By: Stan Popovich
Have you ever experienced a panic attack?
If so, you probably were overwhelmed with a lot of fear and anxiety.
There are many things you can do to reduce the fear and anxiety of a panic attack.
What Is a Panic Attack?
A panic attack is an episode of intense fear that comes on quickly and causes extreme levels of anxiety. They can happen anywhere and last a few minutes. During an attack, a person may struggle to breathe, talk, and be around others. They might think that they’re having a heart attack.
It’s not uncommon to have a few panic attacks over the course of your life. However, some people experience them on an ongoing basis. They develop an intense fear of these attacks and go to great lengths to avoid triggering them.
Signs That You’re Having a Panic Attack
- An intense sense of impending doom
- Feeling helpless or out of control
- A fear of dying or having a heart attack
- Tunnel vision
- Rapid heartbeat
- Sweating
- Nausea
- Muscle tightness
- Short or gasping breaths
- Chest pain
- Lightheadedness
- Feeling detached from reality
How To Manage a Panic Attack
1. Learn your triggers: Certain things may trigger panic attacks. By learning to manage or avoid these triggers, you may be able to reduce the frequency and intensity of your panic attacks. Some people may experience panic attacks at unexpected times without any specific triggers.
2. Recognize that you’re having a panic attack: By recognizing that you’re having a panic attack, you can remind yourself that this is temporary, it will pass, and that you’re OK. Set aside the fear or that impending doom is looming. Both fears are symptoms of panic attacks.
3. Take deep breaths: Panic attacks can cause rapid breathing and chest tightness, making the breaths shallow. Shallow breathing can worsen feelings of anxiety and tension. Instead, breathe slowly and deeply, concentrating on each breath. Breathe deeply from the abdomen, filling the lungs slowly and steadily while counting to four while you inhale and exhale.
4. Find a peaceful and safe spot: Some people may find that certain sights and sounds intensify panic attacks. If possible, find a peaceful spot. This could mean leaving a busy room or leaning against a wall. Sitting in a quiet place can create some space and you may find it easier to focus on your breathing and other coping strategies.
5. Distract yourself: A person should distract themselves from the panic they are experiencing. A person could get some fresh air, listen to some music, take a brisk walk, read the newspaper, or do something relaxing that will give them a fresh perspective on things.
6. Picture a happy place: A person’s happy place can be somewhere where they feel relaxed, safe, and calm. The specific place will be different for everybody. When a panic attack begins, it can help you to close your eyes and imagine being in your happy place.
7. Visualize a red stop sign: A person should visualize a red stop sign in their mind when they encounter a fearful thought. When the negative thought comes, a person should think of a red stop sign that serves as a reminder to stop focusing on that thought and to think of something else.
8. Get the facts of your situation: Many people feel helpless when they experience a panic attack. The fact is that you will be ok and that it takes a few minutes for the anxiety to go away. Do not focus on your worrisome and fearful thoughts. Focus on the facts of your current situation rather than what you may think.
9. Don’t dwell on your thoughts: A person should not dwell or focus on their thoughts during a panic attack. Fear and worry exaggerate your thoughts. The more a person tries to reason out their thoughts the longer a panic attack will last.
10. Read some positive affirmations: A technique that is helpful is to have a small notebook of positive statements that makes you feel good. Whenever you find an affirmation that makes you feel good, write it down in a small notebook that you can carry in your pocket. Whenever you feel anxious, open your small notebook and read those statements.
11. Focus on your surroundings: Focus on what you can see, hear, smell, and feel. You can also try counting things around you, like how many red things you see. You can also focus on an object. Pick one object in clear sight and note everything you can about it until your panic subsides.
12. Reassure yourself: When you feel a panic attack coming on, remind yourself that you’re feeling anxiety, and not real danger. You can try directly addressing the fear. Practice a go-to response like, “I am not afraid” or “This will pass.”
The Vicious Cycle of Anxiety
- An Event Occurs
- The Event Is Considered A Perceived Threat
- Your Body Releases Adrenaline
- Your Breathing/Heart Rate Increases
- PANIC OCCURS
How To Stop the Anxiety Cycle
1. Breathe first: The first thing to do is to breathe to stop the anxiety cycle. Your anxiety makes it harder to manage your current situation. Anxiety makes everything much worse. The less anxiety you have, the easier it is to do things and to think more clearly. Breathing helps reduce your anxious thoughts. After you breathe, you can do other calming methods to manage your anxiety.
