There are certain things you can do before a panic attack strikes that will help you better prepare yourself mentally for what’s to come. These moments you spend preparing can successfully desensitize you from the events, people, things and/or circumstances that might cause you to panic. In addition to this, the preparation you do now will help you handle stress, worry, anxiety and unexpected change with more thought and control.
Here are some suggestions to help you prepare yourself mentally and physically for the likelihood of a future panic attack:
Understand: Panic Attacks are Not Dangerous
It’s important to keep reminding yourself that panic attacks are not dangerous. Yes, the body does some strange things, and it might even feel as though you’re experiencing a heart attack, however that’s not actually the case. Your body is just responding to perceived danger by activating the fight-flight response. It sees that there is an emergency and it needs to make sure that you are aware and prepared to survive this encounter.
The excessive adrenaline that is pumped through your body at the time of a panic attack is what makes you feel on-edge and somewhat out of control. This is a natural and normal experience to a perceived threat. Yet, it’s important to remember that it’s only a “perceived” threat. You perceive things a certain way and as a result you react accordingly. Therefore, it would make sense that if you perceived things another way, that you would react differently.
If you do end up experiencing a panic attack, keep in mind that they tend to come and go in short bursts. Therefore, it’s important to feel secure in the fact that experiencing panic is natural, normal, not dangerous, and won’t last very long.
Expose Yourself to Uncomfortable Situations
You feel panic because you are potentially being thrown into an uncomfortable and unexpected situation that causes you to “freak-out” a little. This is understandable. Anything that’s new, unfamiliar or anything that you tend to fear and feel somewhat reluctant about can certainly get the adrenaline grands going and as a result you may very well experience a panic attack.
If new things can do this to us, then how about things that we’ve done numerous times before. These things are not new or unexpected. They are now familiar and we become comfortable with the things we have done time and again over an extended period of time. And within this lies the key to desensitizing yourself emotionally from uncomfortable situations.
To desensitize yourself, you must expose yourself to uncomfortable circumstances that you might fear or feel uncertain about in small doses over an extended period of time. This essentially means taking chances and risks to stretch your comfort zone using small daily steps. Yes, initially you might feel somewhat uneasy and may begin to feel that adrenaline building up inside your body. However, with continuous exposure over time, this feeling will subside and will instead be replaced with the knowledge and certainly that you can actually get through this situation successfully without losing control of your emotions.
Probably the most important thing that will come about from this daily desensitization process, is that you will begin disproving your fears. You will start becoming familiar and somewhat more comfortable with the events and circumstances you are confronting, and this will shift how you think about things. This shift in perspective will encourage you to take even greater risks the next day, and the next day after that. And before you know it you will have taken a giant leap that will give you the confidence you need to work through this situation successfully without panic or fear.
To desensitize yourself, take small progressive steps daily. When you begin losing control of your emotions, take a step back and learn from the experience. Then once you’ve gathered your thoughts, take another small step forward and try again. You might not make a lot of progress today, however with consistent effort you will make plenty of progress over the course of a week or month. The key is to try. You have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Build Your Support Network
Everyone needs a strong support network. This is a network of friends, colleagues, family members, mentors, etc, who can help support you in times of need. Likewise, you can help support them when they need it most.
Your support network can successfully help you get through difficult emotional experiences. They can help you work through your stresses, overcome your worries, and even calm your anxieties. They can also help shift your perspective about events and circumstances. Maybe they will provide you with a new way of viewing things that will help convince you that there is nothing to worry about.
Build this support network over time by developing strong emotional bonds and connections with people. Help them out with their problems and emotional struggles, and they will likewise be there for you in your time of need. However, you have to be willing to reach out to these people and spend time growing and cultivating these relationships over many months and even years. That is when you will gain the greatest value from your support network.
Find Ways to Keep Calm
When you’re in “panic mode” the very first thing you need to do is to stay cool, calm and collected. And staying calm begins with your breath.
When you lose control of your breath, you lose control of your body, and when you lose control of your body, there is no turning back. Your first step is therefore to learn about breath control. Yes, actually jump onto the Internet and look for articles about “breath control”. Learning to control your breath will just make everything else so much easier, and will help put you in a more open and positive state-of-mind.
Another way to keep yourself calm during a panic attack is to practice progressive muscle relaxation technique. Normally when we’re in a state-of-panic, all our muscles tense up, and as a result we find it very difficult to relax and ground ourselves. However, if you take the time to learn and practice progressive muscle relaxation technique, then this can provide you with the confidence you need to use this technique during moments of an imminent panic attack.
The final way to calm yourself down comes in the form of meditation. Meditation can help you gain clarity and peace of mind in times of emotional turmoil. However, the benefits of meditation come over an extended period of time. They come after several months and years of teaching yourself how to calm your emotions and settle your mind. This calmness is initially only found while you’re meditating. However, over time after months and years of practice, this calmness will be within you throughout the day, whether you’re meditating or not.
So, jump onto the Internet and do your research. Look for articles about breath control, articles about progressive muscle relaxation, and about meditation. These three calming techniques will help you significantly as you work your way to a more calm, centered and focused state-of-mind.
Develop Your Emotional Coping Skills
Panic attacks are often triggered when you are unable to handle the less-intense emotions you experience throughout the day. For instance stress, worry, anxiety and fear are all common emotions that the typical person experiences that can often lead to a panic attack. It therefore makes sense that to ward off the possibility of experiencing a panic attack, that we must learn to better manage and cope with these four critical emotions.
Take time to gain as much knowledge as you can about each of these emotions, and then work on learning to cope with them more effectively on a day-to-day basis. Initially you might feel a little reluctant and might not make a lot of progress. However, with persistent effort and dedication over time, you will develop the necessary coping skills that will help you manage these emotions successfully. And once these emotions are under-check, then you will be less likely to experience a panic attack resulting from one of these emotional experiences.
Avoid Addictions
Addictions are never good for you. However, it’s just so easy to indulge in them when our emotions get out of hand.
Addictions such as alcohol, over-eating, caffeine, nicotine and recreational drugs have many side-effects and dangers. However, what’s less known, is that all of them will tend to raise your anxiety levels in the long-term. And when your anxiety levels are raised, this is more likely to trigger unexpected panic attacks throughout the day when you’re confronted with new or uncomfortable situations. This is very important, because under normal conditions you might not experience a panic attack, however because your anxiety levels were higher than normal, then this naturally put your emotions into a tailspin, and caused you to lose control.
Avoid addictions and give yourself a fighting chance to take control of your panic attacks.