*Note: I am not a doctor or an expert on panic attacks or disorders I’m just someone who found something that worked for me, and If you are really struggling with this I would recommend seeing a licensed professional.
When I was thirteen years old I started to experience severe anxiety, my heart would start racing and I felt as though I was losing air with every breath that I was taking. I didn’t know it the time but what I was experiencing was called a panic attack, which doctors describe as “a sudden surge of overwhelming anxiety and fear.” This went on for a few months until I finally went to see a doctor and they told me that everything in my heart was okay, thankfully this news was able to silence my panic attacks for a few years until they would strike again years later because the problem wasn’t in my heart, but in my brain.
During my second year of college I started experiencing the anxiety again, only this time it was much worse. These moments were filled with so much fear that every second I was experiencing one felt as if I were going to die. No one understood what was happening to me, including myself, and slowly it was beginning to control my life. I couldn’t be alone for long periods of time, I couldn’t drink caffeine or take anything that would make my body react, and I started to skip out on anything that stressed me out because I was afraid my anxiety would return. This went on for about a year until I finally started doing some research and found strategies that eventually helped me live with my panic disorder. Although I still experience panic attacks from time to time, these strategies have helped me become less afraid of them when they do strike.
1. Accepting my panic attacks.
For a long time, I feared that panic attacks would end my life. Every time I had one I thought it would lead to a heart attack which would eventually leave me lifeless. Although it was a difficult process, eventually I was able to convince my mind that this fear was nothing more than an empty threat. And accepting that this was something I had and not trying to get rid of it but working through it helped me tremendously.
2. 5 Senses Test
Find something you can see
Find something you can touch
Find something you can smell
Find something you can hear
Find something you can taste
One of the problems with my panic attacks was that they seemed so foreign, it felt as if something unearthly was consuming my body. The 5 senses test gave me security and in a way helped me get to reality.
3. A walk with a friend
I don’t think I would have gotten through my panic disorder had I not had close friends who empathized with me. Although they didn’t know what I was feeling, it was always helpful to have someone who was willing to take a walk with me to distract me from what I was going through.
4. Finding stories
While doing my research I discovered people that were going through the same things I was. I slowly began to realize that I wasn’t the only person who felt this, and that gave me strength to live with it. Hearing other stories and talking with someone who had every symptom I did made me feel less alone, less outcasted, and more optimistic about what I was feeling.
Although these strategies were able to help me with my panic attacks, I understand that everyone experiences these attacks differently, and what helped me might not be able to help you or anyone else. However, for me, these tips were worth sharing because a lot of people go through this and don’t say a single word, so hopefully if this wasn’t helpful, then at least it was another story worth sharing.
