Informative Post- Panic Attacks💛

Hello everyone! I hope your all doing great💛 It's week 3 and this week I am going to be talking about panic disorder. I hope people find this useful.

-If you want to find my previous post about Generalised Anxiety Disorder, please click Here

Firstly, we of course have to go over what a panic attack is, so:

-What is Panic disorder?

Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder where you have regular, sudden panic attacks or attacks of fear. Someone who has panic disorder may have feelings of anxiety, stress and panic regularly at any time and often for no reason.

Sometimes we know what a panic attack is but we don't know what can happen during a panic attack, so this may help you understand:

-What can happen during a panic attack?

During a panic attack you get a rush of intense mental and physical symptoms. It can come on very quickly. A panic attack can be very frightening and distressing.

The symptoms can vary, which can make people confused. Sometimes people experience panic attacks without much shortness of breath and so some people automatically assume that it isn't a panic attack:

-Here are only some symptoms you can get during a panic attack:

• Racing heartbeat

• Feeling dizzy and/or faint

• Sweating a lot

• Chest pains

• Shortness of breath

• Feeling shaky

• Hot flushes or chills

• Feeling nauseous

-Things you can try yourself for during a panic attack:

• Do not fight it

• Stay where you are, if possible

• Breathe slowly and deeply

• Remind yourself that the attack will pass

• Focus on positive, peaceful and relaxing images

Of course these won't work for everyone but in case you want to try them, they are there😊

Whether you believe it or not, self-care is helpful for many things and it can also help with the aftermath of a panic attack 😱 crazy, right?

Some people may ask “But what can I do for self-care after a panic attack” so I have came up with some ideas that may or may not work for you. Keep in mind that everyone is different so I can't guarantee it will work for you:

Self-Care for after a panic attack:

• Take the rest of the day slowly- When having a panic attack, our heart rate and breathing speeds up. So if you take the rest of the day slowly without rush, it can help your body and breathing to get back to normal speeds.

• Have a drink of water- Panic attacks often dry out our mouths and cause us to sweat which can leave us feeling dehydrated, so drinking water can help with any dehydration, dry mouth and/or headaches.

• Eat something (even if it's little)- Food can boost your energy and after a panic attack, it can often leave you feeling tired. So even if it's something small to eat, it can still help a bit with the tiredness (if you can't or don't want to sleep😛).

• Talk to someone- After having a panic attack, talking to someone can be helpful. It can be helpful to talk to someone about things that may have contributed to our panic attack and could contribute to another panic attack. Having the space to talk to someone about what you have experienced can often help us reflect, which brings us to the final point!

• Reflect- Once you have recovered from a panic attack and after having a rest, it can helpful to reflect fully on what happened, either on your own or with someone else. Reflecting on what may have triggered the panic attack, the way you coped with it and whether or not the way of coping was helpful, can help you to cope/come up with future ways to help with a panic attack.

I hope this helped someone either wanting to understand more about panic attacks or someone who suffers from panic attacks.

Take care! Your amazing 💛