Sometimes everything hits a person all at one moment, or even the stress of an upcoming or current situation crashes on them at the same time. Maybe this moment has been building up for quite some time and now is when these feelings of panic and worry decide to manifest in their day to day life. Oftentimes, when people experience this moment they are experiencing an anxiety attack.
Although more common in people with generalized anxiety disorder, anxiety attacks can happen to anyone; especially if they are placed under a high stress environment. They are mostly onset by life stressors and trauma responses however (“Can Anxiety Attacks Be Triggered by Nothing? | Amen Clinics Amen Clinics”) it is not uncommon for similar phenomena like panic attacks to happen without a specific trigger. Physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, sweating, dizziness, lightheadedness, rapid breathing, and more also commonly accompany an anxiety attack which is what makes having one so frightening for most people.
To regulate an anxiety attack, the best thing to do is to shift your focus. Shifting your focus to the present moment and grounding yourself can take away from thoughts regarding initial stressors and thoughts that fed the anxiety attack in the first place. An easy way to do this is to hold ice in your hand. This will shock your body and shift your brain’s attention to the cold sensation. Eating something sour can do the job as well.
If you find yourself in a less comfortable situation where you do not have access to either of these things you can employ the 333 method, or some variation of it. This method consists of naming 3 things you see, hear, and feel (Johnson 2022). Doing this exercise can help ground you to the present moment when your mind may be way ahead of itself focusing on upcoming stressors. Having someone close to you know this method and talk you through doing it is also helpful when first learning to regulate these attacks. Eventually it will become second nature to do so. Utilizing this method will allow you to calm down and think of solutions to stressors instead of being paralyzed in an anxious state.
Initially it may be difficult to regulate an anxiety attack, but over time implementing strategies like the ones described in this article can build habits that make moments like these more manageable. These are just a few techniques that can be used to regulate anxiety attacks, there are many more available. Treatment for anxiety and related attacks can also be provided by a healthcare professional if these attacks are diminishing the quality of a person’s day to day life. But for now, these simple strategies have been proven to help and it won’t hurt to try them.
Written By: Carmela Gonzalez, Mental H2O Youth Resource Writer
References:
“Can Anxiety Attacks Be Triggered by Nothing? | Amen Clinics Amen Clinics.” Amen Clinics, 23 Sept. 2023,
www.amenclinics.com/blog/can-anxiety-attacks-be-triggered-by-nothing/#:~:text=ANXI
ETY%20TRIGGERS-. Accessed 16 June 2024.
Johnson, Jacquelyn. “The 333 Rule for Anxiety and Other Coping Strategies.” Healthline, 28
July 2022, www.healthline.com/health/333-rule-anxiety.
National Institute of Mental Health. “Panic Disorder: When Fear Overwhelms.”
Www.nimh.nih.gov, 2022, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/panic-disorder-when-fear-overwhelms.
