How to Deal with Anxiety Attack? (With 12 Effective Ways)

Anxiety attacks, also known as panic attacks, are episodes of intense panic or fear that usually occur all of sudden. It may leave you a feeling of chest tightness, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, and muscle stiffness. You may even have negative thoughts and intense stress.

These symptoms last from a few minutes to several hours.

So, how to deal with anxiety attack?

Find out the answer in the following…

10 Signs You May Have an Anxiety Disorder

The cause of anxiety disorders is unknown, but experts believe that they can be the result of many different reasons:

1. Excessively worry

This is the first and most prominent sign of an anxiety disorder. You seem to worry too much about almost everything, no matter how big or small it is. If this occurs every day in 6 months, you’re having severe anxiety.

Being excessively anxious can affect your daily life and cause physical symptoms such as fatigue. When suffering from an anxiety disorder, you will feel much more distressful and exhausted.

See also: Helping someone with anxiety and depression

2. Overly thinking

If you’re unable to stop thinking about work, finances, and other matters for days, weeks or even months, this means you’re letting stress swallow you and control your life. As soon as you are taken over by your anxiety, you will have to deal with different psychological problems damaging the body.

3. Sleeping issues

Sleeping difficulty has nothing to do with a person’s physical, mental, or health conditions. However, if you regularly have problems sleeping and feel anxious every night, it can be considered as a sign of an anxiety disorder.

In addition, when having anxiety, you will also feel unnerved and easily lose your temper every time waking up in the morning.

4. Fear

We are all afraid of something in life, like fear of insects, heights, crowds, etc. But, again, if that fear keeps growing inside you and becomes a trauma to you, it’s believed to be a sign of anxiety disorder.

The difficulty of this symptom is that it is hard to spot. Usually, we have to confront our fear so that we can realize what we are actually afraid of.

5. Muscle tension

Constant muscle tension throughout the body is often related to an anxiety disorder. This symptom is so persistent that people who live with it for a long time may get used to it after a while.

Regular exercise helps manage muscle tension but also triggers the pain if there’s an injury or unexpected situation disrupting your routine. The consequences of that are not only muscle tension but also restlessness, anxiety, and irritability.

Read more: What triggers emotional attraction in a man?

6. Fear of crowd

Many people need to stand in front of the crowd when performing, giving a presentation, or holding a meeting. Getting all the attention in these events is normal. But, if the fear is too big to the point that no practice or effort can lessen it, you may be dealing with social anxiety disorder (also known as social phobia).

People with social anxiety tend to worry for days or weeks, making them unable to stand in front of crowds. Or if they manage to get through it, they will tend to get upset and struggle with themselves for a long time every time thinking about that moment.

7. Afraid of communicating

Social anxiety disorder doesn’t have to involve in public speaking or being the center of attention all the time. In fact, anxiety can show up in casual conversations, or when you have meals in front of some people.

In these situations, people with anxiety disorders will feel like all the eyes are on them and often find themselves uneasy. They also feel shaky, nauseous, sweaty, or have trouble talking.

These symptoms make it difficult to meet new people, maintain relationships, and get promotion in work.

8. Panic attacks

Panic attacks are scary.

When you’re panic, the feeling of fear and helplessness will come all of sudden and last for several minutes, accompanied by other symptoms: shortness of breath, heart beating fast or aching, sweaty hands, numbness, dizziness, chest pain, stomachache, as well as hot or cold.

Not everyone having panic attacks will have an anxiety disorder. However, if you experience them frequently, you probably have anxiety. People with this disorder are likely to live in fear and often worry about their next panic.

9. Flashbacks of trauma

If you have frequent flashbacks of traumatic events, such as an accident or the loss of a loved one, it’s seen as a sign of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Some people with anxiety also experience the same situation. For example, you often recall yourself being ridiculed, laughed at, scolded, or slandered. The best way to avoid this is to fill your mind with only positive thoughts and stay around good people.

10. Self-doubting

Constant self-doubt is one of the common signs of an anxiety disorder. These kinds of questions are always bugging your mind anytime you want to do something, such as: "Can I do it?" "How can a person like me do that?" "Whatever, I know it’s gonna be a failure anyway."

When you don’t have uncertain answers, the feeling of having no confidence in your abilities and decisions will make you stress and get worse as days go by.

