Tips to getting through a panic attack.

Tips from a licensed mental health therapist in Long Beach.

Having an anxiety attack (also known as panic attack) is difficult. The flooding of emotions can be traumatic; causing depletion and hopeless feelings.

Did you know, one of the easiest ways to experience exhaustion is get consumed in the validation of external forces. People tend to have panic attacks when they are focused on things outside of themselves that they cannot control.

Here are tips to get through your panic attack:

1. Make an appointment with your doctor to make sure there is nothing medically happening because often times panic attacks feel like heart attacks and it is important to check you’re your doctor to make sure that this is indeed a panic attack and not some other medical condition.
2. Remember that people don’t die from panic attacks and so it’s just a matter of getting through it and learning to tolerate the uncomfortableness of it.
3. Slow down your breathing so that you don’t hyperventilate. Take as deep of breaths as you feel comfortable taking.  If this causes you to become anxious, just breathe how you need to breathe and move to tip #4.
4. Take your shoes off (if you are at a place where this is appropriate) and rub your toes on the floor. How does it feel? Touch the floor or chair you are sitting on.  How does it feel?
5. Name 5 things you can see around you, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and/or taste.
6. Think back to a time where you felt relaxed (at the beach, on a vacation, etc) and focus on the things you could see, touch, hear and smell at that place. Connecting a calm place to a stressful experience can often help slow down the panic attack.
7. When it is done, try to pay attention to how long it lasted. Once you figure out how long your panic attacks usually last, you can remind yourself “this will be done in 20 minutes” (or however long they usually last). Most people have the hardest time with panic attacks because they feel like they are going to last forever.  So knowing the range of time that your panic attacks last can help.
8. Preparation is key! If you can find a guided meditation or visualization that you like, you can have it saved as a favorite on your phone so that when you feel the anxiety coming on, you can listen to it.
9. Preparation is key! Identify people in your life who are supportive and ask them for help. If they see you having a panic attack, have them read over this list to remind you of things you can do.
10. Preparation is key! Work with a therapist to develop a plan to reduce your panic attacks.  Often times when you learn to have some control over the panic attacks, they tend to have less of an impact.  Once they feel more like an inconvenience than a life crisis, they will often go away by themselves.

Since we believe the best therapist for anxiety is the one who you feel safest with, we have options of different therapists so that you can get the one you feel the most safe/comfortable with to start your journey of healing.  To take the first step, call Long Beach Therapy to schedule an appointment at 562-310-9741.