If you’ve experienced panic attacks during moments of duress, don’t worry; you’re not alone. It’s normal for our nervous system to get overwhelmed when a lot is happening. A panic attack is a sudden and intense episode of overwhelming fear or anxiety, often accompanied by physical symptoms. It typically peaks within minutes and can include a combination of symptoms like heart palpitation, rapid breathing, sweating or chills, nausea, dizziness and nausea.
Below, we’ll take a deep dive into the symptoms and causes and explain how you can manage your panic attack better when you have it the next time.
If you’re wondering what is a panic attack, let us break it down for you. They are sudden and intense surges of anxiety, and they can have both physical as well as emotional symptoms. And these symptoms might reach their peak within minutes. You might feel trapped and feel out of control. Panic attack, meaning itself, means to panic uncontrollably – your body goes into a fight-or-flight response which might lead you to freeze. During such episodes, hormones like adrenaline and cortisol are released, and your body thinks it’s in danger even when it is not. Your panic attack might look a lot like a heart attack or a stroke. Some people report experiencing intense chest pain, sweating, and heart palpitations. However, panic attack symptoms might differ from person to person. Some of the most common signs of a panic attack are heavy breathing, panicked thoughts, feeling of impending doom, dizziness or nausea and tightening of muscles. The good news is that panic attacks are manageable, and all of them phase out sooner or later if you can ride the wave and calm yourself in the moment. The key is to identify what triggers these and then treat the symptoms when you start experiencing them.
Further, let’s understand panic attack vs anxiety attack. A panic attack is more potent than an anxiety attack. Panic attack symptoms have more physical manifestations, while anxiety attack symptoms are more emotionally manifested. All panic attacks are anxiety attacks, but the same is not true the other way around. Many studies have suggested that meditation helps these attacks immensely, and it is one of the most effective tools to deal with them. We’ve also listed some additional ways to manage these attacks below.
Panic attacks are not predictable, so it’s important to understand the common causes that may be your triggers, identify the signs of an impending panic attack, and answer the question of how to control panic attacks.
Common Causes of Panic Attacks
Panic attacks can occur for a range of reasons. Sometimes these reasons might not be so apparent. These attacks happen due to triggers and triggers differ from person to person. So it’s difficult to pinpoint one particular cause. It could be just one condition or a combination of conditions. However, some common causes of panic attacks that have been observed are as follows.
- Experiencing a traumatic or stressful event like a loved one’s death or divorce.
- Having a family history of panic attacks.
- Chemical imbalance in your brain pathways.
- Childhood trauma or abuse.
- A petulant temperament.
Effective Ways to Control Panic Attacks and Anxiety
Below are a few things you can do to regain control over your thoughts when you’re having an attack. Different tools might work for different people, so don’t worry if some of these don’t work for you during moments of duress. If you’ve always wondered how to control panic attacks, one or more of the techniques listed below should definitely help.
1. Deep Breathing
When you’re having a panic attack, you’ll notice that your breathing gets faster, shallower and heavier. To slow it down, try deep breathing. Even though it might feel like a difficult task to do at that moment, try to slow down your breaths. Remember that this attack will pass. We recommend using the 4-7-8 breathing method. In this method, you inhale for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds and exhale for 8 seconds. This is an effective breathing method that’s guaranteed to slow you down.
2. Meditation
If you suffer from anxiety, meditation is a great daily practice to adopt anyway. It triggers the body’s relaxation response which is the opposite of the fight-or-flight response you experience during a panic attack. It’s understandable if you think meditation is difficult during an attack, as it’s challenging to quiet your thoughts when they’re racing. But you can start calming yourself by picturing your happy place in these moments. Then slowly move towards visualising the details of this happy place. It could be a holiday home, a beach you love or any other place that evokes the feeling of peace and joy for you. You can then focus on remembering how you feel in this place. To support your visualisation further, you can listen to calming music or sounds. SoulSensei also has some great short guided meditation sessions that you can listen to during these moments. Different techniques work for different people, but meditation is one of the most effective tools to manage anxiety as well as panic attacks.
3. The 5-4-3-2-1 Method
These episodes may feel like everything is spiralling out of control, so this method is a great way to practice mindfulness and ground yourself. This method recommends that you notice five different objects around you and make a mental list of them. Listen to 4 different sounds around you. Touch three different objects and make a mental note of how they feel, such as their texture and temperature. Smell 2 different aromas around you. And name one thing you can taste at that moment. Experts suggest that this method works just as well to manage a panic attack as it does to manage anxiety.
4. Chant an Affirmation
Keep note of an affirmation that works best for you, like ‘I’m in control of my thoughts’ or ‘I’m the master of my mind’. When you’re having these attacks, repeat these words to yourself to help you calm down and rewire your brain to relax.
5. Muscle Relaxation
Your shoulder and chest muscles can become stiff during such episodes, and muscle relaxation techniques can help slow down an attack. This involves tensing your muscles for 5 seconds, then releasing the muscles and repeating the word ‘relax’, then letting that muscle relax for 10 seconds and repeating the exercise.
6. Prescribed Medication
If you feel like these attacks are out of control, seek a professional opinion and take the medication prescribed by them. Some panic attacks are strong enough and cannot be cured without medication. The only rule is to avoid any over-the-counter drugs and only take what’s prescribed.
It is common to experience panic attacks, especially if you suffer from anxiety. They are an intense and sudden surge of feelings that are powerful enough to disrupt your day-to-day life. These attacks can look a lot like a stroke or a heart attack and, therefore, are unpredictable. The key is to identify your triggers and use tools like meditation, medication, aromatherapy, exercise, and more, individually or in combination.
If you’re looking for meditation practices or breathing exercises that can help with feelings of anxiety or panic, explore the SoulSensei website and find several guided practices that can help you with this.
If you experience panic attacks for longer and more often, then we recommend you contact your health practitioner or a mental health professional, as they will be able to guide you better.
Sources
- Medical News Today – How can you stop a panic attack? By Jamie Smith.
- Healthline – 13 Ways to stop a panic attack. By Ana Gotter.
- Verywellmind – How to manage panic attacks with meditation. By Wendy Wisner.