12 Simple Ways to Deal with Anxiety Attack

1. Get to know the symptoms better

It’s better to know what anxiety attacks are like. If you’re familiar with the symptoms, you’ll get through it more easily. It’s hard to describe how scary a panic attack could be with words if you haven’t experienced it.

Read more: Guide to help someone with depression and anxiety

Someone suffering from the anxiety attack will find themselves dying, going crazy, or losing control in some way. Aside from the common symptoms mentioned at the beginning, you will have a feeling of nausea, sweating, and being disconnected from the reality.

2. Don’t quickly conclude it as anxiety attack

People often mistake this for a stroke or heart attack, and vice versa. Back then a member of my family was brought back from the emergency room with a diagnosis of panic attack; however, it later turned out that he actually had a heart attack. So, for the better, those who claim themselves being under anxiety attacks should have a complete medical check-up.

Ways to know you’re having anxiety!

3. Be aware of your emotions

It’s not easy to be with someone who is in a state of extreme distress. Be mindful of your thoughts and feelings, such as fear or helplessness. Being aware of what you’re going through can help you focus on the other person better.

See also: Are soulmates real?

4. The fear only lasts a short time

Fortunately, our nervous system can self-regulate, so what goes up will also go down.

The anxiety will gradually subside within 10 minutes or earlier (although a state of extreme panic may last longer). So, knowing that panic has the limit and enables to regulate itself is good for you in dealing with anxiety attacks.

5. Speak calmly and confidently

When the anxiety seems to occur, it is better to act calmly. Make it clear to the other person that you’re not worried about their panic. Your voice can be just as important as the words you use. A soft voice conveys confidence and set their parasympathetic nervous system back to normal.

6. Don’t try to stop the panic

It is understandable that you want the anxiety attack from someone to stop immediately. Nevertheless, be careful not to give them a sense of urgency that they should stop being panic right away. That behavior of yours could make them more upset, and it won’t be helpful for your relationship.

Tell yourself that the more you resist panic, the more it increases.

7. Don’t tell them to calm down

While dealing with anxiety attack, you may be tempted to ask the person to “calm down” or “relax” especially if you are upset by their anxiety.

But no one wants to be calm more than the person who is suffering from the panic. That’s all they want in that moment; therefore, keep telling them to calm down can only worsen the situation.

Instead, try to communicate to make them notice your presence and support.

8. Forget about the paper bag

You may have heard about the tip of breathing into a paper bag for panic individuals. Does it really work? This method was once recommended as an effective way to avoid the rapid breathing that can cause panic.

But, according to some, it doesn’t seem to be always effective.

Much worse, this is dangerous if that person is having asthma attack or a heart attack (not actually panicking). it can also make them believe that a paper bag can help them survive anxiety attacks.

9. Encourage them to connect to the world outside

If you want to help someone you know within a short time, how about encourage them to go outside and connect to all kinds of interesting things in life?

The root of panic is often quite unfounded. Try asking them to feel the world outside, such as telling them to drop your feet onto the floor. In general, a better awareness of the physical senses can switch their thoughts from disaster scenarios back to the panic situations on a daily basis.

10. Ask them to talk outside

Movement is good for people having anxiety attacks.

Ask the person to stand up with you, walk around, swing their arms and legs. If they refuse to do it, then don’t insist on making them do it.

11. Only touch them if they allow

Some will feel comfortable in the midst of panic if being hugged or patted by others, while some feel suffocated or constricted. Ask them first to determine what’s right for them – from hugs to respectful distance.

12. Take them to meet the expert

Always seek medical advice if you are unsure whether your symptoms or someone else’s are the symptoms of an anxiety attack. It’s important to make sure that none of any recurring physical symptom relates to an illness.

In Conclusion

So, how to deal with anxiety attack?

Excessive anxiety can lead to panic attacks that seriously affect your mental health. Most panic attacks happen so suddenly that they are difficult to prevent. However, there are a few things you can do to reduce the risk of panic attacks in others as well as yourself, such as: eating a balanced, nutritious diet, getting enough sleep, reducing stress by meditation, music, etc., and more.

Monitor your health regularly and maintain a healthy lifestyle to boost your mood as well as reduce the risk of panic attack.

For more questions about this topic, leave your comments below.