How to Deal with Panic Attacks

More advice during the days of Covid-19

Covid-19 is bringing on anxiety for a lot of people. For people who suffer panic attacks, situations like this pandemic can be a trigger. Knowing how to fight panic attacks can help sufferers to get through these hard times and even normal times.

How to help yourself

Know what panic attacks are — Maybe you’re really familiar with the symptoms or maybe you aren’t sure if you’ve had one. Some people may only have a couple attacks in their lives. Others may have them frequently and have something called panic disorder. Sometimes panic attacks seem to have a trigger that may or may not make sense, but often they come out of nowhere. They can lead people to start avoiding situations where they’d previously had panic attacks and create phobias. Knowing exactly what a panic attack entails can be the first way to help yourself.
To say panic attacks are uncomfortable, is to say the least. They come on suddenly, are intense, and often may make you think you’re dying. A lot of people having their first panic attack end up in the emergency room thinking they’re having a heart attack or some other major emergency. Thankfully they usually don’t last long.
According to the Mayo Clinic symptoms can include:

• Sense of impending doom or danger
• Fear of loss of control or death
• Rapid, pounding heart rate
• Sweating
• Trembling or shaking
• Shortness of breath or tightness in your throat
• Chills
• Hot flashes
• Nausea
• Abdominal cramping
• Chest pain
• Headache
• Dizziness, lightheadedness or faintness
• Numbness or tingling sensation
• Feeling of unreality or detachment

Remember that you’re not dying and they won’t last forever — In the grips of a panic attack, it can be hard to remember that you may feel like you’re having a medical emergency or you’re dying (if you’re ever unsure if you’re having a panic attack, consult your doctor or go to your nearest emergency room). If you are having a panic attack, they are not dangerous just scary. Remembering that you’re not in danger can help you calm down faster. Get yourself in a safe situation and give yourself a chance to work through the attack.

Know you’re not alone — When you have panic attacks you may feel alone. If you’re not aware of anyone else that has panic attacks you may feel like you’re the only one. However there are a lot of other people with panic attacks, including celebrities. Remembering that there are others also suffering may help you.

Don’t feel shame — Piggybacking on knowing that you’re not alone is to make sure you’re not feeling shame for experiencing these horrible episodes. You’re not weak and you didn’t do anything to cause yourself to go through panic attacks. Mental illness can happen to anyone. The important thing is to concentrate on getting help and getting better.

Talk to your doctor — Don’t try to manage panic attacks on your own. Make sure to consult a doctor. There are many treatment options and untreated panic attacks can get worse. Get referrals to a psychiatrist as a general practitioner may not have the experience with this more serious mental illness. A therapist can also be helpful. Be honest with your treatment team and work with them. If you’re ever uncomfortable with your doctor or therapist or aren’t seeing improvements, don’t be afraid to get a second opinion.

Get medications — Medications are one of the primary ways that panic attacks can be managed. Anxiety can be helped by certain antidepressants and other medications. Benzodiazapines may help in the short term, but it’s easy to accidentally get addicted to them. Make sure you go over the pros and cons if your doctor recommends these drugs. In some cases there may be multiple mental illnesses that need treated so you might be on multiple medications.
It may take a while to find the right combination of medication that doesn’t cause side effects you can’t tolerate and that works well. Stay with it and make sure you actually take your medications so that you know whether they work or not. Never stop your medication without consulting your doctor as it may cause a return of symptoms or even dangerous physical symptoms.

Get therapy — There are many effective therapies for panic attacks. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is particularly useful and can be a shorter term form of therapy. As with doctors, you may need to shop around to find a therapist that works for you.

Use grounding — One technique you can learn in therapy is how to ground. There are different ways that you can practice grounding, but the idea is to return your thoughts to the present and take your mind off your symptoms. Examples include picking out everything of a color around you or practicing 1–2–3–4–5 which includes 5 things you see, 4 things you hear, 3 you feel, 2 you smell, and 1 you taste.

Try to distract yourself — Similarly to grounding, trying to distract yourself can be helpful. Choose soothing behaviors such as adult coloring or talking with a friend to try to take your mind off your panic attack.

Know the causes — Knowing the causes of panic attacks can be helpful. Major life changes can be a contributor (like for many mental illnesses) and women are at higher risk. Panic attacks can also be genetic.
Stressful situations can trigger an attack, but sometimes there is no specific cause that can be pointed to initially. Afterwards people with panic attacks may avoid those situations to try to avoid causing another panic attack. Knowing what might trigger a panic attack is useful, but work to not avoid those situations where you fear you might have another panic attack. In the worst cases, phobias can occur and make treatment more difficult. For example, I’ve had panic attacks when the power goes out and during breathing in meditation so I’ve had to work with my therapist to work past fears associated with possibly having panic attacks in these instances.

Give yourself space — Take a moment to take care of yourself if you find yourself having a panic attack. If possible step away from the situation and give yourself time to regroup before going back. If you find yourself unable to return, work with your treatment team so that you don’t cause a phobia of a place or situation.

The bottom line is to take care of yourself. Know the symptoms of a panic attack and remember that you’re not in danger. Minimizing stress will help with any mental illness and when it comes to panic attacks this is no exception. Take your medications as prescribed, follow your therapy, practice your coping mechanisms, and be gentle with yourself as you work with this difficult disease especially in these trying times.