Anxiety and panic attacks are like my silent lifelong nemesis. I have cursed and struggled with them for the majority of my life. In fact, the majority of the population either suffers quietly from anxiety or has had a few brushes with it at some point in their lives. I have a good 20+ years of panic attacks under my belt (I should get a girl guide badge for that, no?) I have figured out a lot of ways to help when attacks or anxious feelings come my way. Nothing is fool-proof, but there are a lot of things you can do to prevent, ease or use to teach your self to think differently. This is a doozy of a post, tons of information that I have personally found that really helps me – if it’s not your cup of tea, no worries (no pun intended) otherwise read on.
BEFORE/ALWAYS: things you should do regularly to help prevent anxious feelings and generally keep yourself feeling great.
- watch what you eat. Processed, carb heavy, sugar, even gluten (seriously gluten is a huge anxiety trigger for me) can have a major effect on my anxiety. I notice it more when I stay away from these things and then have a day where I cave to cravings – the next day will no doubt be filled with anxiety and/or a panic attack (or two).
- be consistently active. Physical activity increases endorphins/makes you feel good, which will help in the long run to keep your anxiety down. Also, it can be really distracting to work out and get your mind off the over-thinking, sometimes some good old distraction works wonders.
- practice yoga. Usually I would say this would be conjoined with physical activity, but in this case it’s a stand alone star. A strong daily practice can literally be a miracle worker for those who suffer with anxiety. If I miss more than one practice in a row, my anxiety levels climb through the roof. Also yoga teaches you how to keep your breath slow and calm when your body is working really hard, which translates into real life when you are feeling stressed, anxious or struggling. (how to get started practicing yoga and how to fit yoga in your budget)
- increase your B12 intake. You should consult your doctor on this one, but people who are prone to anxiety and depression benefit from having higher levels on B12 in their blood stream. Also there is a chance that your B12 levels are low, which could be the cause of some of those extra anxious feelings. You can find high levels of B12 naturally in nutritional yeast, fish, bran, and eggs or a natural supplement or vitamin.
- sleep. Trouble with sleeping is a big anxiety trigger (trust me), finding ways to get your zzzz’s will help you in the anxiety long run.
DURING: a few things you can do to ease or help stop an attack in its tracks.
- step back and go somewhere quiet. Remove yourself from your current situation, even if it is not the cause of your attack. Find somewhere quiet where you feel like you have room to breathe, take your deep breaths as loud as you like till you feel even a bit better. If possible, lay down on your back or set yourself in a childs pose – make yourself comfortable and remove any restrictions from breathing.
- breathe to a count of four. Breathe through your nose. In through one nostril for a count of four, then out through the other for a count of four. Keep doing this till you have calmed down, maybe try to increase the count to 6 if possible. The act of concentrating on your breath might distract your thinking enough, as well as the slow exhales will naturally calm you down some.
- write down your thoughts. Even if you think they are silly. Half the time you are over-thinking and you logically know it’s silly but you just can’t get your brain to stop. Taking a moment to write your thoughts down, can help get them out of your head.
- write down logical answers to your thoughts. Take it a step further and write down the worst case scenarios to your thoughts (as if your, what if was true, for example), chances are it’s not so bad. Then also write down the more logical thought, instead of the over thought one. Forcing yourself to see things and spending the time analyzing them out of your head, is a great way to teach yourself to think differently for the future and maybe stop some of your thoughts in their tracks.
- watch your self talk. Be kind to yourself. We are told everyday to be kind to others, but it’s equally as important to be compassionate to yourself. We are often so hard on ourselves, sometimes causing our own anxiety from our self talk.
Some helpful/very informative books and workbooks: My Age of Anxiety, The Feeling Good Handbook, Mind Over Mood, The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook.
Still have that anxious feeling, look here for 6 more detailed ways on how you can kick an anxious attack away in the moment.
*Overly anxious reactions can be a learned behavior it is possible to learn how to react differently to your triggers. Avoiding situations that may be trigger, is only a short-term fix. Dealing and teaching yourself to react differently should be the goal (most likely with help). There are also several types of anxiety, so if you feel yourself avoiding more situations than not, feeling not so great the majority of the time a stressful situation comes up and having a hard time dealing with your anxious feelings visit to your doctor – getting more specific, educated help might be in your best interest (no shame in improving oneself, ever). I also highly recommended a cognitive therapy group or program, if something like that is available in your area – re-training your brain how to react to stressful triggers is the ultimate help and cognitive therapy will most definitely help.
These tips are great, and hugely helpful! But I do disagree with this part of your last paragraph:
"Anxiety is in fact a learned behavior so it is very possible for it to be unlearned."
