

Moderated by
Penny Dahlen, Ed.D., LPC
Licensed Professional Counselor
I am committed to helping you find your passion, heal old wounds, and flow smoother in all aspects of your life path! I use a compassionate listening approach.
Top Rated Answers
The best way to stop anxiety attacks is not to avoid things that trigger you, but to develop skills to mitigate your reaction to circumstances.
Maybe try some breathing exercises, closing you're eyes and relaxing. Anyway to calm yourself down would be helpful to you.
Anonymous
April 28th, 2016 5:45pm
Unfortunately, You can't. I've been having panic attacks since I was a teenager, However what you can do is learn how to deal with them when they happen and their triggers. After a couple of years of having panic attacks, I now know what triggers my panic attacks and how to handle them when they do occur.
The best think to do to stop and anxiety attack is to sit down and takes some breaths. Focus on your breathing. If you take pills, then take a pill also.
Anonymous
May 2nd, 2016 10:17pm
Write a list of your skills. Read it 2-3 times a day. Do some meditation or yoga. Practice affirmations.
Anonymous
May 6th, 2016 1:55am
A tactic I use to prevent anxiety attacks is to plan ahead and make sure I am comfortable in the situation. If I feel an anxiety attack coming on, I listen to music and take deep, slow breaths.
1. Control your breathing by breathing in slowly and gently through your nose for about 5 to 7 seconds. Hold for about three or four seconds. Breathe out slowly and gently through pursed lips like you're whistling for about 7 to 9 seconds. 2. Talk to someone you feel safe around 3. Try some sports. And best advice I can give to you find what relaxes you.
Breathing exercises and mindfulness can relieve the symptoms of an anxiety attack as well as trying to change your state of mind, for example thinking calmly about the situation and rationalizing threats rather than thinking worst case scenario.
Try to breath in and out slowly, In through your nose and out with your mouth. Find a position that makes you feel safe and the hardest thing: try to stop thinking about what's making you anxious and focus on something else.
You can't. But you can always manage it, find the trigger. Mine? Strangers or people in general. What I always do to make the attacks worst is simply listening to a song. A particular song that can actually make me feel safe.
Anonymous
May 13th, 2016 12:38pm
When one comes, focus on your breathing+try to immediately get involved in whatever makes you happy.
There isn't an actual cure for anxiety. And "stop worrying about things" is DEFINITELY not the cure for it. But what you can do is make yourself busy with what makes you happy and what makes you feel relaxed. Do what's best for you, don't hang out with people who always make you nervous.
Breathing techniques often help reduce severe anxiety. Although it is not a permanent fix, it can help before you are having a panic attack. Another thing that I would recommend is exercise, it can help regulate your breathing, and help prevent panic attacks.
You can, however learn how to deal with anxiety attacks. You can try and find things that help you when you are having an attack. Things like deep breathing exercises can help. Everyone is different, of course. There is possibly something out there that can help with your attacks.
Anonymous
May 19th, 2016 4:17am
I don't think there's anyway to stop them entirely. But it helps to avoid stressful situations and use coping techniques when in stressful situations. There are many breathing exercises that may be helpful, as well as other things.
I use grounding and mindfulness techniques because they focus on crisis survival. I do a little excersize of identifying 5 things I see, 4 things I can hear, 3 things I can touch, 2 things I smell and either one the I can taste or a positive affirmation.
Over time, I learned what my triggers are, and how I will typically feel right before an anxiety attack. To talk myself down, I'll have an honest conversation with myself. What am I anxious about? Why am I anxious about it? Do I have a valid reason to be? What is my desired outcome?
Other methods I like to use: aromatherapy. I have so many lavender candles, and essential oils that I like to use that help me calm down and feel good. Going for walks and taking a hot bath also helps, and doing something completely separate from my current situation. Pick any activity that you know is going to make you feel good, or that you like to do. Do that for a few minutes or as long as you need to.
I try to think about something else: for me, what is actually working is to watch some stupid television show (and I don't watch general tv at all, so I know it may be sounds strange :D it sounds strange even to me). I've found helpful even reading random stuff like labels or short paragraphs in books, while sipping a hot chamomile tea or vervein tea.