2. Use Evidence-Based Therapy (EBT): Evidence-based therapy asks what is the evidence that what your anxious thoughts are telling you are in fact the truth. It involves identifying irrational thoughts and replacing them with reality-based thoughts based on real evidence. Evaluate your anxious thoughts based on the evidence of common sense and everyday reality!
How do you use Evidence-Based Therapy (EBT)
1. What is the anxious thought telling you?
2. What is your evidence and facts that this is true?
3. Adjust your fearful thought based on the current evidence and facts.
How To Deal With “What Ifs”
“What if” scenarios are hypothetical situations that we imagine in our minds. Just because you think “what if this happens” doesn’t mean it will happen. Anxiety or worry is all about anticipation. Most “what if” thoughts focus on negative outcomes and are fueled by anxiety, meaning they are unlikely to materialize as imagined.
A person’s brain reacts to what you tell it. When you get a “What if” thought, your brain interrupts as something bad will happen. Your brain then conditions itself (Flee or Fight) to tell you that something bad is about to happen even if there is no danger and there is no evidence to back up your thought. You’re telling yourself there is a threat when there is no real threat.
Two People Interrupt the Same Event Differently
Somebody recently hit the back of my friend’s car. The man who hit her was upset because he was telling his brain that this was a worst-case scenario and a catastrophe. As a result, the man was a nervous wreck and very distraught.
My friend interrupted the same event by saying “Yes, it’s not that great. I got hit, but there was minor damage, nobody was hurt, and it was not that bad.” My friend balanced the situation by weighing up the evidence that took place without making it a catastrophe. As a result, my friend was calmer.
Gray And White Thinking
Your fear: I am afraid of getting COVID
• White Thinking: I will not get it.
• Gray Area Thinking: I might get it, but it might be minor or just a small cold.
• Black Thinking: I get COVID.
Every situation has a gray area (The middle) between your black and white thinking. For every situation in your life, focus on what the gray area is.
Evidence-Based Therapy and Worst-Case Scenarios
Stuff happens. It’s a fact of life. With this in mind, let’s say one of your fears does happen. You get COVID. You automatically panic and you start to catastrophize.
What you should do is to determine what are the different degrees of risk and what comes next. You get COVID. Use Evidence-Based Therapy to determine what is most likely will happen rather than jumping to conclusions. EBT says that currently, most people will most likely get a cold and feel lousy for a week.
The risk factor measures what is most likely to happen based on the current evidence and facts. If there is a better chance something will happen, then you have a high risk/probability factor. If something is unlikely to happen, you have a low risk/probability factor.
For the COVID example, there is more of a chance (Higher Probability) that you will feel sick for a week based on the current evidence available today.
Always focus on what the evidence and facts are regarding your current situation. Determine what is more likely to happen based on the facts rather than always assuming the worst in every situation you experience.
Let’s say by chance the worst-case scenario (Lower Probability) does occur. There are always infinite scenarios that may happen next that you can’t anticipate (and how you will react). In addition, there are always little factors that you can’t predict or anticipate which may be used to your advantage. They key is not to panic.
It takes time to adjust to new things and you need to take things slowly. This is where you find ways to accommodate. Even if you do not have the answers right now, you can try new things, and you will learn what works. You will eventually find ways to cope and adjust.
Examples of Positive Viewpoints
- It’s how you look at things that counts.
- It’s you’re thinking that makes a difference in how you feel.
- How can I see things differently?
- Consider other viewpoints you may not have considered.
- A situation can be viewed in more than one way.
- A problem can be solved in more than one way.
- Focus on what you can control and what you can change.
- Focus on the current evidence, the facts, and everyday reality.
- Don’t focus on hypotheticals. Focus on what is happening right now!
- What’s the problem? How will I solve it? What are the solutions and my options?
- Focus on the facts rather than on the What If’s.
- What If’s are few and far in between in some cases.
- The likelihood may not be as great as what anxiety is telling you.
- Learn to recognize distortions in your thinking that create problems.
- Use problem-solving skills to manage difficult situations.
- Move from extreme thinking to a more flexible and adaptable mindset.
- List other possibilities instead, while focusing on narratives that are neutral or positive.
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