By: Catherine Sangi, LPC
What is a Panic Attack?
Are you someone that experiences panic attacks? Sometimes they are triggered by a certain stimulus, and sometimes they seem to come on out of nowhere.
A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense anxiety accompanied by any of the following:
- Palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate
- Sweating
- Trembling or shaking
- Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering
- A feeling of choking
- Chest pain or discomfort
- Nausea or abdominal distress
- Feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded, or faint
- Feelings of unreality (derealization) or being detached from oneself (depersonalization)
- Fear of losing control or going crazy
- Fear of dying
- Numbness or tingling sensations
- Chills or hot flushes
(5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013)
Coping Skills for Panic Attacks
Panic attacks are different for each person and the goal is to decrease the intensity, duration, and frequency of the attacks. In addition to therapy and medication management, some of the following techniques can also lessen the intensity, duration, and frequency of your attacks. These skills can be used before you feel any anxiety, during the attack, after the attack, or anywhere in between. Below are just a few skills, however there are countless techniques that can work for different people.
- Box Breathing (breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, breath out for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, repeat)
- Grounding (identify and say out loud something you see, smell, hear, feel, smell, and taste)
- Squeeze frozen clementines
- Touch something soft
- Listen to music
- Take a cold/ hot shower
- Move your body (go outside, do yoga, go for a walk)
- Talk to a friend
- Chew on ice
- Dunk your head in ice cubes
It is helpful to have a toolbox of skills! It is okay and normal if a technique works one time and then does not work another time. That is why we want to have many skills to pick from. Overall, remember the anxiety will pass. The more we fight our anxiety, the harder it will fight back with us. Panic attacks are an unpleasant feeling, but the acceptance that they are a part of us (the same way freckles, red hair, and “inny” belly buttons may be a part of us) help make them more manageable.