Anxiety attacks, also known as panic attacks, are episodes of intense fear that seemingly come of out of nowhere and affect you mentally and physically. Medications and therapy typically are used simultaneously to address the triggers of these attacks and the long-term effects of the attacks. Learning relaxation techniques is vital to reducing their severity, especially if you are alone when you experience an attack.
Breathing Exercises
One of the most common symptoms of an anxiety attack is shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. If you are not able to regain control of your breathing, you may feel faint or lose consciousness. When you feel an attack coming on, close your eyes and breathe deeply. Think to yourself, "In and out," and try to match your breathing pattern to your thoughts. Prolonged patterns of irregular breathing can affect the brain's concentration of oxygen, limiting its ability to function properly. Controlling your breathing will help keep you focused and in control of the attack.
Guided Imagery
Because anxiety attacks are caused by an extreme fear, it is common for sufferers to begin to visualize this fear, increasing the onset and severity of the attack. Guided imagery is a technique that helps you control the attack by visualizing a pleasant or comforting image. For example, if your anxiety attacks are caused by an extreme fear of escalators and there is no alternate route for you to enter or exit a location, visualize yourself getting off the escalator or arriving at your destination. Being able to connect with a positive consequence reduces the anxiety around the present fear.
Cognitive Restructuring
Cognitive restructuring is used to help people recognize and replace their panic-causing thoughts with calming, positive thoughts to reduce their anxiety. For example, if you have a fear of being trapped in an elevator and you need to go to the 45th floor of a building, it is probably inevitable that you will have to take an elevator. You may start to think, "Something is going to happen while I'm in the elevator" or "That elevator ride is too long; I'll never make it." With cognitive restructuring, you would recognize these thoughts as panic-inducing and instead say to yourself, "This is what I must do to get to where I have to go. I will be safe." You also can create a contingency plan. If you get on the elevator and it feels overwhelming, you can get off to catch your breath or regain your composure, or you can ride the elevator part of the way and take the steps for the other part of the trip.
