What To Do if Panic Attack Happens
Posted by Elroy Ward in Anxiety Management
Possibly, panic attack could be the most terrifying experience in your life. In fact, it can feel as if you have death itself, searching oblivion and annihilation straight in the eye. Men and women without panic disorder often make recommendations such as “deep breathing” or “listen to relaxing music”. What they don’t understand is how ridiculous these suggestions sound when in the thralls of a severe panic attack. Let’s put it in perspective: Let’s say that you are traveling by air at 30,000 feet and suddenly the plane starts spiraling down to earth. Oxygen masks are dropping, flight attendants are screaming, people are crying and breaking down. Do you think “deep breaths” or “relaxing music” is going to do anything in this type of situation? Of course not, and what individuals don’t recognize is that the adrenaline and sensations released during a panic attack is the same with a plane crash situation.
Having said that, most panic attacks have a peak that lasts several minutes, and then some outages before you start up again. Often it is the fear of a repeating panic attack that prompts this endless loop to continue. During the downtime it is critical to try and break the pattern, and here are some things you can consider to accomplish pattern interruption:
Turn off your mind! Usually it is over-thinking that prompted the panic attack to begin with. Most people are controlled by their thoughts, and a great fear is that we have lost control of our thoughts which is a symptom of insanity. Well the object is not to “control” our thoughts in this exercise but to simply observe them and allow them to exist without judgement. Ask yourself this question: “What will my next thought be?” Then wait for it, as if you are a cat waiting for a mouse to emerge from a mouse hole. When the thought comes, say “Ah, the thought was about heart disease or about not being in control”, then ask yourself again “What will my next thought be?” and continue this. Soon you will see that you have split up yourself from the train of thoughts, and you will naturally feel “in control” again.
The above method works because your thoughts and physical symptoms of panic are similar to a negative feedback loop. Your thoughts will prompt a physical reaction, which in turn prompts more thoughts, which prompts stronger physical symptoms and so on until you are completely out of control. By breaking that loop and being aware of your thoughts (not judging, just being aware of them), you are cutting off the fuel supply to the mind and gradually your body will stop responding and you will return to normal.
The above method describes what to do if panic attack happens, but you still need to prevent panic attacks from occurring in the first place.
