Dealing With Panic Attacks – Tips To Cope With This Anxiety Disorder
Dealing with panic attacks can be tough, especially if one doesn’t know the right way to deal with the situation. Panic attacks can happen suddenly, and sometimes can make a person think that they are having a nervous breakdown or a heart attack. The best way to deal with panic attacks is to first familiarize oneself with their signs and symptoms.
There are many symptoms of an anxiety attack, and all or most of these are experienced out of the blue: muscle tension, sweating, trembling, intense panic, confusion, blurry vision, nausea, and palpitations. A person experiencing intense anxiety can also feel warm inside, dizzy, or experience the intense need to escape his or her surroundings. A fear of dying, going crazy or losing control is also associated with a panic attack.
Once a person is familiar with the symptoms of panic attacks, there are three ways that can help him or her deal with them. The first is doing proper breathing exercises. Breathing properly during an anxiety attack may be difficult at first, because a person may feel too overwhelmed by its symptoms to concentrate on his or her breathing. It is important for a person prone to panic to practice the 7:11 breathing exercise.
This exercise involves a person breathing not to the chest, but to the stomach. One important point of this breathing exercise is that exhaling should take longer than inhaling. Doing this exercise during the onset of an anxiety attack allows a person to relax. There are other breathing exercises that can help a person solve the hyperventilation that can accompany panic. These exercises involve holding one’s breath for 10 to 15 seconds in order to ease any hyperventilation. A person can also breathe in and out using a paper bag. One may look silly doing this, but if it helps him or her deal with anxiety attacks, then it should be done. Finally, doing a little exercise can help a person lessen his or her stress levels, which would then lower one’s chances of experiencing a panic attack.
Adopting proper posture during a panic attack is another point being overlooked by people experiencing one. A person’s posture helps breathe properly, which means that an improper posture would do nothing to improve a person’s breathing patterns. By sitting up straight in a chair, with the chest expanded and the back straight, people can find it much easier to breathe instead of sitting in a slouched position. A person should be mindful of his or her posture even during an anxiety attack to do breathing exercises easily and properly.
The last tip in dealing with panic attacks is to use diversionary tactics. This would help a person draw their attention away from the panic and the thoughts that fuel this attack. Splashing one’s face with cold water can cause a person’s brain to signal the body to slow down. Talking to someone about something other than anxiety can also help.
This anxiety disorder is only temporary, but it has become one of the most uncomfortable and frightening experience of a person’s life. Dealing with panic attacks can help a person get back on track and live their life as if nothing had happened.
Learn more about anxiety disorders like panic attacks while driving.
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