Can I prevent a panic attack?

[AmayaJ]

Something happened today that upset me. Its not a big deal. I know its not. But I find myself overreacting. Most people would brush it off, move on. But I'm there hiding from my kids in the bathroom because I'm crying. I feel so pathetic that I get like this. My reactions to things are not normal. All afternoon I could feel the anxiety building. My heart racing. And now I'm scared to go to sleep because I know I'm going to wake up in the middle of the night unable to breathe, having a panic attack.
I have just started therapy a couple of weeks ago so I am trying to sort my life out. But I am so so scared of having a panic attack again. I really struggle to calm myself and I'm on my own so nobody is going to be here to help. Its not like I call anyone either because it's so late.
Anyone still awake with any tips on how I can try and prevent it from happening?

Ffs, meant to change my name
I give up

Try the Dare app. I was the same as you in the summer and I tried Dare and now I am okay again. Good luck to you. You can get past this.

Ps The book was also free on Kindle when I found it. It was life changing for me.

I found listening to binaural beats if I started feeling as if I was heading towards a panic attack really helped.

Yes there are things you can do to head off a panic attack. Like you I often overreact to completely normal problems, but I’ve learned some techniques to help deal with them.

Try planting your feet on the ground and recognising the fact that right now, in this moment, you are perfectly safe. Say it out loud. You are safe, and all is well.

The 4-7-8 breathing technique can also help. Breathe in for a count of four, hold for seven and breathe out for eight. Repeat until you feel in control again.

Mindfulness might help - look up the RAIN exercise.

My therapist did say however that sometimes mindfulness isn’t great for everyone in the throes of a panic attack, because it can make you feel worse if you’re struggling to concentrate. She advocated having a stash of medication to take when you feel an attack coming on. My GP prescribed me propranolol - a small dose of 10mg when I feel the panic rising is enough to see it off.

Sorry for the multiple posts. Am meant to be going to bed so trying to be brief!

But try not to fear another panic attack. That gives your anxiety power. The first step is to defuse and think so what? So what if I have another panic attack? It can't hurt me.

Step 2. Accept your anxious feelings and thoughts. Don't fight. Don't force yourself to do unnatural breathing exercises. Just sit with the discomfort and anxiety. Accept it. Let it wash over you. Don't give it power.

Step 3. Run towards the anxiety. Demand more anxious feelings. Counterintuitive but it stops it in its tracks.

Step 4. Engage in something else. Don't distract yourself from the anxiety but do get busy with other things.

I hope that helps. All the best.

You can get through it really quickly by getting on the ground with your legs bent so your feet are on the ground, hands resting on your belly and try to blow your breath out. It's because you're more 'grounded', you won't faint because the blood isn't working so hard to get to your head, you aren't at risk of falling over and usually, because the sensation of pressure from the floor on your back is calming, along with the blowing action slowing down your breathing so you don't hyperventilate.

They're crap, but go with it and they pass sooner so you aren't fearing it and making it worse from the anticipation.

Panic attacks are awful so you have my sympathy. I suffered for years with them and eventually needed medication to get them under control, but I am now off the meds and manage my anxiety in other ways. Seeing a counsellor is a really positive step. It might also help you to read up on the physiology of panic to understand it better. Things that can help include reducing alcohol and caffeine, exercise, getting proper sleep, meditation and mindfulness exercises. I also do tapping (eft) and I have used that to calm myself during an attack. Another thing you could try when you feel panic is to focus on your senses, think of five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can smell, two things you can touch and one thing you can smell. Box breathing is also good, breathe in for four, hold for four, breathe out for four, hold for four and repeat.

Sing. It forces you to control your breathing.

Medication tbh. Mine was so bad that nothing else worked

There's an app called Panic attack anxiety relief, which I've used with headphones. You breathe along with it and it has helped me calm down in the past.

Panic attacks are dreadful.

Diazepam has helped enormously but they are a very last resort and I only get 5 at a time.

Hope you can get this sorted I wish you all the best

I found yoga really helped . Not to stop them as such but to control my breathing as one was starting . Xx good look op

Thank you so much for all your replies. I really do appreciate it so much. I'm looking in to them all now x

It might be worth seeing your GO fir blood tests for B12, folate, iron & potassium. Being low in any of these can contributed anxiety. I had panic attics & got ridiculously jumpy when my potassium was low & similar with low B12. There's also a medical condition called POTs, that can affect your fight or flight response & make you physically over react to stressors. It's often missed or blamed on anxiety, mine was missed for decades, this can be helped, so in turn helps the resulting anxiety

Other than that, yes you can stem a panic attack, & though you won't stop it all together, you can control it.

My DD suffers badly with anxiety & we've brought her up using yogic breathing techniques & tapping, both can be done in plain sight without anyone ever knowing & definitely helps. I've even used when strapped to a heart monitor in an ambulance & the paramedic actually spotted me doing it on the heart monitor as it brought my loopy heart down very fast. You'll find YouTube videos on both techniques

I second the poster who mentioned propranolol. It got me through many a school run, when I couldn't leave the house without a racing heart and shaking like a leaf. It really does work.

My favorite exercise is pick an object and explain it to an alien.

Also try
Name 5 things you see
4 things you hear
Etc

If I’m starting to hyperventilate I will hold my breath briefly because just trying to take slow breaths doesn’t work for me.

I'm going to find something to listen to now to try and help me calm down a bit. And lots of tips written down for when the inevitable happens 😞. Thank you so much.
I can't believe my day is ending like this. I was happy and in a really good place when I woke up this morning.

@RockinHorseShit

It might be worth seeing your GO fir blood tests for B12, folate, iron & potassium. Being low in any of these can contributed anxiety. I had panic attics & got ridiculously jumpy when my potassium was low & similar with low B12. There's also a medical condition called POTs, that can affect your fight or flight response & make you physically over react to stressors. It's often missed or blamed on anxiety, mine was missed for decades, this can be helped, so in turn helps the resulting anxiety

Other than that, yes you can stem a panic attack, & though you won't stop it all together, you can control it.

My DD suffers badly with anxiety & we've brought her up using yogic breathing techniques & tapping, both can be done in plain sight without anyone ever knowing & definitely helps. I've even used when strapped to a heart monitor in an ambulance & the paramedic actually spotted me doing it on the heart monitor as it brought my loopy heart down very fast. You'll find YouTube videos on both techniques

Very true - mine are generally due to POTS - they tend to hit when I am stressed, because I'm rushing around, had to leap straight up from bed or standing for long periods waiting for buses and the like. They feel the same, though - because your heart rate goes ballistic, you're lightheaded and want to run away before your legs give out on you. Oh, and I have to make sure I have salty food and enough fluids daily - an emergency packet of GF pretzels is brilliant for this, and highwaisted compression running leggings/socks really seem to make a huge difference (I've been known to wear them under a long dress before now).

In the case of POTS, though, propranolol doesn't help as much. But if you don't know what's happening to you, it's scary and this can add the anxiety to the physical symptoms, so it can still help to some degree.

It's another thing that is often attributed to anxiety or perimenopause in women.