5 Ways to Calm an Anxiety Attack
Dealing with anxiety can feel like an uphill battle. Even just thinking about your anxiety can cause you to feel anxious. It's an endless, vicious cycle that seems never-ending. Unfortunately, many people throughout the world are dealing with anxiety regularly. In fact, the numbers are rising for the amount of people diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) each year.
Even though dealing with chronic anxiety is becoming increasingly common, that does not mean finding ways to cope with it is easy. Even though it is a challenge, there are many different ways to calm an anxiety attack down. Remember that what works for one person may not be as effective for someone else. Often, it is just a process of trial and error to discover what works for you.
5 Ways to Calm an Anxiety Attack
1. Breathing Techniques
It's common to be in the middle of an anxiety attack and find that you feel as if you have a hard time breathing. That's because during an anxiety attack, your body is activating your nervous system. Your nervous system, in turn, goes into a state of high alert and causes your breathing pattern to change. You can use this to your advantage, though, and counteract this "nervous" nervous system.
There are a variety of breathing techniques you can try, but the best is boxed breathing. This helps to deactivate your nervous system and calm it down. To do this:
Slowly breathe in for four seconds
Hold your breath for four seconds
Slowly exhale for four seconds
Repeat steps 1 through 3
As you go through this process, you'll find that your body should feel more calm and stabile.
2. Grounding Techniques
When anxiety is taking over, we are worried about all the what-ifs. We try to foresee every possible outcome from every situation, even those we cannot control. Staying in the present moment can be very difficult when hyperfocused on the future. Grounding techniques can help you with this. It forces your mind to be distracted from your anxious thoughts and ground you back into the present. To do this:
Identify 5 things you can see
4 things you can hear
3 things you can touch
2 things you can smell
1 thing you can taste
By the time this exercise is over, you should notice that you are no longer focused so much on what is making you anxious.
3. Journaling & Other Creative Hobbies
Your mind won't stop racing, and you feel as if your thoughts are going everywhere. You need to focus on what you must get done, but you just can't bring yourself to it. In many cases, forcing yourself to keep chugging along without a break, thinking that will help, is common. Sometimes, when our anxious mind is cycling through so much, it can be beneficial to take a step back.
In a journal, write out what you are most worried about. Or, give yourself a break and try to doodle, color, or do an activity that forces your mind to focus on something creative but manageable. Adults often forget the power of stepping back and allowing yourself to be in the moment.
4. Exercise
You don't have to do a full workout to get the mindfulness benefit of exercising. Even a short walk, yoga, or pilates can help your body and mind. Moving around, in any capacity, helps your body release endorphins such as serotonin that help you feel good. This is a chemical that helps to promote feelings of calmness and happiness.
5. Talk It Out
When you deal with anxiety, it often means that you are in your head a lot. It can be hard to express your feelings to others when you don't understand them yourself. Don't be afraid to talk about it out loud. Even if your thoughts are scattered, releasing them into the world can help you overcome them.
If you are ready to take control of your anxiety, don't hesitate to reach out to learn more about anxiety therapy. We can help you get to the root cause of your anxiety attacks and pave a path toward peace.
