Resource Help With Panic Attacks

[Imeavie]

First let me state that I am new, and I apologize if my tag is wrong.

I wanted to share some advice a veteran gave me that has been helping me for years when I start having panic attacks.

When you feel an attack coming, look around you, and start counting. Find any object (doesnt matter what it is), and count 1 of it.

Then you will find a different object, and count two of it.

This will repeat until you are able to breathe.

It wont stop the anxiety, or even make you feel better, but it has helped me breathe, and calm down enough to think.

If anyone else has any tips I welcome you to share them here.

Thank you for your time, I know its not something we often have enough of.

 

[blueocean093]

Putting cold water on your body/face can help sometimes, although its annoying to do

 

[broken_stoic]

There are lots of techniques you can use for grounding/etc. For myself the most useful thing was to learn to breath through it, accept it, and ride it like ocean waves.

 

[Dot]

'Crisis' Resources for anxiety attacks and emotional overwhelm

Written by @Dot, I am just being the voice so more people can understand it. Okay, so you are having an anxiety episode. It is worth remembering when suffering anxiety attack, that you are safe, despite your body throwing out symptoms and telling you otherwise. We have compiled a list of...

sanctioned-suicide.net

 

[The Actual Devil]

That's a good tip. As with all anxiety coping mechanisms, I recommend practicing it when you feel fine, throughout the day, to create a habit. That way, when you have a sudden increase in anxiety or even an attack, your skills kick in like muscle memory or a reflex.
Although I imagine someone with OCD, Pure O, or something similar could find such a practice debilitating if it gets incorporated into their obsessive thoughts, so it's always good to check with a professional when you can.

 

[Tumblewillow]

Breathing techniques and counting didn't always work for me, but muscle relaxing did if this is helpful for anyone!

Start from your feet and try to figure out if you're using the muscle and then make it go floppy and keep it there, working all the way up each small section of your body (including fingers, brow, jaw) and back down again. I noticed when I panic that I tense my abdomen and chest which was making my symptoms worse, the tense muscles are creating the signal loop of "i need to brace/run/fight" so if you relax them it breaks the message being sent through your body/brain. You may feel some jolts of adrenaline as your brain tries to fire them up again, but eventually it will calm down.