes. No matter what anybody has told you, your emotions belong to you. Acknowledging, accepting, or even welcoming them, will help you move on to the next step where you may begin doing something to make them go away. In the meantime, there is no reason for shame or guilt over anxiety and are not helpful for curing panic attacks.
Without having useful tools to know how to cope with panic attacks, many people react by imagining that increasingly unpleasant things are going to happen. For example, somebody afraid of public speaking may have concerns about perspiration and blushing in front of an audience. After dwelling on these fears, he may go on to being afraid of being laughed at. Trust that asking yourself “what if” is not going to lead to realistic answers. Let logic safely guide you, even if the anxiety is giving you conflicting instructions. Acknowledge that the chances of a seated audience member many feet away is unlikely to see your flushed cheeks and moist palms, even if it seems glaringly obvious to you.
Ask a trusted friend to help you explore your fears. If the triggers are not genuinely dangerous, take time to gradually expose yourself to them. As you do, accept that the fear is a valid expression of your emotions, but that these are not based on facts. Trust yourself to be able to work through these feelings and come out in a better place. Learning some new methods for facing your particular triggers can help you get through difficult moments. For people struggling with claustrophobia, a small fan blowing air directly toward the face can help relieve the overwhelming sensation of being trapped and running out of air.
While breathing exercises will not work for curing panic attacks by themselves, they may aid the body in reducing the endorphin rush that triggered the attack in the first place. Deep breaths that come from our belly and fully expand your lungs will help reduce the effects of hyperventilation. This can also be helpful when trying to learn how to stop blushing. Visualize your body filling with healthful oxygen as you inhale and exhale, slowly permitting your body to relax. An added bonus of controlled breathing is to distract you from falling into the trap of dwelling on what else can go wrong, accidentally adding to the list of things you are feeling afraid of.
If you are interested in curing panic attacks, it is critical to be patient with yourself. A full blown anxiety disorder didn’t appear without warning overnight and is very unlikely to vanish as quickly as that. Rejoice in every small step forward and accept that there will be steps backward along the way.
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