Coping with a Panic Attack or Anxiety Attack: How do Others do It?
Have you ever seen someone breathing in and out of a
small paper bag and wondered what in the world they were doing?
Chances are they were attempting to control their breathing in an
effort to ward off a panic attack-anxiety attack (both terms are used
interchangebly). As silly as it might seem, it works.
Coping with panic attacks is something that over six million
Americans must do on a regular basis, and this article seeks to share some
of the ways that those millions of people, just like you, handle those
frightening moments. It always
helps to know that you are not alone, so read on to see what works for
others.
The Simplest Solution: Breathing
Okay, so we breathe automatically, it just happens and is not something that we ordinarily focus on. But focusing on how you breathe is an extremely important part of coping with panic attacks.
Breathing in an out of a paper bag, as mentioned above, is the first way. You can also use your cupped hands, if you don’t have a paper bag readily available. A panic attack-anxiety attack can cause you to breath rapidly, which results in an intake of too much oxygen, which is where the bag comes in – it will help your levels of oxygen return to normal. There are people who have used this method for years with good outcomes.
Click Here to Never Fear Another Panic Attack!
Concentrating on slowing your breathing is another method that people use. You will hear emergency department nurses advising upset patients to, “breath in through your nose, hold it a moment, and then let it out through your mouth.” A good tip is to count while you breathe – five counts while breathing in, and eight counts while breathing out. This is also a technique that runners use for controlling their breathing during marathons. Obviously if you are focusing on how you are breathing, you will be less likely to focus on the panic that is attempting to take you over.
Paying attention to how you are breathing is another method – try to let your abdomen inflate and keep your shoulders level. This brings more air into your lungs. Yoga teaches a method of breathing whereby you tighten your throat when you’re letting air out, and makes the escaping air sound similar to a whisper, and there are many people who swear to the benefit of breathing this way when they feel a panic attack-anxiety attack coming on.
