Dealing with Panic Attacks
Panic attacks can cause a lot of difficulty in daily life, and dealing with them can be different for everyone. Discussing your personal situation with a trained professional is the best way to learn to deal with them. However, I've outlined a few steps below that can help to deal with panic attacks in the case that you are unable to discuss with a professional.
⁂ Understand Panic Attacks ⁂
• Panic attacks are caused when our 'fight or flight' response is triggered when there is no real threat
• The fight or flight response causes your breathing to quicken and muscles to tense
• These symptoms can make you feel lightheaded, shaky or cramped, but these feelings cannot hurt you
⁂ Positive Self Talk ⁂
• Remember and remind yourself that panic attacks don't last
• Tell yourself that the symptoms you are experiencing are due to anxiety
⁂ Confront Your Fear ⁂
• Target what it is that you're afraid of, rather than avoiding those thoughts
• Even if it is nothing, remind yourself that that's okay, and normal, but that there is no real threat
⁂ Control Your Breathing ⁂
• Look up 'anxiety breathing gif - these gifs by Nathan Pyle are my personal favourites
• Breathe in as slowly, deeply and gently as you can
• Put your hands on your stomach and try to make that rise and fall as you breathe, rather than your chest
⁂ Ground Yourself ⁂
• Look up grounding techniques and find some that suit you - this link has a few good ones
• Listen to a meditation/mindfulness track - we have some on 7 cups here
• Do a mindfulness exercise that doesn't require audio - some can be found here
⁂ Talk to Someone ⁂
• Phone a friend, or talk to someone in person who knows about your panic attacks - if you can, discuss beforehand what you need when you're having an attack
• Chat with a listener on 7 Cups
Panic attacks can be a long, stressful, and exhausting experience. Go easy on yourself, panic attacks are not your fault, nor are they easy to deal with - riding them out is often the best we can do, and that's okay.
Sources and further reading:
www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/coping-with-panic-attacks/
thiswayup.org.au/how-do-you-feel/panicked/
www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/docs/Panic-11_Calming-Technique.pdf
Discussion:
• Is there anything you would like to add to this list?
• What helps you the most when you have a panic attack?
• What doesn't work for you when you have a panic attack?
@PhoenixAsh
I would like to add that panic attacks usually have triggers. Is good to notice which ones we have, and how to deal with them.
Also that panic attacks do happen because we listen to our mean inner voice. Most people listen but ignore those hurtful, anxious thoughts. People with panic attacks tend to listen to it and it goes into a bigger scale.
p.s- this thread was so well done. The info well written, very clear, with good links.. 5 stars! :)
@Booklover95 Thanks for sharing! That's really true, knowing our triggers can help us understand what to expect from panic attacks. It's also a great point that listening to that mean inner voice can cause things to spiral into panic, that's a great thing to be aware of.
Thank you for the lovely feedback too, I'm glad you liked the thread ^-^
I suffered from panic attacks for about a year. It was unbearable. I thought that I was dying. But I came across one book that could help me when I had already lost all hope. Book title "Panic attacks are a myth of incompetent doctors: Get rid of them quickly, for free and for life". Here is a link on the Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FZH9PDS
@placidSail9625
Thank you for sharing this book.
What I notice calms me down the most is a system Ive seen before as follows:
name these out loud to yourself
5 things you can see
4 things you can touch
3 things you can hear
2 things you can smell
1 thing you can taste
Hope this helps!❤️
@Mycatissleeping8671 another thing that helps me is picking something to keep my eyes on (sometimes I get dizzy and the world starts spinning) and counting. Hopefully this also helps ❤️
@PhoenixAsh this is amazing what you put together here ash and im actually going to link to this thread and put it on my profile for people today great job 
@PhoenixAsh
I actually came across an article on 7 cups that said one of the best ways to stop a panic attack is to splash cold water on your face a few times while holding your breath. This activates the diving reflex (a survival reflex for when you are submerged in water) which has the exact opposite effects of a panic attack. It slows your heart rate and oxygenation progress and clears your mind. I havent actually had the chance to try this yet (I only just read it a week or so ago), so I would be thrilled to hear if anyone tries this technique and how it went!
@OceanFox ja, i'll try nwn
What really helps me calm down is holding a stuffed animal or something, and then focusing on how it feels, how soft it is, how it smells, and how it feels to squish it. This just helps me get some of my stress out.
Whenever I have anxiety attacks I feel alone, unable to focus or think. It feels like an "impending sense of doom". I have had these from childhood based on several factors I had no control over. Whwnever I have an attack I reach out to a friend. However, I am so consumed that it takes he upwards of a good part of an hour to get me somewhat under control. Therefore, I found this group where I can learn strategies to aid me.
Well i have suffered from anxiety and panic attacks for a few years. Firstly its knowing your triggers and recognising when it comes. A thing ive learned is its always slightly different symptoms and triggers for everyone so coping strategies tend to vary. Grounding techniques tend not to work for me same as a number of other techniques but threads like this help show new ideas and perspectives. Taking an ice cube and pressing against your wrist til it melts works best for me personaly as after a while the cold becomes the focus. The panic attacks for me tend to be me shaking, hot, feeling like im gonna be sick or being sick and the noise in my head is like a packed train station just a lot of noise and lack of being able to shut it out or focus so if anyones the same and wants a tip then theres a bit of advice from me and im always here to message 😊
@Axelfoley91 I feel like you described my attacks so perfectly. I have had depression for a number of years but anxiety is new to me over the past 18 months. It's got worse and worse and now I can't even sleep as these feelings keep me up at night. Thank you for sharing. I would like to message you in learning how some of your techniques helped.
Something most people don't understand is that panic attacks can be brought about at any time, and don't always have a clear cause or reason. Whenever I just start feeling panicky without a real trigger, most people assume I'm faking it, which gets very frustrating. 7 Cups has helped a lot in learning to understand and accept my feelings as they are, and not as people without anxiety think anxiety looks like.
Does anyone else have panic attacks triggered by driving fast like on a highway or interstate? That is my only trigger, but it is on the verge of destroying my relationship with my boyfriend, because we can't go on really go on road trips, which is important to both of us, but especially him. This is something I need to get under control ASAP to keep the person I love most. Any advice would be much appreciated.
@jubjubtheiguana7
yes. Not always, but most of mine have happened when I was driving far (20mins+) on the highway. A lot of the times I had coffee, so I've cut that out for the most part. Once or twice when I was the passenger. Makes me scared to drive after a bad one where I had to pull over. Other times I can drive a few hours and be totally fine - with usually talking myself out of the very beginning stages of panic ensuing before it becomes anything. So I feel you.