How to live with panic attacks :boom:

Warning :warning: this subject may be triggering as I express some of the things a person can feel during a panic attack so read with care :heart:

The rush ... the anguish... the pain... the confusion... the panic...

You were just fine... What happened? You were living your life at school, at work, at home, with friends, with colleagues, with family or all alone and all of the sudden it hits you.

Your heart skips a beat, it stops for a second and comes back strong and intense, way too intense for you to handle... so you forget how to breathe and desperately try to but there is an overwhelming tightness in your chest... it is painful to breathe if not impossible.

Confronted with that you start hyperventilating, breathing with no control and crying compulsively as your teeth tremble continually.

Your heart has arrhythmias, your breathing is just an absolute mess, you are crying your eyes out for no reason at all, you feel your hands, arms and legs go numb, you become light-headed and get close to fainting... All due to not breathing properly.

It feels like you are dying and it makes you want to die.

It stops eventually.

Your heart rate goes back to normal, your chest feels relieved, you can finally breathe, you stop crying and your body gets its strength back...

However you are left with confusion, tiredness, despair, numbness, headaches, back pain, coldness and complete exhaustion.

What was that? That was a panic attack... the one and only anxiety's best friend.

:arrow_right: Now the thing about panic attacks is that you can divide the issue into 2 things or 2 categories:

The controllable part - that you can learn how to handle - and the uncontrollable part - that just happens whether you like it or not. So let's split it...

Panic + attack

The attack part is something you can't control.

Your brain is ill and it affects your entire body. So just like it happens when you get scared or when you are afraid of something, your brain sends a shot of adrenaline through your entire body and that's what causes the arrhythmia and increase heart rate.

It sucks but until that point there's nothing you can do, unless you get medicated and even so, it can still happen now and then.

What comes after that is the panic, which is under your control.

Yes, it takes time to learn how to deal with it but it is possible.

There are rules you cannot bend if you want to succeed and win the fight. The main one is

"Do not panic"

I know, ironic right? But think with me... once you think something is wrong, once you think that you are dying, once you breathe without any control, once you give in to the panic, you're doomed to fall apart in seconds.

With that being said...

:black_medium_small_square: Try your best to breathe calmly and as evenly as you can;

:black_medium_small_square: Do not breathe through your mouth, use your nose;

:black_medium_small_square: Instead of filling your chest with air, fill your belly as far as you can and make sure you don't move your chest by placing your hand on top of it;

:black_medium_small_square: Count 5 seconds as you inhale and 7 seconds as you exhale. Once you've reached your 5th breath, hold it in for 4 seconds and then release it.

As you do that distract your mind...

:black_medium_small_square: Count windows, trees, people, colours and describe them;

:black_medium_small_square: Previously, decide on a calm image to be in your mind so you can visualize it when you feel overwhelmed;

:black_medium_small_square: Excuse yourself from whatever it is that you are doing... this is your sanity we're talking about and nothing is more important than that.

And finally...

:black_medium_small_square: Be patient.

Panic attacks are unpredictable and that is scary...

I know from personal experience since I used to have up to 10 panic attacks a day.

But train yourself, be patient and definitely ask for help. Be strong and determined! :muscle: 🏼

:heart: Everything will be okay :heart:

You are not alone.

(PS. I am not a professional, these are just some of the tactics I've been developing on my own and in therapy since I'm being followed by a psychiatrist and a psychologist and taking medication. These are just methods that have been working for me and I really hope it can help someone who is also struggling. Loads of love to all the community :rainbow: )

#mentalhealthawareness