I once witnessed a severe case of a panic attack in my sophomore year. It happened while receiving lectures in a congested and noisy class which was quite chaotic, and then a student suddenly fell. She had a loss of breath and seemed to have a high level of terror, holding her chest like it was painful to breathe. At that time, many of us had no idea what was going on. We later learned it was a panic attack. Learning how to calm a panic attack is something we should all be aware of for safety purposes. This article explains in detail how to recognize and calm a panic attack.
Key Takeaways
- Panic attacks are overwhelming feelings of intense anxiety, fear, and fright.
- To calm a panic attack, you can try focusing on your breathing, repeating a mantra, or the 5-4-3-2-1 technique.
- Loss of control, intense fear, shortness of breath, chest pain, and nausea are some symptoms of panic attacks.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one of the methods used for counseling. CBT helps you change your mindset about challenging or frightening situations. It also guides you through new ways to approach these challenges when they come.
What Is a Panic Attack??
Panic attacks are overwhelming feelings of intense anxiety, fear, and fright. It triggers severe physical reactions that could make one feel out of control. It can be a very frightening situation, especially for people who do not understand the nature of panic attacks.
How to Calm a Panic Attack
When you have a panic attack, there are several proven ways to calm it. These techniques calm the discomforting symptoms of a panic attack.
Understand What’s Happening to You
A lot of people, especially people experiencing a panic attack for the first time are usually at a loss of what to do or even, what is going on. The symptoms of a panic attack, as stated earlier can be very frightening. Therefore, when having a panic attack, first of all, try to understand what’s going on. Keep in mind that despite how scared you are at the moment, you’ll be fine shortly. Research shows that panic attack lasts for a duration of 5 to 10 minutes. And while the symptoms may seem dangerous, they are actually not dangerous.
Focus On Breathing
Shortened breath is one of the major symptoms of a panic attack, It’s an indication that your body system is in the fight-or-flight mode, which is the body’s automatic response to danger, only in this situation, it is non-existent danger.
When having a panic attack, focus on taking calculated breaths. This is usually the first thing to do when you feel some anxiety symptoms. Breathe in and out deeply, intentionally, and slowly. Inhale deeply, but hold your breath before you let it out. Hold it for approximately 5 seconds before releasing it gradually. Continue doing this until you can clearly feel your anxiety decreasing.
Note that for some persons, focusing on breathing may not work, such persons ought to find an alternative such as looking for distractions.
Identify Your Triggers
One important thing to do when having a panic attack is to identify the trigger (if there is any), it can help you take appropriate preventive measures by avoiding your triggers. This will help you prevent it subsequently. For instance, if tiny spaces make you panic, then you should factor it in when making location choices. Make sure the space you are going for suits you appropriately. If stress triggers your panic attack, then you could learn to delegate duties to avoid being so stressed.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is simply taking in the reality around you. A panic attack can be so scary that it disconnects you from reality and makes you think negative thoughts. So, when having a panic attack, it’s important to practice mindfulness by slowly and consciously taking in the things around you. You could begin to name the various items you find in the room. You could also feel the things around you.
The whole idea of mindfulness is to help you to focus on the present. It can help ground you in the reality of what’s around you. Since panic attacks can cause a feeling of detachment or separation from reality, this can help fight your symptoms as its approaching or actually happening. One way to practice mindfulness is to meditate while lying down. This helps you relax and be present in the moment.
Repeat a Mantra
Repeating a mantra basically means finding a sacred utterance to engage in at the moment. For instance, you could choose to recite ‘’this feeling is only temporal’’ continually. You can continue to repeat it in a meditative way. It can help you relax and be present in the moment. When you do this for some time your physical responses to anxiety will start responding to what you are repeating. For this to work, It is important to actually believe what you are saying.
Seek Counseling
Counseling can be a sure way to put people who have panic disorders through their fears. In most cases, the object of their fear is shown to them and they are walked through the process of changing and reconditioning their mind to how they perceive the object. During therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one of the methods used for counseling
CBT helps you change your mindset about challenging or frightening situations. It also guides you through new ways to approach these challenges when they come. Some researchers claim that CBT directly affects the structure of the brain that is responsible for panic attack symptoms, thereby reducing symptoms. You can seek physical or virtual counseling. You could send a mail to us to get linked to an appropriate counselor for you.
5-4-3-2-1 Technique
This is a grounding technique that helps you focus on the present environment. It helps to distract you from the symptoms you feel using your 5 senses.
Here is how it works;
Name 5 things you can see around you. You can try to be specific.
Focus on 4 things you can feel or touch at the moment. For instance the texture of your hair, or the smoothness of the desk.
Acknowledge 3 sounds you can hear around you. It could be an ambient sound. E.g. The tick of the clock.
Acknowledge 2 things you can smell. This might need extra concentration to detect, depending on where you are at the moment.
Name 1 thing you can taste in your mouth. something you had previously, perhaps.
Think about a Place That Makes You Happy
Imagine a place that you really love to be. A place that makes you feel safe, calm, and relaxed. Maybe a beach, a mall, or even a coffee shop. Think about all the activities that calm you in that environment and all the good times you have had.
Engage in Light Exercise
Exercising can be a very effective way of preventing anxiety. If you exercise regularly it can reduce your chances of having a panic attack. Meanwhile, if you have already experienced a panic attack you can engage in light exercises to calm yourself. For instance, taking a slow walk can help calm your nerves. Endorphins which are released when you move around, help your body relax.
