It’s pretty obvious to anyone who suffers with an anxiety disorder that it’s very hard to stop a panic attack once it’s already started. There are, however, 3 fast ways to stop one, and I’d like to share those with you now.
#1. The Paper Bag Trick:
Make sure to keep paper bags on you at all times, and place them around your home anywhere you might have an attack. When you sense an attack coming on, start alternating your breathing, 30 seconds into the bag, 30 seconds breathing normally.
It’s become a cliche to offer a paper bag to someone having a panic attack, but like most cliches, it’s based in truth. And paper bag breathing really does work to stop panic attacks fast.
The second of the 3 tips I’d like to show you today is all about having noise distractions during a panic attack.
When you’re having a panic attack, put the TV or radio on. Or play music through speakers or headphones.
It’s common to feel like you’re losing your mind or losing control when you’re in the midst of a panic attack, and a silent or quiet room can make this seem even worse. Putting some added noise into the room will overcome this situation, and it will also help to “ground” you in reality.
And if you happen to experience depersonalization as part of your anxiety you’ll notice that this tip helps to stop that too, which is a great bonus.
The third tip I’d like to share with you is all about self-assurance.
For most of the time I had panic attacks, I only ever reassured myself in my head. But it’s actually much more helpful to reassure yourself out loud by actually talking to yourself. When you hear your own voice, it’s much more powerful.
I found that my internal thoughts didn’t help at all in calming me down, and in some cases the internal thoughts actually became negative thoughts.
“Out loud” thoughts are much more powerful, and the panic finds it much more difficult to overpower them the way it overpowers your “in your head” thoughts.
So whenever a panic attack strikes from now on, tell yourself out loud that this is just another panic attack like all the others, and that it will soon be gone and you’ll feel safe and calm again.
***Bonus Advanced Tip***
The next time you have a panic attack, wait for it to pass then take a few minutes to write down all you can remember about it – what you thought during the attack, how you felt, and so on. You might find it quicker to use a voice recorder for this.
If you do this a few times, you’ll soon realize that your attacks are all very similar, and all follow the same patterns.
Once you have your written notes or your voice recordings you can have them with you so that you can refer to them during future panic attacks. You’ll know where your mind and your panic are going before they even go there.
The reason this works so well is because it takes the mystery and the unknowns from your attacks. One of the worst things about having a panic attack is that feeling of losing control, and not knowing what’s gonna happen next.
During future panic attacks, when you’ll have your notes or your voice recording with you, you’ll see that by getting rid of the mysteries your attacks are gone much sooner than before.
The method of writing or recording “panic notes” like this is one of the most effective I’ve ever encountered, and I hope you’ll try it, along with the other tips I’ve shared with you.