Is This Horrible Feeling A Panic Attack?
So one of the worst thing about having an anxiety disorder is the panic attacks. Even people without a disorder have panic attacks sometimes. It's just about the scariest feeling ever, and knowing whether or not you're having one can help you figure out how to fix it. Here are some things that I personally feel when I'm experiencing a panic attack:
-nausea
-dry heaving
-difficulty swallowing
-difficulty breathing
-shaking
-sweaty palms
-claustrophobia
-racing heart
-feeling a loss of control
Honestly, I just feel like I'm dying. Now that I've been having these panic attacks for so long, I have a lot of techniques. Some I've come up with on my own, some I've learned through therapy and anxiety programs, and some just through the internet.
The first thing that makes me feel better is fresh air. Going outside, especially when it's cold out, always makes gives me a bit of relief. It helps me breathe a little easier and being outside in open space helps my claustrophobia.
Anything cold helps me, similar to the cold air, I sometimes use a frozen washcloth. I learned this technique in a partial hospitalization program; just soak a washcloth in water, ring it out, crunch it up into a ball, and put it in the freezer. I like to have a few in my freezer at a time. When I start to feel anxious, I'll take one out and just focus on pulling it apart, back into a flat square. The freezing cold cloth in combination with the distraction of completing a task almost always relieve me a bit from the anxiety.
Something else that I go to very often is my journal. Writing about my feelings always helps me. Just a constant flow of words and feelings, what's going on my head, why it's scary and why it's frustrating, it always helps me figure out what's happening.
One more thing that helps is just thinking. Sometimes, all I need is some logical thinking. Knowing that this is just something that happens to me, it's happened countless times before, and I've always survived. It ends. Even though sometimes it feels endless.
-nausea
-dry heaving
-difficulty swallowing
-difficulty breathing
-shaking
-sweaty palms
-claustrophobia
-racing heart
-feeling a loss of control
Honestly, I just feel like I'm dying. Now that I've been having these panic attacks for so long, I have a lot of techniques. Some I've come up with on my own, some I've learned through therapy and anxiety programs, and some just through the internet.
The first thing that makes me feel better is fresh air. Going outside, especially when it's cold out, always makes gives me a bit of relief. It helps me breathe a little easier and being outside in open space helps my claustrophobia.
Anything cold helps me, similar to the cold air, I sometimes use a frozen washcloth. I learned this technique in a partial hospitalization program; just soak a washcloth in water, ring it out, crunch it up into a ball, and put it in the freezer. I like to have a few in my freezer at a time. When I start to feel anxious, I'll take one out and just focus on pulling it apart, back into a flat square. The freezing cold cloth in combination with the distraction of completing a task almost always relieve me a bit from the anxiety.
Something else that I go to very often is my journal. Writing about my feelings always helps me. Just a constant flow of words and feelings, what's going on my head, why it's scary and why it's frustrating, it always helps me figure out what's happening.
One more thing that helps is just thinking. Sometimes, all I need is some logical thinking. Knowing that this is just something that happens to me, it's happened countless times before, and I've always survived. It ends. Even though sometimes it feels endless.
Comments
Post a Comment