Anxiety attacks can't always be stopped, but it's good to use some way of grounding yourself when you feel one coming. Go to a place you feel safe in, possibly with people you trust, and talk to them or yourself to help settle the situation.
By focusing on your breathing slowly, as well as focusing on what is around you. Focus on: 5 things that you can see, 4 things that you can touch, 3 things that you can hear, 2 things you can smell and one thing you can taste. This is called "grounding" and can help you focus on the reality of what is around you and help calm you down.
Stopping an anxiety attack is different for everyone. Although, one trick I found is to try and close your eyes and recognize at least three different sounds you hear. This trick seems to work especially if you can feel it coming on. Just recognize and label those sounds, and continue if three is not enough.
I use the grounding method. You tell the person who is experiencing the anxiety attack to answer the following questions to keep them in their surroundings.
•5 things they can see
•4 things they can touch
•3 things they can hear
•2 things they can smell
•1 thing they can taste
Anonymous
April 25th, 2017 1:06am
There are great resources on the internet for stopping anxiety attacks however my personal go-to's are using breathing techniques to control my breathes and heart rate. If I'm try to prevent the attack, I look for outlets like working out, listening to music, meditation. If I'm trying to stop it once it's begun I use breathing techniques, distractions, and yoga. Find things that work for you! And work towards figuring out what is causing the attacks and what you can do to eliminate them for good.
It can be different for everyone, but one of the best methods is breathing exercises. If that doesn't work, picture the situations that make you anxious in the safety of your own home and analyse them. Why are you anxious? Is there a threat? Is my reaction appropriate?
There are many ways to identify an anxiety attack and stop it. Some has to do with logic thinking some has to do with ways to distract yourself and some with physical activities. You should find what works for you.
I can only talk about panic attacks, i'm not sure about the difference. So when they start you can't stop them. From experience i can tell you that for me, trying to stop them makes it worse, recognize and accept that it is an anxiety attack and wait for it to pass. Because it always will.
Anonymous
July 23rd, 2019 9:11pm
while it's not always easy to stop an anxiety attack, there are ways to manage it. one such way is through a grounding exercise, which helps bring you back to reality by helping you focus on concrete things, like things you can see, hear, feel, smell, or taste. another thing that can help is breathing exercises, which can help trigger the response of your parasympathetic nervous system, or the part of your nervous system that calms you down. a common breathing exercise is breathing for four seconds, holding your breath for four seconds, and breathing out for four seconds. these are a couple things that can help you cope with an anxiety attack.
I try to bring myself back into the moment. I focus on my breathing and say 'All I have to do is breathe in...all I have to do is breathe out'. When I can feel the panic start to subside, I will try and focus on my five senses:
5 things I can see
4 things I can feel
3 things I can hear
2 things I can smell
1 thing I can taste
It can be very difficult, but the breathing can really help. Another thing I can do is to focus on something in my hand - maybe my hand itself, or a pen. I will talk to myself about what the pen feels like, the size, the colours, the textures. Really focus on the pen to bring me back into the moment.
Unfortunately, there's no proven way to "Stop" a panic attack. There are some ways you can use to help avoid setting one off.
Avoiding stressful situations is a good place to start.
Finding coping mechanisms that help you relax and building habits that you do regularly that help you calm down are helpful too.
All-in-all stopping an anxiety attack can be more about preventing it from starting. However if it does start there are somethings that can help.
Controlled breathing excercises (Intake breath for 5 seconds, hold for 2, then breath out for 4 seconds)
Also going to a happy/calming headspace can help pull you out of it
I hope this helps :)
Related Questions: How can you stop anxiety attacks?
How can I overcome anxiety if I can't talk to a therapist or my own doctor?How do I get over feeling that everyone is going to leave me?Everything in my life is messed up. Motivation works temporarily and I'm not suicidal but feel it's pointless to live like this. What should I do to feel hopeful? How can I get what I need from my doctor? I feel extremely sick whenever I leave my house, what can I do? I have trouble with my school work due to procrastinating. And my anxiety always gets in the way. How do I get things done?A family member thinks I am lying about where I am going but I'm not, what should I do?How do I know if I did the right thing?Is it hard to think critically about something you love?How do I overcome the fear of cashiers?