Apart from the daily sense of anxiety many people can experience an intense fear reaction to some situations in the form of panic attacks. These panics escalate through a combination of ever-increasing negative thoughts and increasing intensity of physical sensations.
Reducing panic attacks
It is far easier to try and prevent a full-blown panic attack from happening in its starting stages than try and cope at its peak. If in a full-blown panic, it is important to find a safe quiet space to wait out the intense feelings and then when able to, use the following advice.
It is vital that you are able to identify any early warning signs, such as churning stomach, breathing changes either holding your breathe or breathing more rapidly or a particular thought e.g. 'I can’t do this'.
We will each have our own initial reactions to threat however the quickest starting point is using breathing techniques or using the following apps/ websites:
Using a combination of breathing, tension release and self-supportive statements as seen above can enable you to reduce the likelihood of an acute panic attack and thus allowing you to remain in the situation if needed and prevent avoidance behaviours such as leaving.
Other techniques include running or placing your hands or face in cold water. This works by slowing the release of cortisol (linked to stress) and encouraging other hormones that have been proven to benefit mood.
Lots of self-help sites and resources describe a STOP skill that provides a what to do formula.
S - stop and pause
T - take a step back and a deep breath
O - observe and notice what you are thinking, what are other people doing around you and what can you see, hear
P - put things in perspective, what would other people think and say. Then slowly proceed, being aware of releasing tension and keep breathing steady