What to Do, if You Have an Anxiety Attack ?
- TURYA WELLNESS
- Dec 15, 2021
- 3 min read
An anxiety attack is defined in the DSM-5 as the sudden appearance of strong fear/discomfort that reaches its maximum appearance in minutes. During this time, four (or more) symptoms occur. These include palpitations, sweating, tremors or shaking, feelings of suffocation, chest pain or discomfort, etc.
This type of crisis is related to moments of stress or traumatic events. However, not all anxiety attacks are triggered by an identifiable cause, can arise in times of calm as well as stress.
Keep in mind that an anxiety attack will, sooner or later disappear. However, in the meantime, you can take some little actions so that the fear and suffering you feel are reduced and disappear sooner. Therefore, try to breathe slowly and focus your attention on elements other than your symptoms and thoughts.
1. Breathe Calmly:
At this point, you don’t have to breathe very deeply. You just need to control your breathing. This process is usually automatic. However, what you’re doing is regulating it in a way that’s opposite to how it would be automatically regulated in the face of a real threat.
You can try the following: Inhale the air for two or three seconds. Hold it for two or three more and exhale progressively. You’ll soon see how repeating this exercise allows you to control your breathing. Consequently, it gradually reduces your symptoms of anxiety.
2. Find a Safe and Quiet Place:
Something else to do if you have an anxiety attack is to find a safe and quiet place, where you can’t hurt yourself.
Sit down if you consider it necessary. Try to gain a sense of calm. If you think you’ll feel more secure if you call someone, then go ahead.
3. Try to Stay Calm:
It’s clear that staying calm during an anxiety attack is no easy task. However, you don’t have to set out to be extremely calm.
Just keep breathing calmly and don’t feed any negative thoughts. Simply focus on your breathing.
4. Focus on Non-internal Elements:
To stop focusing your attention on the symptoms of the anxiety attack, it’s a good idea to concentrate on something from the outside. It could be anything, people walking by, a tree, a bench, the window…
Just look at that object and keep breathing. Alternatively, you can just focus on your breathing.
5. Don’t Magnify the Symptoms:
You often think of an anxiety attack as something that can harm you. Therefore, before one, you tend to develop disastrous thoughts or even thoughts of dying from the attack. However, the truth is that you can’t die from an anxiety attack.
Therefore, try not to enlarge the symptoms. Just think of them as the same kinds of feelings you’d experience, for example, in an exam or before speaking in public.
Although you experience them as extremely intense, the truth is that the symptoms aren’t dangerous by themselves. Above all, remember that the attack will disappear sooner or later.
6. Normalize the Situation:
According to experts, during the start of the anxiety attack, many people fear that the symptoms are observable by others. Therefore, they try to normalize the situation. Whether you’re being observed or not, try and find a safe and quiet place if you’re feeling too exposed.
Keep in mind that normalizing the situation doesn’t mean moderating or invalidating your symptoms. It’s clear that in an anxiety attack you suffer a lot. However, relativizing the situation can help you when you’re experiencing one.
The most important thing is that you remain clear that a panic or anxiety attack isn’t something dangerous, even though it’s very distressing.
Above all, remember that it’s important to seek professional help to identify the possible causes of these attacks and prevent them. Especially if you find you’re experiencing repeated attacks over a prolonged period of time.
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