Panic Attacks: Solutions

What is a panic attack?

Panic attack is a sudden onset of intense fear, or terror that occurs without apparent cause. Physical symptoms may include shortness of breath, palpitations or accelerated heart rate, chest pain or discomfort. Psychological symptoms may include a suffocating sensation or a sense of unease and lack of touch with reality. Once you have recognized the symptoms as a panic attack, here are a few techniques you can try:

• Shift your focus:

Try focusing on a neutral object or person. Try focusing on a colour which relaxes you and focus on it surrounding you. Now try focusing on a silly word or something that makes you laugh. Notice how your focus shifts and how your body responds.

• Imagine the positive:

Replace a negative state with a more positive one. Imagine a time when you felt confident, safe or calm. Imagine the sounds, tastes, views and feelings of that moment. Now submerge in that moment till your body relaxes.

• Use these grounding techniques:

Look around you and identify:

• 5 things you see

• 4 things you feel

• 3 things you hear

• 2 things you smell

• 1 thing you taste

Deep breathing:

Breathe in for 4 seconds then exhale all the way out. Now breathe in for 6 seconds, then exhale all the way out. Now breathe in for 8 seconds, then exhale all the way. Feel even the smallest muscles relaxing and continue breathing slowly.