What to do when faced with an ANXIETY ATTACK?

Research suggests that most people will experience at least one anxiety attack in their lifetime. Those who behave more anxiously will have more anxiety attacks and some of they will develop a panic disorder when anxiety attacks interfere with their daily life. In this Psychology-Online article, we explain what to do before an anxiety attack and how to act at all times.

Index

1. Causes of an anxiety attack
2. How to control an anxiety attack?
3. Tips for anxiety attacks

An anxiety attack is a high stress response triggered by worries, fears, or anticipating that something bad is going to happen. Anxiety can also be the cause of the involuntary action of a stressed body. Before seeing what to do before an anxiety attack, it is important to know the causes of it. Here are the causes of an anxiety attack:

• Family or emotional problems: include the situations of divorce, separation or grief or loss of a loved one.
• Pressure for work and financial: difficulties in coping with responsibilities or changing jobs.
• Have less physical mobility: reduced physical abilities can cause stress.
• Pathologies: social phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
• Factors genetic: there are people genetically more prone to stress.
• Afraid: fear of certain situations such as public speaking or due to a psychological disorder.

Types of anxiety attacks

To know how to control an anxiety attack, it is also important to know what types of anxiety attacks exist:

• Voluntary anxiety attacks: When we think something bad is going to happen, we worry and the body activates a stress response.
• Involuntary anxiety attacks: when the body activates a stress response due to accumulated stress.

Once an anxiety attack has been triggered, there are some things you can do to stop it and reduce its symptoms. Although it may take time and may seem difficult at first, we can all control our anxiety. We tell you how to control an anxiety attack.

• Understand the anxiety attackTo know what to do in an anxiety attack you have to understand what an attack is, what causes it, how your body responds, the stages of the stress response and how stress affects the body. Recognize the anxiety attack It favors not being afraid of it and stopping it.
• Stop being afraid: Another solution for anxiety attacks is not to be afraid of them. of the most common causes of recurrence of anxiety attacks and can develop a panic disorder. If you eliminate your fear, one of the main causes, the anxiety attack disappears.
• just relaxCalming yourself is a surefire way to end, control, and prevent anxiety attacks. The more relaxed you are, the less the panic attack and sooner you will feel better. Keep in mind that the physiological, psychological and emotional changes resulting from a minor stress response last approximately less than 10 minutes. You should try to stay calm until the body recovers from the stress response.
• Diaphragmatic breathing: Breathing slowly with your diaphragm has a calming effect. With this effect, you try to counteract the effect of the stress response and help stop the anxiety attack.
• Relax your body: To control an anxiety attack it is important to relax the body, since it prevents the stress response from continuing. Perform relaxation progressive muscle it causes the body to exhaust itself faster and expel stress hormones, which makes the feelings associated with the stress response disappear.
• Distract your attentionIf you wonder what to do in case of an anxiety attack, distracting your attention makes you not think anxiously. By preventing these thought patterns, you are also preventing anxiety attacks. There are many ways to distract yourself: counting, calling a friend, organizing things, playing a game, reading a book, etc. The important thing is that you are able to focus on that activity.
• All anxiety attacks end: All anxiety attacks end, regardless of their intensity. Depending on how we act in the face of the anxiety attack, it may last more or less. Facing the panic attack knowing that it will end can help us to be more relaxed, which will make it last less.
• Your body responds to danger: An anxiety attack is a common response of the body when it is in danger, but the current cause not a real danger. Many people seek to experience that stress response in activities like skydiving or bungee jumping. So a stress response itself is not a bad thing, but the body's survival mechanism. Even if you feel like you are in danger during the anxiety attack, you are not.

Now that we know what to do before an anxiety attack, in addition to going to a professional and perform therapy, we can make changes in our lives that help us prevent another new crisis of anxiety.

• Avoid tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine: can cause panic attacks in susceptible people. If you wonder what to do in case of anxiety, it is better to avoid them. Also, you should be careful with medications that contain stimulants. In this article you will find information about the effects of alcohol on the brain and nervous system.
• Learn to control your breathingDeep breathing can ease these anxiety attack symptoms. By learning to control your breathing, you will develop coping strategies that you can use to calm yourself when you start to feel anxious. If you are wondering what to do in an anxiety attack, learning to control your breathing will help reduce the feelings of the anxiety attack that you fear.
• Practice relaxation techniques: another tip for anxiety attacks is to practice yoga, meditation and progressive muscle relaxation regularly strengthens the body's relaxation response. In addition to relaxation, they also increase the feeling of joy and fulfillment.
• Practice exercise: it is a natural anxiolytic. Aerobic exercise that requires arm and leg movement such as walking, running, swimming, or dancing can be very effective.
• Good quality of sleep: lack of sleep or a poor quality of it can worsen anxiety. Try to sleep between 7 and 9 hours and that that sleep is of quality.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to What to do before an anxiety attack?, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

• Browning, R. (2017). How to control anxiety and panic attacks: effective secrets to be you again and enjoy life relaxed. Paris: Independently published.
• Manassee, L. (2005). Overcoming anxiety and panic: 121 tips applicable to real life. Barcelona: Obelisco Editions