How to calm down during a panic attack

These unpleasant experiences can lead us to lose control. What to do?

Everyone experiences, to a greater or lesser extent, what we know as anxiety. This state of psychological and physiological activation often goes hand in hand with a very significant discomfort, as well as a feeling of alertness or fear, even if it is not always possible to control it. even if there is nothing close by that constitutes a real danger..

However, there are those who, in addition to feeling anxiety in complex and demanding day-to-day contexts (such as before an exam), experience panic attacks on a relatively frequent basis. If feeling anxious is normal, going through these attacks is not so normal, since these experiences are qualitatively different from what can happen to us when we notice that the day is getting harder.

In this article we will see how to regain control and calm down during a panic attack.However, it is difficult to find an "instant cure" and much of the success or failure of this task will depend on the situation in which we find ourselves. But first, let's start with the basics.

What is a panic crisis?

This phenomenon has different dimensions. In its psychological aspect, an attack of panic supposes the experience of an intense fear that comes on suddenly, and often withoutand often without a clear trigger or with a rather diffuse one. For example, it can appear when hiking in a place where there are many bushes with thorns on the sides of the path, even if it is relatively difficult to prick oneself with them.

Panic attacks have, therefore, a purely emotional root, unrelated to logic, ifThis is not always the case, however, and real dangers can trigger them. These seizures usually last a few minutes, although sometimes they can last up to an hour or more. The basic symptoms are as follows:

• Dizziness.
• Nausea.
• Loss of balance.
• Difficulty speaking.
• Difficulty breathing normally.
• quickening of the pulse.
• tremors and numbness of the muscles.
• Thoughts associated with fear.

Thus, panic attacks are something similar to what would happen if we were to release all the anxiety stored up for days and make it affect us in a concentrated manner in a few minutes, especially during the first five minutes. On the other hand, in many occasions the appearance of these episodes is unpredictable, among other things because their onset does not even depend on whether we are thinking about something stressful.

What to do during a panic attack?

To manage your panic attack in the best possible way and calm down as soon as possible, follow the guidelines below.

1. If you can, look for a quiet place nearby.

It is good to look for a quiet place, since avoiding exposure to environments overloaded with stimuli can fuel panic.. However, it is very important that you look for that space of relative calm in the closest places where you are, just a few meters away.

If you intend to move around more, for example by changing floors of the building you are in or going to a park, this may in practice turn into an escape. Which brings us to the next tip.

2. Don't run away

Running away only confirms the frame of mind you are in when experiencing panic, as it reminds you that there is something you should try to get away from. That means that, if you move a lot, it's very easy to turn that simple move into a hasty retreat.This, in turn, feeds the fear that the situation that affects you may follow you (yes, even if what you are panicking about is not something material or is very diffuse).

Don't look for complex mental distractions.

Imposing yourself the task of thinking about very complex things will only frustrate you, since, as you are going through a panic crisis, you will not be able to do it, giving you more reasons to worry.

That is to say, if when you feel the symptoms of such a crisis you start trying to remember which were the Goths kings of the Iberian Peninsula, or you propose to rehearse an imaginary conversation, the failure will remind you again and again that something serious enough to sneak into your mind is going on, and that you will not be able to do it. something serious enough to slip through all your mental processes..

4. Adopt a very passive attitude

To calm down during an anxiety attack, it is best to stay in something like a "hibernation state": not to concentrate on anything in particular, not to pay attention to anything going on around you. Assuming that the main problem is the panic attack itself and not a real danger located nearby, the desirable thing to do is to disengage from everything and let the experience pass by itself, just as a skier would do.The best thing to do is to let the experience pass by itself, just as a skier would do when he notices an ice floe underneath him.

An aid to achieve this is to stop focusing our gaze and then mentally repeat a very simple word, without paying attention to whether we are doing it right or not.