Causes of Panic Attack
It’s pertinent to note that panic attacks don’t always have obvious causative agents or triggers. That is to say, sometimes one can have a panic attack for no evident reason.
However, most panic attacks are caused as a result of certain disorders like anxiety disorder, panic disorder, overactive hormones, substance abuse, etc.
Panic attacks can occur for a number of reasons, including;
- Unrelated to any specific trigger and unexpected: These types of panic attacks are the most common. They usually occur when you are in a relaxed state sometimes even asleep. They do not have any specific trigger.
- Situational predisposition: Here, a trigger causes a panic attack. A panic attack may occur when exposed to the trigger or after the time of exposure and sometimes not at all even when exposed. For instance, when in a tiny space it may or may not happen. However, it might happen after you have gone home and remembered your experience.
- Emotionally-induced: These panic attacks are triggered by highly emotionally charged events.
- Situational-induced: The Panic attack is usually expected. It happens once you are exposed to your trigger or immediately after the exposure. They also occur when you animate the trigger. Unlike situational predisposition, there is always a panic attack once there is exposure to the trigger.
- Situational: These kinds of panic attacks occurs with a particular phobia. For instance, you get a panic attack each time you see a spider. You can prevent this panic attack especially when you are aware of your phobias.
When panic attacks become frequent, they could be a panic disorder. Panic disorders could be a result of situational-predisposed or emotionally induced circumstances. In this case, it’s advisable to seek counseling to get rid of the irate fear.
Symptoms of Panic Attack
The symptoms of a panic attack differ from person to person. What is obtainable in person A may or may not be obtainable in person B. To that effect, one may experience a panic disorder and have a feeling of anxiety, difficulty in breathing, profuse sweating, dizziness, etc., some other persons, however, might not show the exact same symptoms.
Although, some of the most recurring symptoms of a panic attack include: Nausea, sweating, quickened heartbeat, shortened breath, and a great feeling of terror.
The symptoms of a panic attack can be very frightening, but not dangerous.
Physical Symptoms of a Panic Attack
Panic attacks are often mistaken for serious medical conditions. This is because of the sudden occurrence and severity of the physical symptoms which include;
- Shortness of breath or
- Chest pain
- Nausea
- Chills
- Sweating
- Shaking or trembling
- Dizziness
- Shaking, feeling disorientated,
- Nausea
- Rapid, irregular heartbeats
Please note that all these symptoms do not exactly need to be present in a case of a panic attack The symptoms differ from person to person.
Emotional Symptoms of a Panic Attack
Aside from the physiological symptoms of panic attack, there are also emotional symptoms
- Intense fear
- Fear of dying
- A loss of connection from reality or a feeling of disconnection
- Loss of control
- A feeling of disorientation
These symptoms can occur alongside the physical symptoms and sometimes can linger a little bit after.
How to Help Someone Having a Panic Attack
When you are with a friend or an associate who suddenly develops a panic attack, usually, your automatic response is to panic too. Just like the victim, you are most likely to be frightened and unsure of how to help. However, when found in a situation like that, do not panic. When someone is having a panic attack, it’s simply the mind making them believe that there is danger whereas there is none. Panicking in the presence of someone who is having a panic attack is like affirming the person’s deceitful thoughts.
So, instead of panicking or making a fuss, remain calm. This would help the victim understand that this looming danger is just in his head.
Be reassuring. In such a situation, you are the most rational one there; therefore, you must be as reassuring as possible. Let the victim understand that the attack will soon pass and that it’s just a temporary phase.
Keep in mind that a panic attack may not make sense to you. You can Imagine how weird it is for someone to be terribly scared over ‘nothing’. Super weird right?? Well, the situation equally doesn’t make sense to the victims but it is what it is.
Therefore, if you find yourself with someone who is having a panic attack, cautiously walk them through the process that could calm their attack. And remember; try not to invalidate the person’s feelings. Kindly walk the person through some of the techniques above.
How Do You Stop a Panic Attack?
Deep breathing, grounding techniques, light exercise, and repeating a mantra can all help relieve the symptoms of a panic attack. People cannot always predict panic attacks, but having a strategy for what to do when they occur can help a person feel more in control and manage panic attacks more effectively.
What Is the 3-3-3 Rule for Panic Attacks?
You can apply the 333 rule to relieve anxiety when something triggers you. Simply look around, identify 3 items and 3 sounds, and then move 3 body parts. Many people find that this approach helps them focus and anchor themselves when anxiety becomes excessive. The 333 rule is a popular and informal strategy for dealing with anxiety.
What Is the First Aid for a Panic Attack?
Remove them from anything that is obviously causing distress. Encourage them to concentrate on their breathing and breathe gently and slowly, in and out via their nose and out of their mouth, to limit the amount of carbon dioxide released. Small sips of water may help to relax them. Stamp on the spot.
Conclusion
Panic attacks are one of those situations in which we find ourselves in _either as the victim or the onlooker_ that can be really terrifying. I recall how many of us feared the girl from my class would die after she was immediately rushed to the hospital. Seeing her in class the following day, hale and hearty like the incident of the previous day never occurred was a bit difficult to understand because we lacked the basic knowledge of what a panic attack was and how to calm a panic attack.
Sensitization of people on the concept of panic attacks is paramount as it is bound to happen to anybody and it’s important for us to always be prepared to manage it properly.
With the techniques above, I believe you should be able to help yourself or someone when there is a panic attack.
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