5 Coping Methods for Panic Attacks

Anxiety freaking sucks, okay? Sometimes it’s triggered and sometimes it sneaks up on you. It can be hard to deal with, it can be debilitating, and occasionally it prevents us from living our best life. So when the anxiety hits its high note, and the panic attack swings in for its debut, there seems to be nothing we can do to stop it. Thankfully, there are several things that you can do if you can just remember them.

Box breathing

Breathing is something that a lot of people will tell you helps. There’s a reason for that. It does! I’ve found over the numerous years that I’ve been dealing with panic attacks that some forms of breathing are more efficient for preventing and stopping panic. Box breathing is one such method. This is a recent discovery of mine and it’s amazing.

Inhale for four counts, hold for four counts, exhale for four counts, hold for counts. Repeat this process at least four times. It won’t stop anxiety or panic in their tracks, but it will go a long way in calming you enough for you to focus.

Senses countdown

This is another popular grounding technique. Again, it’s because it works. A lot of people will tell you that there’s a certain order that they need to be in, but I honestly don’t bother. I use what I need which is the first thing that comes to my mind. Usually, it goes in this order: five things I can see, four things I can smell, three things I can touch, two things I can hear, and one thing I can taste.

Don’t think about the elephant

This is a fun way of telling you to find a distraction. You know how when someone tells you to not think of something, say an elephant, and it suddenly becomes all you can think about? Yeah. Anxiety works the same way. Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t stop thinking about the looming panic, just find a way to distract yourself. Solve the problem later, find a distraction now. Psst. Binge watching that show on Netflix or burying yourself in blankets to read definitely count.

Change of temperature

This is one that I use when traveling. I don’t know if this is a popular one, but it is one that helps me. A massive change in temperature. When my anxiety hits hard, I get hot. It feels like I’m suffocating in heat. I’ve found that rolling the window down or turning on the air conditioner goes a long way in helping ground me enough that I can think.

Muscle relaxation

This last tip is also a new one for me. It makes sense, and it does help. Take a few moments to think about your body. Put all of your focus into if you can, and go one muscle at a time. Think about a group of muscles, tense them up as hard as you can, hold for a few seconds, then release completely. Do this for every area of your body.

I know it’s hard to remember to do these things when the anxiety is present. Just try your best to remember one of these or all of them and just do what you can. Panic attacks happen but they can be handled.

Why Routines Are Important for Anxiety

I’ve had anxiety for most of my life. In the last two years, it’s gotten so much worse. In October last year, I decided that enough was enough. I was tired of feeling scared to even live my life. Fate allowed me to stumble upon an amazing anxiety mentor at just the right time. While working with her, I learned something. This was something that I already knew, but I hadn’t really stuck to anything long enough to really let it work. Routines are so important for those of us with anxiety.

Structure

Routines give us the structure that anxiety doesn’t always allow us to have. Now I’m not saying that everyone needs structure in order to manage their anxiety. I have found over the last few months that having a morning routine and an evening routine means that I have less stress throughout my day-to-day life. I know what I’m doing and I have time to plan. I start the day knowing what to expect, then I end the day with a relaxed mindset knowing that I can handle tomorrow.

I’ve also found that routines allow for more productivity. I know what I’m doing and I know that I can get it done. I have time in the evenings to list the things I need to prioritize, and I have the mornings to review and prepare for those priorities.

Planning

As I previously stated, having solid routines allows us to be prepared for the day ahead. A morning routine allows you to take the time in the morning to get ready. You’ll face the day knowing what you need to do. You can set your schedule, then you can get to work, reassured that you have the time to get it all done. This means that you spend less time stressing about how to get it all done, and more time to spend chasing your dreams.

Mental health

Perhaps one of the most important things about having a routine is that it helps us with our mental, emotional, and physical health. A routine means that we take our vitamins and medicine when we’re supposed to. When the routine becomes a habit, we don’t even think about it anymore. Healthy habits are easier to incorporate into our routines, and the bad habits are easier to eliminate.

The same routines can help us take care of our mental and physical health. We can incorporate journaling, meditation, and exercise. We can start the day with a healthy mindset, and then we can end the day by checking in with ourselves. We can examine our mood through the day, our anxiety level and our triggers, as well as how much water we drank and how much sleep we got.