There are so many different things that we mean when we say the word anxiety, but I think that this idea is potentially troubling in practice. And I’m disagreeing in a non-horrible-person-on-the-internet, but in a friendly way because I really love the ideas here and the strategies are incredibly helpful.
My take on it is this: anxiety is tied to how you react to stress, and how your brain reacts to those stress hormones – and to how long you’re exposed to those stress hormones. And in our lives we’re downright flooded with them all the time, which can lead to your body having a reaction that’s not a normal stress response. That’s where people start to get into trouble and need professional help – but most times they just don’t get it, because they’re used to feeling terrible, so they assume it’s normal to feel like that.
I think the idea that you’ve learned this reaction is problematic because it doesn’t take into account that it’s a complicated response that differs from person to person, and I’d hate for someone to feel like how they feel is their fault. It’s in the power of some people who feel these things to change. But a lot of that is about luck and neurochemistry. At the same time, I also get that it is a habitual thing, and that we develop triggers and responses to those triggers.
It’s all so complicated, isn’t it? 🙂
I’m a Canadian (woo!) web designer & small business owner, and I have generalized anxiety disorder and depression, so I’m coming from a very specific point of view, but I was only diagnosed and started treatment four years ago. And my life has completely changed for the better. But I’m not able to stop feeling like this unless I’m on medication. Without it, I’m not functional. It sucks, but it’s not my fault and I like being functional so I take medication. But if I believed I’d learned to be this way, I think that idea would harm me more than it would empower me.
What I say to anyone when anxiety comes up, which I’d also say to you, and also to anyone reading this, is if anxiety is part of your daily life, truly that’s not normal and you don’t have to live like that. Speak to a psychologist or to your doctor and get help, because we all deserve to have a life without this stuff holding us captive.
Thank you for sharing your journey – I hope they’re not part of your life forever too! <3
Thank you for your comment Kyla! I surely didn’t mean to it seem like anxiety was less then it actually is. I do agree with you, you are so right it is tied to how we react in stress. I think what I wrote there needed a much longer and less "this is the the reason and it can be fixed", explanation then I gave it. It’s the habitual triggers and reactions part that is the learned behavior, that’s why things like cognitive therapy can be so helpful. I too have GAD and with therapy and teaching my self to react differently to triggers (plus all the above tips) has greatly decreased my levels of anxiety – but I still live with it daily (especially if I go off some of what I wrote above). It is a complicated thing, very complicated. But I think it is empowering to know that the reactions to stressful (and sometimes not even stressful, least that’s how it is for me) triggers that lead to those anxious feelings can be helped, that it is possible to learn how to react and not always feel so terrible when doing so. My wording was poor (and I’m sorry for that), because really if it was possible for it to be totally unlearned I should technically be totally anxiety free by now (only in my dreams). Thank you for your comment, truly! 🙂
I love this! I definitely feel my best when I’m meeting all your "before/always" points. And I think I’m going to have to try your "during" ones sometime
YES this is brilliant. Eating a low-carb diet really works for me. Ughh panic attacks are the worst. Thanks for posting this.
Kirsten | kirstenlearns.com</a href>
I think caffeine can also trigger panic attacks so we should reduce or eliminate caffeine consumption in our diet.
Some excellent suggestions in the article. Along with regular exercise and a healthy diet, I find meditation helps a great deal. The hardest part is being disciplined enough to get into the routine of doing it daily but once the routine is established it really helps to keep the mind calm and anxious feelings at bay. Hypnosis MP3s can also work wonders. Caradie James has released some really powerful sessions and has even made one available for free : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGPObZCexXI
Very useful post. Thanks for sharing. Yes, you are true, healthy food and exercises will reduce the chances of getting anxiety. And sometimes when we are mentally disappointed it is better to mingle with others because being lonely may leads to negative thoughts. When you feel anxious take few deep breathes and drink a glass of water, your anxious feeling will calm down and do something which will make you feel happy.
Hi there! I am obviously late to this post (i just found your through ohdeardrea) but felt that I could add something. I too suffered from anxiety, and although I still have little bits of it here and there, since going vegan 2 years ago my whole outlook has changed. I feel a physical change as well as a mental change. I wake up happier and am not saddled with anxiety feelings throughout the day. Now my anxiety only surfaces maybe once a month. It’s very hard to explain in short few sentences, and is almost unbelievable to me, but its true- my anxious feelings have totally changed with a vegan diet. Just thought I’d throw something out there that has helped me so much.
Thank you for chiming in! Always so great to hear someone else’s personal experience and what worked for them. 🙂