Tips For Controlling Anxiety Attacks
To manage an anxiety attack, it is essential to learn to control your breathing and to keep in mind that it is is a transient event.
Besides a feeling of imminent threat, of intense fear, some physiological signals are also present during anxiety attacks. Would it be possible to manage them in one way or another? Fortunately, yes.
There is indeed some keys that can help you gradually recover calm during an anxiety attack. Let’s see them below. But first, we’ll go over some aspects of these attacks.
What is an anxiety attack?
First of all, we will clarify what happens in a situation like this, these being its main elements:
- An anxiety attack is linked to a high level of distress and discomfort.
- The person thinks something negative and threatening is about to happen to them and experiences intense and irrational fear.
- The nervous system releases excess adrenaline (neurotransmitter), as indicated a recent publication by Dr Borwin Bandelow’s working group .
The keys to facing the anxiety attack
1. Learn to recognize the symptoms
A person usually has an anxiety attack when several reasons for stress accumulate. Recognizing them is the first step in effectively dealing with this condition.
More specifically, there are certain psychophysiological signs such as the following:
- Dizziness.
- Disease.
- Tremors
- Perspiration .
- Tachycardias
- Fear or panic
- Abdominal pain .
- Irrational thoughts
- Feeling of suffocation (similar to cardiac arrest).
2. Control your breathing
Learning to spot symptoms is just as important as learning to breathe. During an anxiety attack, the person who can detect their symptoms (tremors, nausea, etc.) can focus on their breathing to reduce their level of anxiety. Breathe in and out again and again, slowly.
Controlling breathing and focusing attention on it makes it easier to manage an anxiety attack. Mainly because it allows contact with bodily sensations and to channel them little by little towards softer responses.
If you have an anxiety attack, try to get some air for several seconds (count to 30 in your head), hold it (10 seconds, for example) and breathe out. You can repeat this cycle as many times as needed , trying to focus on getting the air in and out and also how the muscles relax, one by one.
3. Replace negative thoughts with positive sentences
Images of anxiety are usually associated with Negative thoughts recurrent, that is to say to rumination.
As pointed out a study by Dr Colette R. Hirsch and her team , identify them and trying to substitute positive sentences for them can help reduce an anxiety attack.
For example, on weekends, instead of summarizing the idea of: “I’m going to have a lot of work next week”, you can try to turn things around with a positive sentence such as “Even if I have a lot of work next week, I will be able to do it” or “If I already know that I will have a lot of work next week, what can I do now to lighten the load?”.
If there is something that can be done then we will have to get down to business. And if not, we will have to move away from the angst and try to enjoy free time.
Deep breathing exercises can also help in this process.
At the same time, reassuring phrases will be incorporated . Some messages will serve some people better than others. But in the end, the o bjective is that they trans calm down in the face of adverse circumstances.
- For example, one formula is telling yourself that all is well and that you are able to handle concerns.
- It is also helpful to focus on your breathing and tell yourself that the hurt will pass.
- Remember that it is possible to act in one way or another in the face of events that bother you.
4. Find a space to manage your anxiety attacks
Another key that can help with relief during the anxiety attack is finding a quiet place to relax, while you regain your composure. This will prevent you from exposing yourself to the eyes of others. You will have the opportunity to take care of your own feelings more quietly .
Far from running away from the situation, trying to get past it in an inconspicuous place can be helpful in dealing with it.
5. Avoid rituals
Given the paucity of scientific evidence to support the application of rituals in anxiety states, it should be considered that these seizures may subside if you learn to recognize them and give yourself enough time to cope with them.
So if every time you have an anxiety attack you become anxious to “pass” it, for example, you will associate two stimuli (anxiety and food) which, in principle, have nothing to do with each other.
It is important to note that this technique establishes a circle of superstitions that may not be viable in other contexts . In other words, when it is impossible to use it on other occasions, the discomfort will be even greater.
Is there any other help for anxiety attacks?
Besides the guidelines mentioned above – which can serve as a general guide – one of the best ways to learn how to manage anxiety attacks is through cognitive behavioral therapy.
Remember that if the episodes are recurring and the discomfort persists, it it will be essential to call in a professional. Therefore, do not ignore the problem and go to consult.
