Helpful Strategies To Avoid Panic Attacks
Wondering how to avoid panic attacks? They cause an uncontrollable feeling of anxiety in the person who is exposed to it. The person even feels that they can die at the same moment, and feels hopeless. This feeling causes a terrible fear, and the fear increases the anxiety even more, which causes the panic attack to last longer.
This is a mental illness. Its causes can often be found in people who suffer from prolonged stress.
To control or avoid panic attacks, the person should start analyzing what challenges they have in their life. There they will surely find the cause.
Mental support is important to help self-awareness and self-control, which is essential to stay calm and prevent a panic attack.
Sometimes moderation of stress and avoiding situations that provoke anxiety will help so that this problem becomes less common and eventually disappears.
Symptoms
Panic attacks often occur without warning, especially the first time they occur. They usually last 10 to 20 minutes, although some symptoms may last longer.
What are the symptoms that someone may have a panic attack?
- Chest pain, dizziness, feeling of weakness
- Fear of losing control of the situation or fear of immediate death
- Difficulty breathing
- Abdominal pain or nausea
- Increased heart rate or palpitations
- Frostbite or tremors
If people often suffer from panic attacks, it is possible that they know they are about to get one before it occurs. This is the moment to put some strategies into practice that can help control the situation.
Strategies to avoid panic attacks
Analyze your lifestyle and things you can do to improve it.
- Mediter. Do an analysis of your lifestyle and things you can do to improve it. Pay attention to your diet, how much rest you get, recreational activities, and how much exercise you get. Adopt healthy habits. This is the very first thing you can do to avoid panic attacks.
- Do not think too much about it. Avoiding thoughts of anxiety is very important. It can be harmful to think about it or it can even lead to panic attacks, as fear is the root cause.
- Positive statements. Prepare some positive statements that you can repeat to yourself in the moments when you think a panic attack is imminent. The main theme should be “I’m not going to die, this is just fear.” Phrases like this can soothe your anxiety.
- Breath. Focusing your attention on breathing is an excellent strategy for getting rid of negative thoughts and fears. Be aware of your breathing: inhale, hold your breath for three seconds, and then exhale slowly. Full attention to your breathing will make muscles and joints relax.
- Focus with eyes and ears. Look at or observe something specific: a button on your clothes, a license plate on a car. Focus on specific sounds: car horns, bird chirps, people talking. Directing your mind to external stimuli will reduce your inner fears.
- Do not get angry or sad. You need to avoid blaming yourself for your anxiety. It does not help to think or say “I am so weak!”, “This is horrible”, or other expressions of that kind. None of this will solve your problem. In fact, it will only make it worse, it will deepen the problem. It is better to respond with humor.
- Accept to get help. It is now the moment for professional help is needed. A psychologist can help you overcome your problems.
Treatment
Professional treatment for people suffering from anxiety aims to help people live a normal life. They may need to resort to a combination of medication and psychotherapy.
Usually, the medications used are the same ones used to treat depression, or sedatives that calm the nerves.
Support groups have proven to be very effective in avoiding panic attacks. Sharing experiences with other people who have been in the same situation helps to combat the feeling of isolation.
People who suffer from panic attacks are particularly prone to alcohol or other drugs. It is important that family and friends keep their eyes open so this does not happen.
