5 Things To Do When You Are Having A Panic Attack
A panic attack is the unexpected beginning of intense fear or discomfort that you can feel at any place. One minute you are okay, and the next minute you are not. There are many different things that you think while you have a panic attack, amongst which some are sweating, increased heart rate, trembling, and pounding heart.
There can be many different reasons for a panic attack, such as stress, a recent accident, death of a loved one, harassment or rape, loss of a job, and so many others. A panic attack can occur due to medical reasons too. There are some things that you must do when you have a panic attack, which will calm you down. Some of those things are as follows,
The grounding technique
The grounding technique is one of the oldest methods. When you have a panic attack, your body goes on alert mode and is frightened, and at that point, it is necessary to learn about your body and what will distract it from what it is facing. The grounding technique talking about focusing on five simple things and those are,
- Five things to see
- Four things to touch
- Three things to hear
- Two things to touch
- One thing to taste
When you do all of these five things, it is evident that your body has been distracted and is feeling relaxed from whatever scared it. It is not reasonable to have a panic attack quite often, and if you have them regularly, then you must consult your doctor.
Try to control your breathing pattern
When we have a panic attack, we likely lose control of our breathing. However, simple breathing exercises can make you control whatever that is coming your way. It is not necessary to wait until you have a panic attack, just practice twice a day for seven to ten minutes as it will help you be in control. You need to take in your breath through your nose while you count to five, and when you have reached five, you need to let out your breath slowly. Try to relax your muscles.
Think of a safe space
A panic attack is scary as, for many, the things happening to them are not only out of control but out of their senses too; it is a possibility that many may not be able to understand whatever that is happening to them. In that condition, think of a safe place.
Safe places help you feel calm and satisfied, therefore, visualize a secure place in your mind. For example, you can think of the beach, your parents’ house, your old bedroom, the mountains or the pool near your home.
When you have visualized a safe space, make yourself believe that you are there, you are safe, and nothing will get to you there, or harm you in any way. This action will make your body relax gradually, and once the body is relaxed, you can open your eyes and try to come back to reality.
Making yourself believe that you are in a safe place can be hard for the first five to six times, but as time passes and you keep doing it again and again during a panic attack, it becomes easier.
Distract yourself- Start counting
The primary concern during a panic attack is that you are scared. Everybody is different; thus, everyone’s body will react differently. It is necessary to distract yourself from whatever you are feeling.
Various things work for people, for many individuals counting the trees help, for others going back to a cherished memory helps, some use products like weed vape pens as they relax them and for a good number of people counting backward or forwards help. If counting seems like an easy task, you can start subtracting, multiplying, and adding numbers as that can help you distract from whatever you are feeling.
The key is to stay distracted until your body comes back to a healthy state. These sorts of distractions can be hard and may take a lot of time to become a habit, but once they do, it will be easier to handle your panic attacks.
Leave the situation you are in
It can happen that when you have a panic attack, you can be in a particular situation that makes you more uncomfortable and restless.
Therefore wherever you are, whenever you get a feeling that you are going to have a breakdown, it is best to get up and leave.
For example, if you are at home and you start to have a panic attack, you should get up and get out of the house to pet your dog or go for a walk. If you are in your office, you can get up from your chair, roam around the office for a while or go out of the office to grab a cup of tea.
To summarize all of this, you must know what your body tries to tell you through these panic attacks, and before you have a meltdown, it is necessary to control yourself and take the required actions.
Author’s bio:
Samantha is an expert when it comes to providing remedies for physical and mental well-being. However, she is fond of writing regardless of what she writes about. She believes that she can influence people and their lives with her opinion and knowledge. To read her write-ups, visit https://cannabismo.org/.
