Any tips for coping with anxiety/panic attacks?

[Helloanne1234]

I struggle with anxiety and panic attacks. It happened this morning as I was alone with my 3yo and newborn. I called a mental health charity and they helped to calm
me down. Does anyone have any tips for dealing with this sort of thing? My husband is very supportive but has to work and my parents aren’t nearby and I went go see them as soon as I was able.

it’s health related anxiety attacks. My poor toddler had to help me calm down as I couldn’t stop crying.

Sertraline!

Do you have a Home Start close to you as they support mums with mental health issues?

I'd contact your Dr too, being a mum will give you quicker access to things like talking therapy so look at this as a positive position to be in.

There's no shame in calling a mental health talk line if you need it. Do you have a schedule in the week that works for you? Seeing family / friends / playdates etc maybe on particular days - helps with feeling isolated.

Propanalol is good for lowering anxiety, and magnesium helps me too, as does going for walks. I'm sure your Dr will offer you medication but it's your choice.

You poor thing, this sounds tough (and very relatable, having been/being in a similar situation myself).

Sertraline has been a godsend for me and completely altered my capacity to cope day to day. I also had some talking therapies, but found these didn’t quite hit the nail on the head - the main thing I was struggling with was the physical sensation of panic rising in my chest.

You mention health anxiety - is there anything in particular that might have triggered a panic response? Or just a general feeling of not feeling quite right?

@notthemayoi know sertraline is breastfeeding safe but I feel guilty taking it and harming her.

Yes the panic response, the fight or flight feeling, is what I get - for me when I see rashes on my children’s bodies. It hit. We’re rashy. In the car today I thought about how if I had to, I’d leave the children at my parents. I had suicidal thoughts like this during the height of ppd and I hate that I’m here again. I can’t cope with the thought that my children have rashes and ailments because of me.

What helped me was to reframe it in my mind as ‘only a panic attack’. I’d start to feel anxious, then say to myself ‘it’s only a panic attack, I know that it will pass’. After a while I found I was having fewer of them, and they didn’t last as long.

The thing about panic attacks is that they make us think we're going to die – it's why so many people end up in hospital with their first one. And after that first one we're on high alert for this awful thing happening again, which is ironic because that's what gets people into the panic attack 'loop'.

What no one mentions is that panic attacks never killed anyone. Ever. Despite feeling horrible they can't hurt you and generally fade within 15-20 minutes. Just knowing this can often rob them of their power, because your mind accepts that nothing really bad is going to happen and all you have to do is sit down, regulate your breathing and wait for it to stop. The analogy I use is that it's like a rollercoaster – that ride that scares the crap out of you (and people both pay and queue up for the privilege!) but that will stop in a few minutes.