Coping With Panic Attack: The Most Important Coping Strategies For Panic Attack
For all sufferers of panic attacks, learning how to cope may be the greatest asset for finally figuring out how to end it once and for all.
Dictionary.com defines coping as, “to struggle or deal, esp. on fairly even terms or with some degree of success.” I find this definition to be highly appropriate because while it is true that panic attacks can be a struggle to deal with, you WILL receive some degree of success given that certain precautions are taken and personal obligations toward yourself are met.
The most common methods for coping with panic attack that I have found that for work the best for me are:
-Control hyperventilation through use of a paper bag. This will recycle your carbon dioxide and return your oxygen to normal levels. It is too much oxygen that sometimes give the panic sufferer the sense of dizziness.
-Check your emotions: If you actively fight a panic attack, you will only trigger your “fight or flight” response, more adrenaline will be produced and your panic may increase if you are sensitive to the bodily sensations aroused by fight or flight.
-Distraction: The goal is to distract your thoughts away from bodily sensations and toward something else. This distraction preferably is something that you feel passionate about, as it is easier to maintain distraction when the focus is something inclined to give you a sense of hope.
-Relaxation Techniques: Since relaxation is the exact opposite of panic, the quickest path out of a panic attack is to learn to relax your body. What I like to do is the moment if start to feel panic try to creep its way into my body, I find any muscles that happen to be tense and force this muscle to relax. Then I systematically go through every muscle in my body and do a self-check to see if it is relaxed. Muscle tension only perpetuates panic.
Coping with panic attack is but one step in ending your issue with it for good. To get the rest of the story, you really need to get to the heart of this issue.
