How to calm down during a panic attack

Everyone experiences, to a greater or lesser extent, what we know as anxiety. This state of psychological and physiological activation usually goes hand in hand with a very significant discomfort, as well as the feeling alert or fearful even when there is nothing nearby that poses a real danger.

However, there are those who, in addition to feeling anxiety in complex and demanding contexts of day-to-day (such as before an exam), experience panic attacks relatively frequent. If feeling anxiety is normal, going through these attacks is not so much anymore, since they are experiences qualitatively different from what can happen to us when we notice that the day is difficult for us above.

In this article we will see how to regain control and calm down during a panic attackAlthough it is difficult to find an "instant cure" and much of the success or failure of this task will depend on the situation in which we find ourselves. But first, let's start with the basics.

• Related article: "7 techniques and tips to reduce anxiety"

What is a panic attack?

This phenomenon has different dimensions. In its psychological aspect, a panic attack supposes the experimentation of an intense fear arisen suddenly, and many times without a clear trigger or with a rather diffuse one. For example, it can appear when hiking in a place where there are many bushes with thorns on the sides of the trail, even if it is relatively difficult to get stuck on them.

panic attacks therefore, they usually have a purely emotional root, alien to logic, although this is not always the case and real dangers can trigger them. These crises usually last a few minutes, although they can sometimes last up to an hour or more. Its basic symptoms are the following:

• dizziness.
• Nausea.
• Loss of balance.
• Difficulties speaking.
• Difficulty breathing normally.
• Pulse acceleration.
• Tremors and numbness of the muscles.
• Thoughts associated with fear.

Thus, panic attacks are something similar to what would happen if we released all the anxiety stored during days and let it affect us in a concentrated way in a few minutes, especially during the first five. On the other hand, on many occasions the appearance of these episodes is unpredictable, among other things because their onset does not even depend on whether we are thinking about something that is stressful to us.

What to do during a panic attack?

To manage the panic attack in the best possible way and calm down again as soon as possible, follow the guidelines that you will see below.

1. If you can, find a quiet place nearby.

It is good to find a quiet place, since avoiding exposure to environments highly overloaded with stimuli can fuel panic. However, it is very important that you look for that space of relative calm in the closest places where you are, just a few meters away.

If you intend to move more, for example changing the floor of the building you are in or going to a park, this can actually become an escape. Which brings us to the next tip.

2. Do not run away

Running away only confirms the frame of mind you are in when experiencing the panic, as it reminds you that there is something you should try to get away from. That means, if you move around a lot, it is very easy to transform that simple transfer into a hasty withdrawal, which in turn feeds the fear that the situation that affects you could follow you (yes, even if what gives you panic is not something material or is very diffuse).

• You may be interested in: "Types of stress and their triggers"

3. Don't look for complex mental distractions

Setting yourself the task of thinking about very complex things will only frustrate you, since, when you are having a panic attack, you will not be able to do it, giving you more reason to worry.

That is to say, if when you feel the symptoms of a crisis of these characteristics you begin to try to remember who the Godos kings were from the Iberian Peninsula, or you propose to rehearse an imaginary conversation, failure will remind you over and over again that it is happening something serious enough to creep through all your thought processes.

4. Take a very passive attitude

To calm down during an anxiety attack, it is best to stay in something like a "state of hibernation": not concentrating on anything in particular, nor attending to anything that happens to our around. Assuming that the main problem is the panic attack itself and not a real danger located nearby, the desirable thing is to ignore everything and let the experience pass alone, just as a skier would do when he notices that he has a sheet of ice underneath.

A help to achieve this is to stop focusing your gaze and, immediately afterwards, mentally repeat a very simple word, although without paying attention to whether we are doing it correctly or not.