How To Reduce A Panic Attack Naturally!

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you were completely consumed by fear and anxiety? Did you feel like your chest was going to explode or like you could not breathe?

If yes, then, you could have experienced what is known as a panic attack, or an anxiety attack.

A panic attack is a symptom of anxiety-related disorders and condition, which can be triggered when the brain is under extreme stress or fear.

Anxiety or panic can be described as a state of extreme, overwhelming fear of imagined negative situations or real ones.

A person who has an anxiety disorder may have a greater amount of fear when it comes to situations that do not affect normal people so much.

For instance, a person with an anxiety disorder could be so afraid of accidents, that he/she may not be able to step out of the house at all!

So, anxiety and panic attacks can come in the way of a person's daily activities, career, studies, family life, relationships, etc., drastically deteriorating the quality of his/her life.

Chronic anxiety and panic attacks would surely need immediate medical help; however, there are some ways in which panic attacks can be reduced naturally.

Here are a few tips on how panic attacks can be reduced, naturally.

1. Identify The Symptoms

If you are someone who is prone to panic attacks, firstly, you must be able to understand and become aware of the presence of this ailment in you. Next, you must be able to identify the symptoms of panic attacks, such as extreme fear, irrational reasoning, sweating, palpitations, dizziness, etc., when they happen. Identifying and becoming aware of the symptoms will help a person to naturally reduce this condition.

2. Shut-Eye Exercise

When you start to experience the symptoms of a panic attack, immediately get to a quiet place, sit upright or lay down and shut both your eyes lightly for a few minutes and try to slow down your thought process. Shutting one's eyes during panic attacks has known to reduce the symptoms.

3. Practice Deep Breathing

When a person is experiencing panic attacks, his/her breathing pattern becomes extremely fast-paced, with shallow breaths, making it hard to breathe well. So, taking deep breaths for about 5-10 minutes, when you are experiencing panic attacks can surely slow your breath down and help reduce symptoms.

4. Slow Down The Thoughts

One of the main symptoms of a panic attack is "running thoughts", or negative thoughts which occur extremely fast in the head, increasing the fear. So, while practicing the deep breathing exercise mentioned previously, try to slow down the thought process too, as much as possible to see a marked reduction in anxiety levels.

5. Focal Point Exercise

Like we read earlier, during an episode of panic attack, a person's thoughts are fast-paced, negative and continuous, making the fear and anxiety worse. So, while this is happening, focus on one object or a picture and keep doing that, until your breathing and thoughts slow down. This exercise has also been known to help reduce panic attacks.

6. Stretching

Most of us know that stretching is a form of exercise or post-workout routine, which helps relax our muscles. During a panic attack, the muscles of the body become tense and contracted. So, practicing a few simple body stretches during a panic attack can also help reduce this condition.

7. Visualising Exercise

When a person is experiencing a panic attack, visualising positive things or things that make that person happy and excited can help reduce the symptoms drastically. For example, visualising a vacation, thinking about all the good times they can have with their friends, visualising their favourite food, movie, etc., can help.

8. Physical Exercise

Exercises, such as weight lifting, running, jogging, walking, etc., can also help reduce panic attacks to a significant extent. When a person exercises, endorphins are released in the brain. The endorphins have the ability to reduce certain brain chemicals which trigger anxiety, thus reducing panic attacks.