Routines can be so helpful to those of us dealing with anxiety on a regular basis. They provide structure and get us ready to face our day-to-day lives. Create some routines for yourself or shake yours up and see what happens. Let me know how it goes.

Anxiety and Murphy’s Law

Have you ever had one of those days when it seems like everything is going wrong? With every little (or big) thing that goes sideways, your anxiety builds and builds. You enter this mindset that says the day is ruined, the universe is against you, or even that this is why we can’t have nice things. Those days are so exhausting mentally, emotionally, and even sometimes physically.

Sweetie, we’ve all been there. I can’t tell you that your day is magically going to get better. I won’t tell you that it’s all for a greater purpose. What I will tell you is that this is just one day and it will pass. Maybe this issue will last for a few days, a week, a month, or a year, but it will pass. Life is full of ups and downs, hills and valleys. It’s a roller coaster. Sometimes it’s great and sometimes it’s really not.

I want you to do a few things when this happens.

Count your blessings

I want you to stop what you’re doing and take a breath. For everything that’s going wrong, I want you to counter that with three things that are good in your life. This will remind you that it’s not as bad as your anxiety will make you think it is. For instance, the glass fell out of my bedroom window without any warning. That sucks. Three things: I did say I needed to air out my room, I have to ability to get it fixed quickly, it’s a nice breezy day.

Let yourself rant

This can be to a friend, a family member, or just your journal. I know a lot of people like to whine about whiners. It helps though. Get out all those emotions, thoughts, and boiling inner demons. Then take a deep breath and let it go. Don’t linger in the negative when there are so many positive things happening.

Practice self-care

When you have a long, hard day, self-care is so important. Rough days are so draining. You can’t give from an empty cup, so go find something you can do to practice self-care and relish it. This might be the only thing you truly appreciate on the rough day, or it might be thing you need to turn it around. Either way, you need to refill that cup.

Sometimes everything that can go wrong, does. This triggers your anxiety and everything gets worse. That doesn’t mean your day has to be completely ruined. These three things help me out so much. I really hope they can help someone else.

Artist Dates Aren’t Just for Artists

If you are someone that spends a lot of time online, then you’ve probably heard of an artist date. An artist date is this amazing concept found in The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. This is a block of time that is yours. During this time, you go out by yourself and spend some time letting creativity come to you. For content creators, there are many benefits to this creative exercise. For the anxious mind, there are just as many benefits.

One of the many benefits is a clear head. Taking some time to spend alone with no one to distract or judge you can be so freeing. Turn off your phone and spend some time alone. This can be exploring a part of your city, sitting outside reading a book or just sitting, or anything that feeds your soul.

Another benefit is a change in perspective. Sometimes the problems we see are so large and daunting. Taking a step back and spending some time out of our comfort zone allows us the ability to see what we normally wouldn’t. This allows us to change our viewpoint and the big, scary thoughts and ideas become smaller and more manageable.

Mindset shifts can happen at any time. Normally we associate a mindset shift with consistently adding new, better ideas into our lives. When you take the time to be alone and out of your comfort zone, then a shift can happen all on its own. We sometimes call this an epiphany – a moment when something that puzzled or troubled you suddenly doesn’t because the answer becomes clear. A shift in your mindset can happen the same way.

Room to breathe is so important. This is a frequent benefit of getting out into nature. A bigger space away from everything is so peaceful. Fresh air, a good breeze, and a change of scenery can do wonders for the anxious mind.

Leaving the comfort zone is always a great way to shake the anxiety and it’s something that happens with an artist’s date. This is a scary thing that frightens many of us but you grow outside of your comfort zone. So step out of it and experience something new or better.

New experiences are perhaps the best part of an artist date. Go somewhere you haven’t been before. Explore that place you’ve always been curious about. Get out there and feed your soul.

An artist date is meant to inspire you and feed your creativity. It will certainly do that. If you let it, it will also help with an anxious mind. For students that are struggling, that date might just be exactly what you need to reorient yourself. Give it a shot and let me know all about your adventure.