Dr. Manisha Sharma

Every individual experiences anxiety in some form at some point of time. One suffers from an anxiety disorder if one experiences dogged, unrealistic worrying about everyday life. One is said to experience panic attack if the abrupt attacks have symptoms like racing heart, nausea, tremors and intense fear. A panic attack is a sudden rush of overwhelming anxiety and fear. The heart pounds and breathing becomes difficult. If ignored and untreated, panic attacks can lead to panic disorder and may cause one to withdraw from normal activities. 

With a little mindful attention and practice, one can reduce or eliminate the symptoms of a panic attack, manage anxiety, and prevent attacks from occurring in the future and regain control of life. If one is having a panic attack, then the aim is to calm oneself at the moment by breathing deeply. This would reduce the stress and provide oxygen to the brain to help one focus. Hold your breath to start with and reduce the feeling of choking and then begin to breathe slowly. Inhale through nose and exhale through mouth till one notices a difference in muscle relaxation and clarity of thought.

During a panic attack, your thoughts are often jumbled up. This is due to the fact that one's heart rate has kicked off and breathing is in high gear, muscles are tensed and blood flow is constricted. One should try to focus on one's senses and should distract the mind from fear through different mental diversions. This can be as simple as reciting the lyrics to your favourite song or poem until one has calmed down a bit. It is important that one should make sure not to distract by leaving the situation that has caused the panic. One must ride out the panic attack at the same place else one will likely associate that place or situation with fear triggering future attacks.

Try to practice progressive muscle relaxation by slowly going through body and tensing and relaxing each muscle group. It relaxes muscles as well as forces one to concentrate on something other than fear. Although, if one want to reduce the anxiety, don't ignore it. One should try stop anxiety producing thoughts and replace them with images of something that brings you happiness or peace. Using guided image of a place where one feel at peace and relaxed, reduce one's experience of anxiety. Further, add details to the scene, so that one is focusing the entire mind on imagining it. 

Taking care of one's physical health will help take care of mental health. Healthy exercise and diet habits will help you manage manage anxiety. Getting an body active, especially through aerobic exercise, releases chemicals that are responsible for increasing ones feelings of peace and happiness. Stimulants like as caffeine and nicotine worsen existing anxiety and dependence on them can increase feelings of stress and anxiety when one don't get enough of it. Eat a balanced diet with plenty of lean protein, complex carbohydrates like whole grains, and fresh fruits and vegetables and avoid processed and high-sugar foods. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a psychiatrist and ask a free question.