Anxiety Attacks Help
I had GAD. So recently, when I get really stressed out I'll have these small attacks. I cant breathe and I get really dizzy. It's like short little breaths though. It now has started when I'm walking up the stairs at school and I'll get to the top and get paranoid that people are looking at me and making fun of me. My breathing gets worse and it's hard to control. Does this happen to anyone else?
This type of physical response to anxiety is actually very normal. I learned from a counselor that heavy breathing and short breaths (along with clammy hands, etc) is a sign that your flight or fight response is activated, which is something that all of us do. We can't exactly control when this happens to us, unfortunately, but we CAN choose and control how we react when we get this way.
I've had issues with controlling anxiety attacks in the past, and actually still do, and one of the things suggested to me is to try to count, try to inhale and exhale slower, or if that doesn't work, try to go to a place not around people to calm down. The thing that really fuels my anxiety are my racing thoughts about things that probably aren't true, so positive self talk can also help.
Also, do you currently take medication? If not many of them out there are good for helping anxiety :)
