Women of Reddit, for those who have had panic attacks, what have you done in order to prevent it or make it get better?

45 comments

  1. Grounding, breathing exercises, comfort from someone you love/trust, meditation if you feel your anxiety/panic is getting bad

  3. When I had my very first one (and didn’t know what the hell it was…seriously thought I was having a heart attack), I called an ambulance and was admitted into the hospital.

    After running a bunch of tests, turns out I was fine, a bit dehydrated, but nothing major.

    When I feel another one coming on, I tell myself, “I’m not going to die. I’m fine. Remember how you were tested in the hospital? You were fine. It’ll be ok. It will pass.” Also, I drink big glasses of ice cold water (seems to help, dunno), and I sit down and take deep breaths.

    Sit down, deep breaths, ice cold water, remember that the hospital told me I’d be ok.

    I also take CBD oil twice daily. It definitely helps.

  4. – therapy
    – meds
    – Practice calming and mindfulness whenever, not just when I think something will stress me or whatever, because panic attacks will sneak up on you out of nowhere and your body has to know what it feels like not to be in that state. Can’t learn if you don’t practice.

  5. My own way of dealing with it:

    1. Avoid situations that would trigger it.
    2. Keep an eye on my surroundings.
    3. Never take risks with safety
    4. Give yourself plenty of time
    5. There are other things I do when I can, such as meds, music, etc.

  6. A panic attack is involuntary, but, you can set yourself up for success. Here are a couple things that help me.

    Because I have had a few panic attacks while driving, I am going to use that as an example.

    There is a physiological component to it. Eat regular meals and get a good night’s sleep. Being hungry or tired makes any bad thing feel worse. I keep food in my car in case I get stuck in traffic.

    When I am on a long trip, I fill up when I have half a tank. Now I am not worried about running out of gas. I stop to pee every few hours and before I enter a major city. Having to pee while being stuck I’m traffic makes me anxious. I keep my wallet between the passenger seat and the center console. Hitting a toll booth with folks behind me honking while I am trying to dig out the money for a toll makes me anxious.

    I have OnStar, so I know if I get in an accident, somebody will call 911 for me. I have the directions, so I push the button if I get lost and they send the gps directions to my car.

    I keep my dog in the kennel when we ride. If we crash, I don’t worry about him going through the windshield. I have hella airbags.

    When I got my car, I got an extended warranty. For the first 5ish years, if something on it broke, I didn’t have to pay for it. I could take it to a dealership, and they would give me a loaner so I could continue my day as they worked on it.

    I have xm radio, so the music never stops. If I start to feel anxious, I sing along with it, or sing/rap the Hamilton soundtrack. In order to sing, you have to moderate your breath. Deep breathing automatically relaxes your body.

    I also know my limits. 8 hours is about all I can handle. My mom’s house is 9 hours from mine. I know that with stops and traffic that can easily be 11-12, so I spend the night somewhere in the middle.

    I also drive regularly. The longer I go without driving the harder it is. I drive on roads I am not familiar with. I drive at night time.

    I don’t schedule other things that make me nervous on days I have to drive a long way. I don’t tell folks what time I am leaving or when I will be there, being late makes me anxious.

    So, basically, I try to do something about all the things I worry about before they are a problem. And, then, before I get in the car, I pray. It reminds me that I have somebody out there looking out for me.

    So, figure out what are your triggers and do something to moderate them. (BTW, I have anxiety medication, but it isn’t a good idea to take the kind I have and drive, so 🤷🏾‍♀️.)

  7. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helped teach me how to find the pattern to my panic attacks so I could curb them before they got too intense.

    To make them more bearable, I use the 5 things method; Name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. Gets me out of my head and into the present.

  8. Getting on medication and getting into therapy helped me the most long term with them. Panic attacks suck. I don’t wish them on my worst enemy. Hugs to anyone who struggles with them as well.

  9. I’ve learned to acknowledge it’s coming up and get myself to a safe area to have it. If my partner is around, I go to him and have him hold me while I breathe. If I’m completely alone, I tend to find a good floor to sit down and hold myself together in case it gets bad. I realized that the more I let them come and ride them out, the less often they happened. I get one every other month now whereas before I was at least getting one weekly (I was also wayyyy more stressed tho)

  10. I didn’t even know I was having one the first time it happened. I remember everything was moving around me and then I passed out.

    When it happens, my heart starts pounding uncontrollably, my vision blurs and I begin to feel tingling sensations in my legs, so I step away from everything or everyone and start taking deep breathes.

  11. In the short term (ie when I feel one coming on), I find a way to get physically moving. Sometimes it’s just running in place or wiggling my whole body. I’ll also find a way to cool my body down if I feel warm or crowded upon, or wrap something around myself. Depends on the type.

    I don’t get them much anymore, because I have changed basically my whole life so that I don’t put myself in situations where I’d be likely to have a panic attack. Lots of sleep, rejecting too much work, assertiveness training, eating properly and regularly, but exercise by far is the best mood regulator I’ve ever used. Like by leagues. No supplement or mantra comes close to having the effect that lifting weights does. I know there’s science behind it but I’m telling you straight up, lift heavy shit every day and you’ll be better off.

