If you’ve ever experienced an anxiety attack, you know that they can be terrifying. Typical symptoms include a racing heart, fast breathing, chest tightness, and feeling shaky and lightheaded. The frightening thing about anxiety attacks is that they often come on for no apparent reason. Your body reacts as though it’s being chased by a tiger when you’re lying safely in bed at night or sitting behind your desk in the middle of the day.
Some people have anxiety attacks occasionally while others are plagued by them every single day. Whether anxiety only creeps up on you once in a while or is something you deal with frequently, the key to treating it is learning how to get your anxiety attacks under control. Here are a few tips to help you become the boss of your anxiety.
1. Know that you’re not dying or going crazy.
One of the primary thoughts that races through people’s minds when they’re in the throes of an anxiety attack is that they’re going to pass out and die or lose their minds. The next time you feel that familiar sense of doom creeping up on you and those thoughts start – stop them right away. No one has ever died or gone insane from an anxiety attack, and you won’t be the first.
2. Focus on your breathing.
One excellent way to stop your body and mind from spiraling out of control is to get a grip on one thing you can control – and that’s your breathing. Take a deep breath in, counting slowly to six. Then exhale slowly as you count to six again. This rate of breathing has been scientifically proven to stimulate the vagus nerve, which enables you to slow down your blood pressure and heart rate.
3. Practice muscle relaxation.
As you get your breathing under control, you’ll likely notice that you’ve tensed up muscles throughout your body. Work on relaxing those muscles one area at a time. Tense up and then relax the muscles in your feet, then your ankles, then your calves, then thighs, working your way upwards all the way to your scalp. This will not only help you relax; it’ll also draw your attention away from the anxiety attack.
When you know how to keep your mind, breathing, and body from spiraling out of control, you’ll soon gain control over your anxiety attacks. It takes practice, but remember that every attack is an opportunity to improve these skills until you become the master of your own anxiety.
