How to stop a panic attack before it happens
Anyone living with an anxiety disorder will tell you that panic attacks are hell and has got to be the worst part of living with anxiety. They leave you feeling helpless, alone and completely depleted.
Panic attacks aren't easy to control and the most difficult time to stop a panic attack is when it's actually happening. Once it's begun it’s already too late and all the mental energy and self-discipline in the world won't stop it.
But that doesn't mean you just have to live with it. There is a way to stop a panic attack, and that's before it actually happens.
It helps to start with a basic explanation of where panic attacks come from.
Panic attacks can be the result of built-up stress that we haven't dealt with. So, when new stresses come along we can't handle any more and that triggers a panic attack.
But, while panic attacks feel like they come out of nowhere if you pay attention to your unique symptoms, you will be able to see it coming.
It starts when you have a grasp of what your anxiety triggers and symptoms are.
so what are anxiety triggers and symptoms?
Anxiety symptoms:
I like to think of my anxiety symptoms and little warning signs that I get from my body and mind alerting me and trying to let me know that my stress levels are getting pretty high.
For myself they come in the form of heart palpitations, exhaustion, feeling dizzy and feeling overwhelmed at the smallest task.
Anxiety triggers:
Anxiety triggers are things that set off your anxiety symptoms.
My own anxiety triggers are overloading my day and trying to get too much done in a day, working till late for too many days back to back without rest, not eating properly, not prioritising sleep.
Knowing what your anxiety triggers are will help you figure out when you absolutely need to de-stress.So how do you manage your anxiety using your triggers and symptoms?
Start with the basics
It helps if you think of your stress levels as a bucket that’s slowly being filled by a dripping tap, and you can only handle so much before you overflow and have a panic attack.
The bucket is you, the water is daily stress and when it overflows, that’s a panic attack.
We all experience stress daily, but sometimes events happen that are like a flood of stress - the tap gets open wide. And, at other times, tiny situations stress us out more than they should, it’s like the tap is open, but not to the point of gushing but filling up the bucket faster than normal.
Anxiety triggers are situations that cause that tap to open, but not to the point where it’s gushing. This is why we don't notice them right away. We don't notice that we become a little more stressed out than normal. It’s when another stressful situation comes along and opens that tap even wider, that we lose our ability to cope, and this leads to a panic attack.
Once the bucket overflows it’s already too late and it takes a great amount of effort to stop the panic attack.
That’s why the best time to stop a panic attack, is before it even happens. Prevention is key here.
You can do this by monitoring your anxiety levels throughout the day. Make it a habit to check in on yourself and if your anxiety levels seem higher than they should be, practice techniques that will bring them back down.
How do you bring your anxiety levels back down?
There are 3 basic ways to prevent that bucket from overflowing and prevent a panic attack from happening.
1 - stop the drips
The drips into that bucket can be seen as small, but slightly stressful situations that occur throughout the day. Some are unavoidable, while others can be avoided.
The trick here is to figure out which situations spike your stress levels, then think up ways to manage or avoid them.
For instance, if searching for your keys when you are already running late stresses you out, then keep them in the same spot each evening. Make a habit of leaving them in a specific, designated spot so that you don't have to frantically search for them every morning. This tiny change will mean a little less stress in the morning.
By decreasing minor stresses you’re creating a stress buffer that allows you to deal with the big stresses when they come up.
2 - de-stress
Holding on to stress and anxiety isn't good for anyone, whether you live with an anxiety disorder or not. It helps if you can find easy ways to destress and release some of the tension you built up throughout the day.
When you live with anxiety this definitely becomes an act of self-care.
You don't need to wait for a panic attack to hit before you begin to take better care of yourself. Make it a habit to constantly check in on your anxiety levels.
It helps to have a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is no stress at all and 10 is a panic attack. Then keep a diary and monitor how you feel throughout the day, every day for a few weeks. Make sure to also record what you were doing that made you feel stressed or relaxed.
This will help you figure out which time of the day is most stressful for you and why. Once you know that you can start creating strategies to bring that stress right down during those key times.
If your stress levels feel like they are hitting about a 7 or 8 then you need to stop what you're doing and take a break and de-stress immediately.
Have a few go-to de-stressors, like a walk in the park, reading a good book, meditating or even a nap (my personal go-to stress remedy). These will help you hit reset on the day.
This is the fundamental idea behind self-care and it goes a long way to avoiding a panic attack.
3 - close the tap
Once you know what your anxiety triggers are, and you make it a habit to monitor your stress levels constantly, it becomes easier to set boundaries when you feel yourself becoming depleted.
When you know when your bucket is 80% full, and you’re close to a panic attack, you need to avoid triggers at all costs.
Learning to say ‘no’ and setting boundaries will help you do this.
Do you really need to run that stressful errand now? If you are at 80% then you should rather ask for help, or do it tomorrow when you are calmer.
It’s important to note that you should only avoid your anxiety triggers when you feel that you are close to a panic attack.
If you start trying to avoid al your triggers you'll never learn how to cope with them and you might start withdrawing into your own world. While this sounds like a safe space to be it also becomes incredibly isolating very fast and you'll soon feel that your anxiety has ruined and taken over as a result.
A better way to deal with your triggers id to learn how to manage those situations so that your trigger isn't as stressful anymore.
For example, if driving in peak-time traffic stresses you out, and is a trigger, then schedule your day so that you drive after or before peak time traffic. That may mean gymming after work so that you avoid the traffic.
When you make a habit of avoiding your trigger altogether then you actually disable yourself. You are letting your anxiety disorder control you when you should be learning strategies that help you.
This is how you empower yourself through your anxiety.
Panic attacks are painful to go through, both emotionally and physically and while they are difficult to stop when you are going through them, you can learn how to prevent most of them.
Learning how to prevent a panic attack will be your most powerful tool in learning to live with your anxiety disorder, without letting it ruin your life.
It starts with monitoring your anxiety levels, knowing what your triggers are and figuring out ways to make them less stressful, and caring for yourself enough to have some downtime.
It’s a lot of hard work, but it's worth it if it means going panic attack free.
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