  12. As soon as I feel it starting, I run outside. The fresh, open, air calms me down almost immediately.
    Then I take slow, deep breaths and tell myself I’m okay until it resolves.

    Edit: Nothing I’ve tried helps them. Medicine, no drinking, better diet, etc.

    For example, the other night I had one because my feet were hot. And for some reason, that translated to “you cannot breathe, you’re about to suffocate” in my brain and I immediately started panicking.

  13. Grounding and medication. I usually have some warning signs where they’re much more controllable (restless, racing thoughts, tight throat and weird breathing) so when I catch those sneaking up on me, I’m able to successfully ground myself.

  15. So I have had panic attacks, at the time of incident just focusing on one thing really helps. Like something on the wall or a song. Something to steady yourself with. If you are okay with people hugging you and rocking you, seems to help, too. Tapping your chest works and rocking yourself if you don’t like close contact or are by yourself. Focus on breathing but not necessarily trying to control it. Just take baby steps. To prevent: try therapy, medications (holy shit can the world seem very different but yet the same. Some people need meds because our brains can’t handle/produce certain neurotransmitters, simple as that) , Journaling/writing thoughts helps. You don’t have to be a great writer, or an artist just put some thoughts out there. I do want to say you should get checked out for underlying conditions (other than mental health). I had asthma and thought they were panic attacks. They can be very similar.

  19. I had one of my first panic attacks on my first day as a senior back in high school. I didn’t know what was happening at the time but I managed to sneak out of the hall and that’s when a school deputy found me. She obviously had experience in calming students before hand, so to combat my crying she kept asking me questions about my holidays and my family to try and distract me from the topic of school (which was the reason for the attack). In time I managed to teach myself how to do this to myself and distract myself from what’s bothering me. And I’ve managed to use this tactic on others

  20. Deep breathes and watching videos about it. There are a lot of people who interpret anxiety differently and it makes me feel that I am not alone. My favorite interpretation has got to be Sander Sides, anxiety is an actual character.

  21. Same as some of you. Thought I was dying first time. It then you recognize it and have to reason with yourself. And that’s not easy but you know your ok. I’ve had a friend come over once too. That helped a lot. Just to sit with me. Tell me to breathe.

  22. I have anxiety and panic attacks. One thing I find that seems to ground me is wearing bracelets. I turn them in circles around my wrist. It’s a weird thing but it works somewhat. I notice that circle motions seem to comfort me. I had one panic attack while I was out in the snow and I afterward I saw that I had paced a perfect circle in the snow.

  23. Mine began when I was taking my last finals in nursing school, preparing for my boards, ending a seven year relationship, and looking for my very first job. All within a few months. I went to the ER numerous times. I finally got mad. I decided I wasn’t doing this anymore. It worked. For years. Until I hit another super stressful time. I tried 4 or 5 antidepressants until I found Prozac. This drug was lifesaver for me.

  25. For me they’re not very common, but they happen when I’m in a really bad place. My water bottle is my anchor. I get really nauseous during panic attacks (which doesn’t make it better…) and by putting a bottle of cold water or a cold cloth against my neck it gets better. During the summer of 2018 I had a lot of panic attacks and I literally clung to my water bottle during that time.

  26. 2 methods. If it’s slow coming on and I notice it quickly, I can sometimes just start intensely exercising and the focus on my body and physical sensation kind of heads it off. If it’s inevitable, then sometimes I make no effort to calm it down, and just let it peak so that I can cry and come down faster.

  27. I grab a cold juice and snack (like a pop tart or a treat that will make me feel good, cinnamon roll etc), my Bluetooth speaker and a towel, I play my favorite music and sit in the shower with warm/hot water running on me and eat my snack/drink my juice

    At the same time I’ll read my shampoo bottles out loud. All of it, top to bottom, back and front, serial numbers etc

    It distracts your mind having to try to pronounce all the weird ingredients. Sometime I might call a friend if I start to have derealization as well to help feel like things are real!

  28. Therapy.

    But specifically, aside from dealing with the root causes of my depression and anxiety through therapy, some friends of mine taught me a grounding exercise that helps when I’m on the edge of having a panic attack or a flashback.

    In your environment, find:
    5 things you can see.
    4 things you can feel.
    3 things you can hear.
    2 things you can smell.
    1 thing you can taste.

    The idea is partly to distract you from the stressor, and partly to help ground your mind in the moment. It’s saved me from what would have been some nasty panic attacks.

    I’ll add that it’s important not to beat yourself up if you have a panic attack, even if you thought you’d healed enough. A relapse doesn’t mean you have to start over or that you haven’t made progress. And some folks will always have at least some risk, no matter what they do.

  30. I started getting counselling when I was about 7. It was amazing for me to learn how to take control over my panic attacks.

