How To Stop An Anxiety Attack
How To Stop An Anxiety Attack In Both The Immediate And Long Term.
If you need to stop an anxiety attack right now, here is our 4 step formula explaining what to do:
Firstly, focus on your breathing. Taking long slow deep breaths is extremely important in order to stop anxiety attacks. Make the breaths as long and as smooth as possible. The more you control your breathing the more the anxiety attack will subside. Whilst doing this remember that you have had anxiety attacks in the past and come through them with no problems, so therefore it is highly likely the same will happen again!
Secondly, using your inner voice shout to yourself ‘stop’. End the negative cycle of thoughts right now and prevent the spiral of negative thoughts from getting an even stronger grip on your state of mind.
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Thirdly, insert a positive affirmation into your thought cycle. Silently repeat to yourself something along the lines of: “It’s just an anxiety attack and will finish shortly”, “It is only fear that is making my heart rate faster – my heart is fine”, “Everything will be fine”, “I’ve been through these before with no probs and will do so again.”
Fourthly, do not be tempted to fight against the feelings. If you do that, it makes them worse. Accept the feelings that you have, acknowledge them for what they are – just feelings, and let them pass through you. Fighting them holds them in your attention and prevents them from passing through you as fast. Relax and let the anxiety attack run its course safe in the knowledge that you will be fine!
How To Stop An Anxiety Attack In The Medium To Long Term:
Now you need to implement a few strategies to stop anxiety attacks in the medium to long term. Reducing the frequency and severity of the attacks is the end goal here and is perfectly possible if you spend some time learning how to correctly use the following techniques.
These techniques revolve around basic psychotherapy (cognitive behavioural therapy) which attempts to alter the way you behave and act in order to diffuse the anxiety attacks.
Often your doctor would send you to meet weekly meetings with a therapist to stop anxiety attacks without medication, however you can of course pursue and practise these techniques on your own which is highly recommended.
Controlled breathing practise is the first most basic technique. Simply spend a few minutes per day practising taking long slow deep inhalations and controlled exhalations. Whilst doing this is essentially simple, it is the getting used to a settled breathing pattern that is so important. If you can formulate your own steady pattern of breathing then it will be much easier to control your breathing if you feel an anxiety attack beginning to come on.
The second technique is to meditate regularly. This is not some religious activity but involves simply spending 5 -10 minutes per day sitting quietly with your eyes closed focused on your breathing as above. Whilst focussing on your breathing allow all other thoughts to drift away. Doing this provides a surprisingly great release of anxiety and lowers the general underlying level of anxiety for the rest of the day. Doing this consistently, over a period of time, can significantly help to stop panic attacks.
The third technique to stop panic attacks is an extension of meditation. Whilst you are meditating you need to start visualising. You need to build a picture in your mind’s eye of yourself relaxing somewhere – happy and care free. You could picture yourself sunbathing on the beach, hiking in the mountains whatever symbolises relaxation to you.
Build this picture of you in your mind and focus on really feeling the feelings that you would as if you were there. Feel the sun on your skin, the wind in your hair and allow yourself to feel the same feelings of relaxation. The more often you do this the easier it will become. Once you have done this a few times, the next time you start to feel an anxiety attack coming on you can start to visualise and instead of the feelings of anxiety getting worse, they will get less and less as you slip back into your deck chair on the beach or mountain lodge in the Alps.
Mastering the above techniques is a sure fire way to stop anxiety attacks. Some sufferers who have difficulty with these techniques may in consultation with their doctor try a course of medication to stop anxiety attacks.
The most common types of medication prescribed are anti-depressants. These do of course come with side effects and it is down to the patient alone as to whether or not they feel that the overall benefits out-weigh the negatives. Typical side effects of antidepressants include: depression, feelings of agitation, nausea, headaches, dizziness, vision problems, insomnia and abdominal pain.
It should also be remembered that it can take up to one month of medication before the full benefits are felt of the medication.
Overall though, it should be of comfort to sufferers that much research is being done to better answer how to stop an anxiety attack and that many people can and will learn to stop anxiety attacks through the techniques outlined above.