26 Things to Conquer a Panic Attack

1. Panic attacks include physical symptoms that often mimic physical illnesses. It’s essential to get a physical exam if you are suffering from them.
   

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     2. Advocate for yourself and let your doctor know you understand that panic may be due to a medical condition. Some issues that may cause panic symptoms include hypoglycemia, pheochromocytoma, and hyperthyroidism. Ask for assurance that there is not a physical contributor to your panic.

3. If you don’t have an exercise regimen, try to begin something that’s comfortable for you. The effects of exercise on anxiety and depression are well-documented.4. Monitor your caffeine intake. Excessive caffeine intake can contribute to panic attacks.

4. Monitor your alcohol intake, as this can fuel the panic cycle as well.

       5. 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 that you are anxious before you even know!

6. Identify and accept your symptoms as a panic attack. Just naming the attack should help you dramatically. You will then know you are not dying or having a heart attack.

       7. Remember, uncomfortable, not dangerous. Say to yourself, “I recognize this. It’s a panic attack. It can’t hurt me. It’s uncomfortable, not dangerous.”

8. Remind yourself, “No one ever died from a panic attack.”

9. Attacks peak and subside within 10 or 15 minutes. If you ride it out and don’t distract yourself or exacerbate your panic, it will be over before you know it. Practice the mantra, “This will be over in 15 minutes.”

10. Find a safe, quiet place to be still and ride your panic out. Increasing your sense of safety may shorten the attack.

12. Understanding the symptoms of a panic attack can help you to better understand the and respond in your distress ( there are about 13

     13. Practice and learn about mindfulness, which is the art of experiencing the moment by stopping yourself from focusing on the past and future.

      14. 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.

     15. 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.

     16. 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.

     17. 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!

     18. Learn to think positively. Our perception of the events in our environment is what determines our reaction.

     19. 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.

     20. 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.

     21. 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.

    22. 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.

      24. Be mindful of your thoughts. Recognize your thoughts. There are several components to 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 attacks are “I’m out of control”,” I’m going to die”, ” I can’t handle this. “

        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.