This is a handout I give to the women I work with in therapy to help them get through a panic attack. Feel free to print this list of good mental health tips and use it to help yourself.
More Help Getting Through your panic attacks BEFORE THEY HAPPEN
Care for Your Physical Body
Panic attacks may be a part of panic disorder, or other anxiety disorders. It may be important for you to be seen by a doctor first to ensure that you do not have a physical illness.
1. Panic attacks are composed of physical symptoms that often mimic physical illness. It’s important for you to get a physical exam if you are suffering from panic attacks.
2. Discuss with your doctor that you are aware of the medical conditions that may be related to panic attacks and request that those issues be checked. They include:
Ask for assurance that there is not a physical contributor to your panic
3. If you don’t have an exercise regimen get one. The effects of exercise on anxiety and depression are well documented.
4. Monitor your caffeine intake. Excessive caffeine intake can contribute to panic attacks.
5. Monitor your alcohol intake.
6. Learn to recognize anxiety in your body. Anxiety is stored in your body in ways you may be unaware of. Often, your body will tell you are anxious before you even know
Understanding the symptoms of a panic attack can help you to better understand the and respond in your distress ( there are about 13
different symptoms)
More Help
Getting Through Panic Attacks before they happen.
Tend to your Mind
1. Practice and learn about mindfulness, which is the art of experiencing the moment by stopping yourself from focusing on the past and future. Surprisingly if you try this, you will realize you cannot worry if you are in the moment.
2. Learn to meditate. Meditation creates a space between your thoughts feelings and behaviors. It provides us with a greater sense of self control, connection with our body, and a space between our thoughts and behaviors.
3. Realize that your thoughts are not necessarily true. Just because we have a thought does not mean we have to believe it. Remember, panic is not danger it’s just discomfort.
Getting Through Panic Attacks before they happen make Lifestyle changes
1. Live your life in a way that confronts real issues. Pretending issues and emotions are not there, or avoiding things that need to be dealt with, is never a healthy way to solve problems.
2. Learn new coping skills. If you have a great deal of stress and not very good coping skills, you can create the conditions in your body that make a panic attack more likely!
3. Learn to think positively. Our perception of the events in our environment is what determines our reaction.
4. Reduce your stress level by making good choices about your stress. Sometimes we are unwilling to do the things we need to do to reduce our stress.
7. Practice acceptance of your anxiety, allowing it to be there and not pushing it away even in your discomfort. Fighting the attack in any way will extent the 15 minutes that you will need to suffer through it.
8. The goal of deep breathing is to calm your sympathetic nervous system and send the signal you are not in danger so you can more quickly activate your parasympathetic system. We want to activate your vagus nerve. Strategy: Alter the pace at which you are breathing. Slow your breathing to between 5 and 10 breaths per minute.
9. Splash your face with water. It’s been found that splashing your face with water will slow down your heart rate and eventually have a calming effect. You can also but a cold wash cloth on your head. I have also heart this described as stimulating your divers reflex.
10. Try to be mindful and present with your body and surroundings. We call this grounding.
11. Be mindful of your thoughts.
Recognize your thoughts. There are several components to panic attacks but your thoughts are a large contributor. It is likely that if you are having a panic attack, there are thoughts that are driving this attack in the moment. Some thoughts that clients have told me contribute to their panic attacks are “I’m out of control”,” I’m going to die”, ” I can’t handle this. “
12. Practice soothing touch
This is shown to decrease the fight or flight response in humans and should help calm you. Similar to breathing this should help get you through the panic attack and bring you out of your fight or flight response sooner.
13. Make yourself a list of reassurances that can help you when you are having a panic attack.
For example:
Leave getting through a panic attack for these links on panic
caffeine and panic attacks
causes of panic attacks
heart rate and panic attacks
medicine and panic attacks
self help and panic attacks
pregnancy and panic attacks
signs of panic attacks
meaning of panic attacks
Medical information obtained from this website is not intended as a substitute for professional care. If you have or suspect you have a problem, you should consult a healthcare provider.