Anxiety attacks are scary and can come on quickly. They will make you feel afraid and out of control. The good news is there are techniques you can implement to help you calm your anxiety attack on your own. Here are 5 strategies to help you reduce your anxiety levels while experiencing an anxiety attack.
1. Focus on Your Breathing
While suffering an anxiety attack, you may begin to hyperventilate or take shallow breaths. This can cause your panic and fear levels to spike, as hyperventilating causes you to feel like you cannot breathe. Practicing slow and deliberate breathing will help counteract this symptom.
Try implementing box breathing, a common type of mindful breathing. When box breathing, you inhale for four seconds, hold your breath for four seconds, and exhale for four seconds. This technique will help to lower your heart rate and reduce your anxiety.
2. Practice Grounding Techniques
Grounding techniques are another form of mindfulness. By forcing yourself to be in the moment, it helps you acknowledge your present situation and your emotional state. From here, it is easier to calm yourself. There are a variety of grounding techniques you can choose from, including the 4-3-2-1 method. This involves naming four things you can see, three things you can touch, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.
3. Warhead Candy Trick
When your mind is so focused or fixated on the anxiety you are feeling, taste is a very effective means to help bring you back into your body. One very useful sensation technique is to suck on a Warhead or sour candy. This helps shift your attention from your anxious thoughts to the sour taste in your mouth. If you do not have any sour candy around, any other food that causes the puckering effect will do–like hot sauce or wasabi.
4. Relax Your Muscles
In the midst of an anxiety attack, you will probably tense up without meaning to or realizing it. Your shoulders may be hiked up to your ears, and your jaw might be clenched shut. Releasing this tension will help you to feel better both mentally and physically. Although it may sound counterintuitive, begin relaxing your muscles by first tensing them up. Tensing is usually an easier way to get in touch with your muscles and puts you in control of your body rather than your anxiety. Once you have created additional tension, imagine it melting away, along with your anxiety.
5. Move Your Body
In the midst of an anxiety attack, sometimes physically moving out of your current position will help to restart your mindset. A gentle walk or some light yoga will begin to release endorphins, the feel-good brain chemical, to counteract your anxiety. On top of being good for an anxiety attack in the moment, regular exercise is also a great way to help lower anxiety levels overall. Aerobic exercise will not only make your body physically stronger but will also help you to feel better mentally.
Regardless of how you calm yourself in the moment, you do not need to handle an anxiety attack alone. Remember, you can always lean on your loved ones for help. However, if you find yourself experiencing anxiety attacks more and more often, consider reaching out to a trained professional for help.
Seeking therapy to help with anxiety treatment is a great way to help mitigate the effects of frequent anxiety attacks. If you are looking for help with your anxiety attacks, contact me to get started toward better mental health.