On Surviving Panic Attacks

to help reduce having panic attacks you need to remember to breath in through your nose and out through your mouth and count while doing it. Another way to help manage your panic attack is to take your brain to another place so for example think of a beach, listen to the waves, feel the sand through your toes, and smell the breeze, That will take your mind of the attack!

I've had panic attacks since I was in fifth grade. They always happened at night when I first experienced them, and I seriously thought I was having a heart attack. Not uncommon to feel like that, or like you're losing it or out of control. But I didn't know that back then. Now I'm almost twenty-one, and I have a lot more tricks to make them more tolerable. Sometimes they even shorten them and weaken the intensity. These are a few that I use.

1.)Pop a peppermint candy into your mouth and just suck on it. Don't bite, I found that the tenseness in your jaw that biting creates isn't good when you are already so tense. Mint has soothing qualities, and it has literally cut the length of my attacks in half. And they are much more tolerable. I always keep a handful in my purse, and always offer them to anxious friends if they need them. A lot of them are skeptecal at first, but when they try it they feel better pretty fast! ;) If you're a guy you can just stick a couple in your pocket.

2.)One of the awesome older people in my life suggested this after I had a bad attack in school after watching a movie that triggered me. He said what helped his son was that they would sit with him and watch cartoons. This helped him a lot, and I decided to give it a shot. When I got home I was still shaky, so I watched an episode of Rugrats that I had recorded for my siblings. It WORKED. Maybe it was because it made me reminisce about childhood days, or maybe just the light heartedness was enough to divert my attention. But it defenitely worked for me. So, if you can record with your T.V, record a couple cartoons that you enjoy, or even shows from childhood that do re runs. Then the next time you start to feel anxious and panicky, just start playing one. It will divert your attention, and maybe even help you a lot.

3.)Aromatherapy can work wonders. I had a lavender set from Bath and Body works that I was very fond of. Body lotion, bubble bath stuff, but the best was the lavender pillow mist! It helped me so much, especially since I tend to get anxious about falling asleep on time. I would spray some all over me pillow, then allow ten to fifteen minutes for it to dry. I got great sleep, anxiety free, almost every time I used it. Lavender is well known for it's soothing properties, and can aid with sleep. I liked using the lotion before I went to school, and anytime I was feeling anxious would put a little on my hands, rub it in, and then let the scent do it's work to make me feel calmer. :)

4.)My last trick is one I use frequently for my worst trigger, doctors offices. I HATE them, mostly because I associate them with pain. I get very anxious, and the trick I use is I look at the ceiling, or at the wall in front of me. If there is a pattern, I focus intently on that pattern. The floor is tiled? Fine, I'll count the amount of tiles on the floor. Focusing intently on certain details in patterns or counting tiles on the floor both work equally well for me, keeping me effectively distracted and pretty calm.

These are just some of the tricks I have used and still use on a weekly basis whenever I come into contact with triggers. Hopefully it can help someone. ;)

Breathing techniques

The method of breathing isimportant. Adults on average breaths 15-20 times a minute more than they are suppose to do. This is because we don'tbreathe deep enough. Because of this faster breathing it triggers your body?s adrenal glands to produce morecortisolbecause the body relates faster breathing with fight or flight scenarios. These stress hormonesin turn increases anxiety, heart rate and many other anxiety symptoms.

Now that we examined the tempo/deepness of breathing let?s talk about which method of breathing is best for deep breathing.There are generally two methods of breathing, i.e. the chest expanding one and the stomach/diaphragmatic one. Thediaphragmaticone, i.e. breathing through your stomach fills the lungs with more oxygen.In other words with diaphragmatic breathing you fill the lungs with more oxygen which in turn helps to decrease the tempo of breathing.

Thirdly we have the option to breathe through our nose or mouth. Unfortunately most people in the west breathe through their mouths which have many disadvantages. Your brain associate mouth breathing withexertionand and some cases this increases stress hormones. The brain thinks you are losing carbon dioxide too quickly. Nose breathing also increases resistance to the nasal air stream which in turn increases the elasticity of the lungs. Breathing through the nose also many other benefits like greater resistance to colds and allergies.

To sum up breathing techniques:

1. Take fewer breaths by breathing deeper instead of high tempo shallow breathing.

2. Breathe through your stomach i.e. diaphragmatic breathing.

3. Breathe through your nose.