As promised, I would like to give some help for anxiety attacks in here today.
If you haven't read my post on help with panic attacks in here, be sure to go read it as well.
·✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾
So, what is an anxiety attack?
An anxiety attack is an intense and/or extended period of anxiety. It is more severe than the simple feeling of anxiety but less severe than a panic attack. It can last anywhere from minutes to hours, even days and weeks.
✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾
Anxiety attack symptoms include:
🌙· being easily startled
· 🌙dizziness
🌙· fear
🌙· irritability
🌙· loss of concentration
·🌙 muscle pain
·🌙 numbness or tingling in the extremities
·🌙 restlessness
·🌙 shortness of breath
·🌙 sleep disturbances
·🌙 the feeling of being choked or smothered
·🌙 worry and distress
·🌙 Surge of overwhelming panic
·🌙 Feeling of losing control or going crazy
·🌙 Heart palpitations or chest pain
·🌙 Feeling like you're going to pass out
·🌙 Trouble breathing or choking sensation
·🌙 Hyperventilation
·🌙 Hot flashes or chills
·🌙 Trembling or shaking
·🌙 Nausea or stomach cramps
·🌙 Feeling detached or unreal
✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾
Anxiety symptoms often last longer than the symptoms of a panic attack. They may persist for days, weeks, or months.
Unlike panic attacks, anxiety attacks are not necessarily signs of an anxiety disorder. Anxiety is a natural response to certain stimuli or situations, and anxiety attacks are only more intense forms of that emotion.
✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾
✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾
6 major types of anxiety disorders
There are several different classified anxiety disorders. Each one features different types of symptoms that can, in some cases, be triggered by specific situations.
✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾
☁️Panic disorder (PD): This involves at least two panic attacks accompanied by the constant fear of future attacks. People with panic disorder may lose a job, refuse to travel or leave their home, or completely avoid anything they believe will trigger an attack of anxiety.
☁️Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD): This is a constant state of worry about a number of events or activities in the persons life.
☁️Phobic disorder: This features an incapacitating and irrational fear of an object or situation, for example, a fear of spiders or open spaces ().
☁️Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): This condition is marked by unwanted repeated thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions).
☁️Social Phobia, or Social Anxiety Disorder, is an anxiety disorder characterized by overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in everyday social situations. Social phobia can be limited to only one type of situation - such as a fear of speaking in formal or informal situations, or eating or drinking in front of others - or, in its most severe form, may be so broad that a person experiences symptoms almost anytime they are around other people.
☁️Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat.
Different types of anxiety call for different ways to help yourself through an attack.
Since I struggle with multiple types, I am going to put a technique I've used below that can hopefully help with multiple:
✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾
1. Acknowledge what is happening:
You are having an anxiety attack.
Accepting it is the first step to getting through.
✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾
2: Control your breathing:
The tendency is to want to take deeper breaths during hyperventilation, but this isn't necessarily a good thing. You have to fight this desire as best you can, and slow down your breathing dramatically. Take breaths that last as long as 12 seconds or more. One way is as follows:
Breathe in through your nose slowly for 5 seconds.
Hold for three seconds (as long as this doesn't feel excessively uncomfortable)
Breathe out through pursed lips for 7 seconds.
Doing this will help your body balance its carbon dioxide levels again and should prevent you from further hyperventilating. The trick is to regulate the rhythm of your breathing: keep it slow and steady.
🕊️Walk:
Exercise generally increases the concentration of carbon dioxide in your body and both walking and running can improve your breathing efficiency.
If you find that this worsens your symptoms, however, slow down your pace or sit down and take a rest.
🕊️Check Your Clothes:
Make sure your clothing isn't increasing your hyperventilation. Loosen any tight clothing you have on.
✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾
3. Stop scaring yourself
Anxiety attacks are mostly caused by apprehensive behavior – scaring ourselves with worry and imagining the worst
Since fear is the most common reason why anxiety attacks occur and persist, refusing to scare yourself removes the main reason anxiety attacks occur.
When you stop scaring yourself with worry and imagining the worst, you eliminate the most common cause of anxiety attacks. Yes, you can learn to stop scaring yourself. This is the second most powerful way to eliminate anxiety attacks.
Instead of thinking:
"I'm dying right now. I don't know what to do.I am going insane."
Try more affirmative language like, "Ok, this doesn't feel good right now. But it's just my body's emergency response and it will end as I stop scaring myself."
Or instead of,
"Why am I having a break down? What if something is really wrong with me?"
Tell yourself, "This feeling can feel strong, but it's not dangerous. All bodies react this way when we think we are in danger or are overly stressed. It's not something to be concerned about. I'll keep myself calm and it will end when the body uses up the remaining stress hormones. Then, I'll feel fine again."
✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾
4. Relax your body
Your body can't feel the stress response and relaxation response simultaneously.
The more relaxed you make your body, the faster the body uses up and expels stress hormones, which will bring an end to the feelings associated with an active stress response.
Relaxing the body also offsets muscle tension caused by the stress response.
You can relax the body by making it feel as loose and heavy as possible.
Lay down and make your body as relaxed, loose, and heavy as you can.
Making your body feel loose and heavy also activates the rest Response, which counteracts the effects of the stress Response.
Then, it's only a matter of time until you feel better.
✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾
5. Distract yourself
Distracting your attention can prevent anxious thinking. As you prevent anxious thinking, you also prevent voluntary anxiety attacks.
🌜Call or talk to a friend
🌜Play a game
🌜Read a book
🌜Write something
🌜Listen to music
🌜Try strong sensory experiences such as:
✨Drinking cold water
✨Eating ice
✨Smelling Essential oils (you can find lists to help with anxiety in the DIY book)
. Anything that distracts your mind away from anxious thinking will indirectly end stress responses and anxiety attacks. The better you are at distracting yourself, the faster anxiety attacks end.
✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾
6. It will end
No matter how powerful the anxiety attack, it will end. We can end them faster by doing some or all of the above. Nevertheless, all anxiety attacks end. It's only a matter of time.
No one experiences unending anxiety attacks even though sometimes it can feel that way. Riding out the anxiety attack knowing it will end can help you remain calm, which also shuts off the stress response and anxiety attack.
✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾
I hope you found these helpful gems.
Anxiety is really terrifying, but it is NOT in control no matter how much it wants to be.
We are strong, and we can overcome anything.
Stay strong everybody.
🌙🌙
✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾✧.｡.✧｡.☾✧:.｡.✧｡.☾
Sources and tips that helped compile this:
https://www.hhs.gov/answers/mental-health-and-substance-abuse/what-are-the-five-major-types-of-anxiety-disorders/index.html
https://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-tips/stop-anxiety-attacks.shtml