Surfing the Wave of a Panic Attack

The fear is real, the danger is not.

A Typical Panic Attack

A panic attack can happen to anyone, anywhere. You don’t have to be in a threatening situation to have one. You could be at work, school, in a restaurant or asleep in bed. I was in my mid-thirties when I had my first. It was a beautiful early summer day and I was walking down a busy main street on the way to a hair appointment, planning the menu for unexpected dinner guests, mentally slotting in all of the extra activities required into a day already slammed for time.

What a Panic Attack Feels Like

Out of the blue, my heart pounded violently. My throat closed. I couldn’t breathe and was convinced I was going to die right there and then. Eventually I sucked in air, stopped shaking and managed to make it to the appointment where the stylist proceeded to tell me about the weird client who had had a panic attack in her chair that day which immediately sent my own anxiety levels skyrocketed again. The terrifying symptoms gradually eased and faded, leaving me exhausted and trembling and seeking answers.

Since then, I’ve learned more about panic attacks and, most importantly, how to surf through them.

What is a Panic Attack

Our brain is not good at differentiating real physical danger from stressful thoughts and it will trigger the same physical survival responses for both situations. These responses reside in the sympathetic nervous system which activates the fight-flight-flee response, our body’s rapid involuntary reaction to dangerous or stressful situations. When this is triggered a flash flood of hormones, particularly adrenalin, boosts the body’s alertness and heart rate, sending extra blood to the muscles. Breathing becomes quick and shallow, delivering fresh oxygen to the brain. A shot of glucose bursts into the bloodstream for an immediate energy boost. This response occurs so quickly that people often don’t realize it’s taken place.

A panic attack is a short circuit in the sympathetic nervous system when the perceived danger is not physically present.

It can take 5-30 minutes for the attack to run its course as it takes time for the adrenalin to be reabsorbed into the system and the parasympathetic nervous system, the rest and digest system, to slow things down. Blood pressure, breathing rate and hormone flow return to normal levels as the body settles into equilibrium again.

How to Stop a Panic Attack

Breathe through it

An attack may leave you gasping for air. There are few things more terrifying than not being able to breathe properly so it is imperative that you get your breathing under control first. Once you can breathe more normally, fear naturally drops, too. I have found that the following works: closing my eyes, putting my hand on my diaphragm (the area between bellybutton and ribcage) and inhaling slowly and deeply to the count of four. Hold the breath for the count of four then exhale to the count of four. After a few minutes, I start to feel better.

Reassure yourself that life will go on

Panic is hard to go through but it’s not life-threatening and there is no reason for it to slow you down. You can cope and function well during an attack. While you’re taking slow breaths, remind yourself that what you’re feeling is a manifestation of anxiety, not real danger. Talk to yourself using comforting statements like, “This is a false alarm” “This too will pass” “All is well”. Remind yourself that panic attacks don’t last forever, and you can ride the wave. When it has passed you will realize that nothing awful has happened.

Stay present

Focus on using your senses to identify objects that are real. Start with five things you can see around you. Then four things that you can touch. If possible, actually touch them, noticing their texture, shape and composition. Identify three things that you can hear. If possible, classify the sounds. Are they loud, soft, shrill, musical? Then two smells. And finally, one thing you can taste. When you can stay grounded in the moment it helps to reinforce that there is no immediate danger and is certainly better than letting your mind behave like a demented squirrel in your brain.

Use progressive relaxation

Slow your body down and your mind will follow. Tense one muscle at a time and then relax it. Start with the big muscles you’d use for flight – quadriceps, calf muscles, glutes. Then move to shoulders, neck and biceps. Stretch and relax your hands. Go through all of your muscles until each one is relaxed. Keep reminding yourself that all is well.

Get some gentle exercise

Movement lowers stress, one of the main triggers of panic attacks. If possible, go for a gentle walk or do some slow yoga or tai chi poses. Try to match your breaths with your movement. Even 10 minutes of slow, controlled movement will help to calm your mind in the moment. Practiced regularly, it can help to train the mind to be relaxed and aware.

Don’t disaster-ize

Disaster-ize may or may not be a word but it sums up the negative power of “what-if” thoughts. Panic attacks feed on thoughts of what might happen (usually worst-case scenarios). “What if I bomb the presentation and I lose my job and then I won’t be able to put any food on the table—hell, I won’t even have a place to live because I haven’t saved any money and I’ll have to slink back to go and live with my parents and…” By this time, you’re so far down the rabbit hole of fear and misery you don’t feel you can ever climb out!

The best thing you can do is to acknowledge the fear then shift from “what if” to “so what”. Acknowledge that you’re suffering anticipatory anxiety and that things rarely turn out as badly as we expect.

Don’t let common triggers set you off

If you’re prone to panic attacks being hungry, angry, lonely, or tired can set one off. These are four feelings that can bring out the worst in everyone. When symptoms arise, check in with yourself: Am I hungry? Am I tired? Has someone made me angry? Once you identify what’s going on, you can take steps to either fix it or let it go in the moment.

Don’t try to fight or control the panic

When fear scrambles your mind, rate it on a scale of one to 10 every few minutes. This not only keeps you in the present moment, it’s also a good reminder that you’re not at 10 for the whole time. It clearly fluctuates. Remind yourself that panic attacks end within 30 minutes. Panic attacks are real feelings and the physical symptoms are very uncomfortable. But knowing they have a limited lifespan and are not life-threatening can ease the fear. Trying to fight or end panic tends to make it worse. Ride the wave of panic. You can handle it.

Don’t try to relieve the panic with caffeine, smoking, gambling, or alcohol.

Caffeine can spike a nervous and shaky feeling. It can also keep you awake at night, which can result in fatigue and sluggishness the next day and lower your ability to cope with the stresses of daily life. Nicotine and alcohol can calm you at first, then make you edgy as your body processes them. All three can trigger panic attacks or make them worse. While gambling can give a welcome rush of dopamine and energizing euphoria in the moment, in the long run it can have severely adverse effects triggering more anxiety. It’s best to avoid all of the above as they can all contribute to poor mental health.

Don’t focus on what you can’t control or change

Some things are within our control, and some things are not. Facing this fundamental rule and learned to distinguish between what we can and can’t control reduces inner anxiety. So, for whatever is making you anxious, break it down into what you can control and what you can’t. Then, and this is the hard part, you have to let go of what you can’t control and focus on what you can.

The above techniques are for coping with an attack in the moment. Naturally, I also wanted to know how I could prevent them in the future. It’s a two-part process. It’s easy to feel alone and scared after an event. So, the first thing I learned to do was to talk about my panic attacks with someone I trusted to to listen in a thoughtful non-judgemental manner. In my case it was my family physician. You might feel more comfortable with a partner, family member, or friend. I also use techniques like meditation and mindfulness; regular exercise and a decent diet; and sufficient sleep to manage my stress levels.

I was really lucky. My panic attacks ended within a year proving that not only do individual attacks end within a very finite period of time, but the tendency to suffer from them can end, too.

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