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About three years ago, I began to experience episodes of severe anxiety out of the blue that would terrify me, and I brought with me to high school. While my panic attacks still occur and shake me up, I have learned many ways to help myself, and hopefully help others. 

When my panic attacks first began, I was around 12 years old, and had just gone through a traumatic event. Oftentimes, I would wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares triggering an attack, or public settings would bring me to a bad place.

The attacks started smaller, more frequently in the middle of the night. I would awake in tears, telling myself that I couldn’t breathe. It felt like everything was out of my control, even myself. I couldn’t stop the shaking in my hands and my uncontrollable breaths, I couldn’t sleep through the night or keep my dreams like that of a happy 12 year old. Over time, they became less and less frequent. Evidently, it seemed like I had just grown out of them until they returned again a year later. 

I still have not figured out what causes my panic attacks to this day, but the symptoms remain similar to what they did in the beginning. Trouble breathing, crying uncontrollably, shaking, and being in such an uncontrollable state that nobody could help me, or so I thought. There are ways to take back control and help yourself out of that anxious state, but sometimes we have to tough it out. When I am experiencing a panic attack, it feels like my brain becomes alphabet soup and the palms of my hands are spiraling. Other times, I can’t get myself to stop zoning out, my thoughts bouncing around. It’s like I’m stuck in place and it’s all going on inside, but nobody would ever be able to tell. Even when it feels like it will never end, eventually my hands stop shaking and my breaths become steady. Here is how I do it. 

Count by 7s (or whatever number you like)

I’m not too hot at counting by seven, and when I started to get my brain thinking about something other than my instability, I became distracted and my body calmed on its own. Make sure the intervals you’re counting by aren’t too easy, or you won’t have to think enough. 

Hold Some Ice

This one probably doesn’t sound very trusty, but it really works. When I hold a plain cube of ice in my hand, and sometimes squeeze, the cold distracts me and lets me organize my thoughts. The same goes for eating sour food. Both help get our senses balanced and working.

 Let It Out and Take Its Toll

Sometimes the best thing we can do for a panic attack is let it happen. Even though panic attacks are scary, and it’s hard to know when it’s coming or how it will feel, it’s good to let it all out, too. They cannot always be eased, so occasionally we have to tough it out through the tears and anxiety. If nothing else, keeping things from being bottled up is never a negative. 

Finding someone, like a mental health professional or even just a friend, to talk to consistently to work out confusing thoughts you may not know you had, or just to talk can always help, whether you experience panic attacks or not. To keep ourselves organized and aware of the symptoms, looking out for the signals of a panic attack (like a rise in anxiety) can decrease the likelihood and severity of an attack. When we are in such a state, it is not required that we ask for help or suffer it on our own, but either way you are never alone. Even when it is hard, try to remember exactly that to get you through the not-so-easy times because it will only make you stronger.


Comments

3
  • JS

    JS JS

    Reply Author

    PTSD anxiety is the worst where it’s literally different things that come up or a thought or looking up at society and thinking even your closest friends are in on making your life fail. When it’s the critic inside it’s when you feel everyone in your life almost turned on you and you don’t want to do anything in life then you actually express how you feel when your mind slows down enough to when the thoughts are always there. That’s when it’s the worst. Because all it takes is probation stress or the people you live with you feel like do shit to make life harder. So you don’t know exactly what to do. Then you feel everything is leading to just suicide. Then you feel like the past contracts of secrets are things of truth you can’t say so then knowing pain and then hearing people say things. Criticism it sounds like it making fun of you almost sometimes. Or them not knowing PTSD or panic disorders. Then they try to gas light me with lies which isn’t a thing. So that makes it worse. It piles up to where you don’t want to go near anyone because even your neighbors don’t understand you: when it’s probably not real but the is telling you it is on files in your head. Then your family does the thing that triggers the PTSD sometimes too. When to the point someone takes it as far as losing the last chunk of money because confidential information leaked of yours. So that then ruined it. When it was only about Mark anf Nick have my to stop to protect them. Which I don’t think the people I live with break federal law or i would be even more stressed: so many things like that are making it worse. So I came to the point I’m going to make sure each person like pout gets what they deserve by never feeling love or like that feeling of losing a child. That pain. So that’s on my mind too: so I know what’s on agenda and GOING TO HAPPEN so they don’t listen and make my PTSD worse: I am dying and ready. So they can pretend they don’t know life and regret it. Or never come near me again. So that’s the only thing that’s going to be real

    This is his girl friend writing it this is how I feel he feels

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  • FAMILY PSYCHOLOGIST

    Thank you for sharing this Savannah, unfortunately the panic attacks are a very common thing among adults nowadays and it’s getting out of control. The stress, the uncertainty for the future and overall life quality are a huge factor

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  • Dr Panic

    During a panic attack, it can be helpful to move around. Walking helps you get away from the environment where the attack started and helps you regulate your breathing due to its rhythmic nature. In addition, the endorphin hormone released during exercise will be good for your mood and relaxation…
    I will be glad if it helps. Thank you for post.

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