Anybody who’s had a panic attack can tell you just how crippling its symptoms are. Shortness of breath, sudden sweating, and heart palpitations are just a few of the physical indicators of an attack. Mental symptoms include an intense onset of anxiety, feelings of dread, and distrust of your surroundings.
What exactly is a panic attack, though — and how can you cope if you’re in the middle of one?A panic attack — sometimes used interchangeably with the phrase “anxiety attack” — is an episode of intense fear accompanied by severe physical reactions. Panic attacks often have no clear trigger, whereas an anxiety attack is typically prompted by specific stimuli.
If you experience either of these phenomena — or both — you’re part of the 11% of Americans who will have a panic or anxiety attack at some point. Luckily, there are strategies that can help you mitigate the symptoms and maintain control even in the midst of an attack. Check out the following four coping mechanisms you can try the next time you feel a panic attack approaching.
1. Breathing Exercises
Breathing exercises are one of the most effective remedies for a panic attack. Difficulty breathing is a common symptom of an impending attack, so if you notice this happening, you can combat symptoms by engaging in one of the following exercises.
Lengthened Exhale
The lengthened exhale breathing exercise is one of the easiest and most effective to try. You may have been told at some point to “take a deep breath,” but according to the Cleveland Clinic, inhaling deeply can actually trigger the sympathetic nervous system and worsen panic attack symptoms. Exhaling, on the other hand, has been shown to impact the parasympathetic nervous system, which can help you calm down. To take advantage of this, you should take deep breaths, but be sure to lengthen your exhale and consciously push all of the air out of your lungs.
Belly Breathing
When you’re performing a breathing exercise, there are many parts of your body you can focus on, and the belly is one of the best. When you focus on this area, you are actually focusing on the diaphragm—the muscle in your abdomen that helps your lungs pull in air. You can leverage this by following these steps:
- Lie down or sit with bent knees
- Place a hand under your rib cage
- Put the other hand over your heart
- Inhale through your nose slowly
- Exhale through your nose slowly
- Notice how your belly moves
- Notice how your chest moves
Practicing belly breathing exercises on a daily basis can help you develop breathing patterns that maximize oxygen intake, which can mitigate the symptoms of a panic attack — or prevent them altogether.
2. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is another effective strategy that can combat the symptoms of an in-progress panic attack. This technique involves paying close attention to your thoughts — much like breathing exercises prompt you to pay attention to your breaths. You can even combine these approaches with exercises like counting breaths.
To try this exercise, start by closing your eyes and counting each breath that you take. If your count progresses quickly, you might be breathing too fast. Take a moment to focus on a few extended inhalations and exhalations. If this distracts you from the count, don’t worry — that’s the objective. Mindfulness is all about achieving awareness of your feelings and emotions. Consider some of the following mindfulness exercises, too.
Acknowledging Your Surroundings
Sometimes your surroundings play a major role in a panic attack, and sometimes they’re simply the backdrop for your experience. In either case, though, it can help to focus on your surroundings, including elements such as:
- Objects around you
- Sounds you hear
- Smells you can detect
- People you see
- Anything you taste
Making note of elements in your surroundings can help you maintain mindfulness while also distracting you from the onset of a panic attack.
Establishing Body Awareness
Before you can fully tune into your thoughts, it may help to tune into the physical sensations you’re feeling. If you’re in the midst of a panic attack, this can be overwhelming, but it’s a necessary step to achieving mindfulness. Start by paying attention to physical phenomena such as tightening muscles, shortness of breath, or weakness in your limbs. You can move, alter your breath, or sit down to see if these feelings change or improve.
3. Relax Your Muscles
Tightening muscles are, in fact, a common symptom that may accompany a panic attack. This is a physiological response that occurs in response to danger, and when you’re having a panic attack, your body will react as though it is in danger. In order to ease the symptoms of an attack, then, you need to relax your muscles — and the following strategy will help you do so.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation — also sometimes simply called PMR — is a technique to combat the involuntary tightening that often happens during a panic attack. You can use this strategy by following these steps:
- Find a position that’s comfortable — sitting, standing, or lying down
- Breathe through your nose, focusing on your diaphragm, and slowly exhale
- Tighten and release muscles in your feet by clenching and unclenching toes
- Repeat this process as you work your way up your body
- Tighten and release muscles in your legs, abdomen, arms, shoulders, throat, etc.
After this, you should take a few extended breaths and make note of how you feel. You will likely feel more relaxed and the tension throughout your body should be alleviated.
4. Try Counseling or Medication
Many people find that counseling and medication are the most effective solutions for addressing panic attacks. Of course, it’s not possible to immediately seek these options when you’re experiencing a panic attack in real time. Still, forming a plan to seek treatment for panic attacks in Nashville may provide a sense of calm that helps minimize the symptoms of an attack.
How Counseling Can Help Panic Attacks
If you’re looking for counseling in Nashville for panic attacks, you may not know what to expect. Counseling can take many forms and utilize a variety of techniques, but one of the most commonly used approaches is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT aims to help people change their actions by recognizing — and redirecting — the patterns of thought that may precede unwanted behavior.
A study published in the Clinical Psychology Review reveals that CBT is particularly effective in treating panic disorders. According to the research, patients suffering from a panic disorder experienced only a 5.6% attrition rate one year after receiving cognitive-behavioral treatment. Indeed, many people find that the strategies at the core of CBT offer long-term tools for dealing with panic attacks and anxiety.
How Medication Can Help Panic Attacks
Though therapy is undoubtedly a helpful tool, many people who deal with panic attacks find that they still need additional support to combat symptoms. If you’re one of these people, you may be looking for anxiety medication in Nashville. Medication can be a powerful tool for controlling panic attacks by mitigating the physical and mental symptoms. In order to find the best treatment, you should understand the options that are available.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are one of the most common medication groups for treating panic disorder. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the following SSRIs for the treatment of panic disorder:
- Prozac, generic name fluoxetine
- Paxil or Pexeva, generic name paroxetine
- Zoloft, generic name sertraline
SSRIs work by slowing the neurotransmitter serotonin’s reabsorption in the brain. This makes more serotonin available in the brain, which in turn, helps to regulate anxiety.
Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are another class of medication that may help alleviate panic attacks. The only SNRI that is currently FDA-approved to treat panic disorder is Effexor XR, which has the generic name of venlafaxine. Effexor works by increasing the activity of your brain’s neurotransmitters, including serotonin and norepinephrine, which are associated with reduced anxiety.
Finally, benzodiazepines can be used to treat panic attacks. There are two medications in this class that are FDA-approved to treat panic disorder — Xanax, which has the generic name of alprazolam, and Klonopin, which has the generic name of clonazepam. These medications carry the potential for dependence and can be dangerous if mixed with other drugs or alcohol. For these reasons, they’re best used on a short-term basis.
Discover Treatment for Anxiety in Nashville and Throughout Tennessee
The key to finding the best treatment for panic attacks is partnering with a competent and compassionate psychiatric provider. Finding treatment for anxiety can be challenging when many mental health centers aren’t accepting new patients or they have limited hours for appointments. Rose Behavioral Health offers telehealth appointments so that patients throughout Tennessee can find solutions for panic attacks. Learn how medication management can provide the relief you need from symptoms of panic attacks. Reach out to one of our providers for more information if you’re ready to put panic attacks in the past.