    Ten years later I made the decision to go on antidepressants when my panic attacks got really bad. Life changing. Honestly. It can be a huge trial and error thing but meds have eliminated my anxiety entirely

  31. I ride out the wave. It’s hard but I’ve sort of gotten the hang of the warning signs that a panic attack is on its way. I usually sit down or lay down, breath in and out. Focus on being in the present since I have a tendency to have an out of body experience where my arms actually aren’t my arms, I focus on telling myself that this is my body and I’m in control. If I am listening to a podcast during the time it happens I try to focus on the topic and words and bring myself back down.

    The first time it got really bad I called an ambulance and they helped me to calm down. I was so embarrassed but my brother reassured me that I did the right thing then and there since I thought I was choking.

  34. • Square breathe as soon as I feel like one might be coming

    • Mental body scans to ground myself

    • Butterfly hugs

    • Drink some tea, typically hawthorn, chamomile or lavender as they help me the most when I’m experiencing anxiety, stress and heart palpitations

    • Take some of my lorazepam if it’s a severe panic attack

    • Remind myself that it will pass, show kindness and compassion to myself

    • Meditation and cognitive behavioural therapy

  35. medication

    therapy to deal with the underlying stuff

    exposure

    generally taking care of myself: sleep, exercise, food, water

    avoiding substances that make it worse e.g. alcohol/caffeine

    grounding techniques

    recognising when I’m at my limit and walking away if I need to

  36. Quit drinking, and also tough exercise, like the kind that gets you exhausted. Long runs, hot yoga, heavy weights.

  37. A few years ago, I was suffering from PTSD from an assault. I was alone in a big city, hundreds of miles away from anyone in my support network. Trying to go to school and I didn’t really have any friends.
    I went to the counseling center at the school but they only do short term and I couldn’t afford to pay for therapy outside. So I had to figure it out myself.

    First, I set aside dedicated time to spend feeling as safe as possible. This evolved from time in the bathtub with a blanket fort, to my closet, and finally to just hanging out under my bed. I would create a small space and just exist in it as long as I could, sometimes multiple times a day. I would just sit or lay there and breathe. This helped me have a reinforcer for telling myself that I was safe when I was having an attack, because this is what safe felt like.

    I learned that fighting the attack just made it worse. You have to think of it as just another way for your body to communicate it’s needs. Part of those needs include time to vent and process emotions. So I when I started feeling the bubble in my gut I would find somewhere to sit and just let the crying happen until I could move again.

    As I was having the attack, I found that pacing really helped me to reset. I added music and I would literally just yell sing as I did laps on a segment of sidewalk until I could leave the sidewalk without the crying getting worse and without the fear seizing my chest, that weight that you get. If either happened I would turn the music back on and do a few more laps. Try again.

    Eventually my body learned the process and it took less and less time for me to move through the panic. I got a point where I could turn music on and just be still. Then eventually, I stopped needing fort time and could just recall the feeling of being safe. It took a very long time.

    I still vividly remember the intense attacks I had. I remember telling the therapist that it was like that scene in Bambi with the quails. I know I’m safe now, and the one quail is telling me to just be still everything is fine. But that other quail is just panicking and escalating because there’s a hunter. She frets and fidgets and no matter what cannot calm down because she is not safe. He’s coming. Then she flies away and gets shot. The impending doom, the feeling that I was never safe, I named the hunter.

    I just want anyone whose experiencing panic attacks now to know that you’re not weak and it’s not your fault. It is your mind, body and spirit processing what happened and attempting to ensure your safety. The therapist told me the example of the quail is exactly right, there’s a part of my brain that was just hijacking everything and could not be reasoned with. It had to be shown over and over that we were safe.

  38. Therapy. But the number one thing it helped me learn was how to unconsciously start doing relaxation exercises. Now without even thinking about it, if I start getting nervous I instantly start doing breathing exercises or tightening and relaxing my muscles in ways I was taught in therapy. Took me years to get there but I rarely have panic attacks now.

  39. I’ve had so many that I recognize them and can just sit them out and not freak out about the fact that I have a panic attack (of course still freaking out about what triggered the attack). I can, to some extent, prevent them by taking a rest and relax earlier. Mine have gone from several per day to a couple per year, so I’m not complaining…

    Edit: oh, and more generally, I’ve had therapy and I’m on meds for GAD which helps with the PAs as well.

  40. Cognitive behavioral therapy gave me tools to help rationalize my way out of panic attacks. I still have them daily but they don’t feel so world ending now.

  41. I went to my doctor and got put on a med. I also work on avoiding situations that might cause an attack.

  43. Yes I have them often but they have started to settle down. I recently lost my husband and my mom two years ago.

    I had a wonderful therapist that taught me facial tapping and several phrases to repeat when having one.

    You tap with your fingers around the forehead and sinus area.

    Google facial tapping it will show you how to do it correctly.

    Also I listen to my Christian music

    Or native American flute music to help me calm down

    Look up Tibetan singing bowls or crystal singing bowls on you tube. Very calming.

  44. Relax, cry as much as you want.
    After you’re done with it, eat a banana or something as crying is tiring.

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