4 Useful Ways To Calm An Anxiety Attack

Here we go again.

You thought you were doing everything you could to prevent this from happening.

But just like all the times before, you've never been able to prevent it or stop it before it happens.

The sweat starts coming in buckets. You're feeling pretty dizzy. Your heart feels like it's beating out of your chest at a rapid pace.

Pain starts to form in your chest. Breathing becomes more difficult with each passing minute. Now, your hands are shaking.

You feel sick to your stomach. The panic and fear set in.

Oh joy, another anxiety attack.

Here are 4 useful ways to calm an anxiety attack.

1. Focus On Your Breathing

Practicing a variety of different grounding techniques can help better prepare you for the next time an anxiety attack happens.

One of the best things you can do in the moment of an anxiety attack is to try to focus on your breathing. Many symptoms of an anxiety attack can relate to your breathing and heart rate. If you let these feelings go on for too long, your anxiety attack can start to feel worse.

You can try many different types of breathing techniques, but for now, just try a simple technique of taking a deep breath, holding it in for 5 seconds, and releasing it slowly, repeating the process until you feel calmer.

2. Try Grounding Techniques

Instead of focusing on all of the signs and symptoms that are happening to you and your body, instead, try to focus on how certain things that you're surrounded by look and feel. Another great technique dealing with grounding is the 5-4-3-2-1 technique.

5. Acknowledge FIVE things around you. It could be your laptop on your desk, a spot on the carpet, or a plant in the corner of the room.

4. Seek out FOUR things you can physically touch like your hair, the carpet, or a book on the shelf.

3. Listen for THREE sounds you can hear outside of your body. Listen for cars driving on the street, children playing outside, or the wind outside of your window.

2. Focus on TWO things you can smell. Maybe it's the smell of cleaning supplies coming from your bathroom or maybe you can smell a candle from the room you're in.

1. Lastly, what is ONE thing you can taste? Can you taste your drinks or meals from earlier in the day? Do you taste coffee or tea? Maybe you can taste the waffles you had at breakfast or the salad you ate during lunch.

3. Get Your Body Moving

Getting your body moving for at least thirty minutes each day can be very beneficial for your overall health and wellness. Not only is it good for you externally, but it can relieve some of the stress and anxiety you may be facing internally as well.

Exercise doesn't have to mean that you're becoming a professional athlete or running for hours on end. Move your body in ways that you actually enjoy. Go for a walk outside, hop on a bicycle, or sign up for a class you've been wanting to try. A little movement each day can help clear your mind and you feel better.

4. Seek Support

Anxiety is a completely normal feeling from time to time. If you start to notice your anxiety may be affecting your daily life, it's a good indicator that it's time to reach out for additional support.

Talk to a friend, family member, or a loved one about how you're feeling. They can help you work through how you're feeling and try to help you find ways to bring your anxiety levels down.

They may even push you to seek help from a therapist. Therapy is a judgment-free zone. A trained and licensed therapist can help you work through everything, as well as give you the tools you need to help you cope with an anxiety attack in the future.

Reach out to me today if you're interested in setting up a consultation for anxiety treatment.