Panic attacks occur to various people, and it can sometimes feel like a heart attack. Symptoms include physical symptoms such as trembling, disoriented feeling, vomiting, rapid, irregular heartbeats, dry mouth, breathlessness, sweating, and dizziness.
If you’re around someone who’s having a panic attack or you’ve got it on your own, below are ways to deal with it.
Close your eyes
Most panic attacks are caused by triggers that overwhelm you. If you have a lot of stimuli in a fast-paced environment, this can fuel your panic attack. Close your eyes during your panic attack to minimize the stimulus. This can eliminate any further stimulation and make focusing on your breathing easier.
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Breathing exercise
When you breathe rapidly during a panic attack, you can relieve your other symptoms by doing a breathing exercise:
- Breathe in through your nose as slowly, deeply and gently as you can.
- Breathe out through your mouth slowly, deeply and gently.
- Most people find it helpful to count on each in-breath and out-breath slowly from 1 to 5.
- Close your eyes and concentrate on breathing. In a couple of minutes you will start feeling better. Eventually, you may feel tired.
Practice muscle relaxation technique
Unlike deep breathing, muscle calming methods, through regulating the reaction of your body as much as possible, will help stop the panic attack in its tracks. Relax one muscle consciously at a time, beginning with something easy like the fingers in your hand and moving up through your body. Muscle relaxation techniques will be most effective if you have never practiced them.
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Ways to prevent panic attacks
You need to try to find out what specific pressure you might have under which your symptoms might get worse. It is crucial not to limit your daily activities and movements.
- To stabilize your blood sugar levels, eat regular meals.
- Avoid caffeine, alcohol, or cigarettes, which can exacerbate panic attacks
- Regular exercise, especially aerobic exercise, can help you manage stress levels, relieve pressure, improve mood and increase confidence.
- Doing regular breathing exercises can help prevent and alleviate panic attacks if they happen.
- Panic support groups like No Panic have useful advice on how to manage the attacks effectively.
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There is no quick fix, so seek medical help if your attacks occur from time to time.