Coping with a Panic Attack

This video provides strategies for managing panic attacks, including breathing exercises, seeking professional help, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It emphasizes that panic attacks are temporary and that feelings alone cannot harm you.

Panic attacks are very common and can feel quite scary. During a panic attack, people often feel out of control, which makes them afraid. The body responds to this fear by perpetuating the physical symptoms of the panic attack, such as shortness of breath, increased heart rate, and sweating. Stopping a panic attack may be challenging, but it's possible to manage it and shorten its effect. When dealing with panic attacks, it's important to remember that they don't last long and the intense feelings will pass. Panic attacks often feel overwhelming, so what can you do to manage them in the moment? In this video, we'll offer some coping strategies. Firstly, breathing exercises can help reduce symptoms of panic attacks. However, it's important to note that these techniques might be very difficult to perform in the moment and can feel unnatural. That's why practicing breathing exercises and other common techniques when you're not experiencing symptoms is so crucial. Practicing these exercises now, or when you're feeling well, can help you easily access these skills during emotionally intense times. Secondly, professional help may also be beneficial and sometimes even necessary in managing panic attacks. When panic attacks seem to occur out of nowhere, or if they are directly linked to a trigger, a counselor can help identify the source of the panic and craft a treatment plan that is best for your specific situation. Finally, regular exercise, a healthy diet, and other general healthy habits can also help prepare the body to better handle stressful situations and moments of panic. Perhaps the most important thing to remember when in a state of panic is that the feeling will pass. Feelings alone cannot harm you.