By educating yourself about panic attacks, you can begin to gain control of the problem. You don’t have to live in fear and uncertainty any longer. I have had many panic attacks mostly at school or in class as these are my tough points so I have learnt quite quickly to cover them up so others in my class don't notice as that for me would be like the worst thing ever. Anyway hopefully this post will help you xoxo.
Firstly :
Recognize the Symptoms of a Panic Attack
Familiarizing yourself with panic attack symptoms can help you feel more in control when you get one. Once you start to realize you’re experiencing a panic attack and not a heart attack, allergic reaction, or some other serious illness, you can focus on ways to calm yourself down.
Being able to recognize a panic attack for what it is will help you decide what to do to cope with it. Although symptoms will be different for everybody, some of the most common ones and the ones I get are:
- Irregular heart beat or faster heart beat
- Dizziness and lightheadedness
- Shortness of breath
- Choking sensations and nausea, sometimes vomiting
- Shaking and sweating
- Fatigue and weakness
- Chest pain and heartburn
- Muscle spasms
- Hot flashes or sudden chills
- Tingling sensations in your hand, feet, and around your mouth
- A fear that you’re going crazy
- A fear that you might die or be seriously ill
- Loss of appetite
- Headaches
Secondly:
How to deal with them:
Relax your muscles and slow your breathing
If you feel an attack coming on, simple breathing and relaxation techniques can help you feel more in control. But don’t wait until you’re having a panic attack to use the techniques. Practicing them twice a day for just 10 minutes at a time may make your panic attacks less frequent and easier to deal with when they happen.
- Take in a slow, deep breath through your nose while counting to five. The hand on the chest should stay still, while the one over your diaphragm should raise with your breath. This is how you know the breath is deep enough. And focus on the word calm
- When you reach the count of five, let the breath out slowly (through your nose) at the same rate. As you breathe out slowly focus or say the word relax and imagine all your worries flow out with your breath.
- Relax your muscles. Find a comfortable position to sit in (or lie down).Close your eyes and begin to focus solely on your toes. Curl them under tightly for a count of five, squeezing the muscles together as hard as you can, then relax.Next, concentrate on your feet. Contract all of their muscles tightly for a count of five, then relax.Continue up your body, isolating each muscle group (calves, thighs, buttocks, stomach, chest, shoulders, neck, fingers, hands, and arms) all the way up to your face.By the time you contract and relax your face muscles, you should feel much calmer.
Hopefully this helped you understand what panic attacks are how I have been taught to deal with them and how you can too. I believe in you :)
I got some of my info from HERE so if you want to read more go to that website :)
