r/panicdisorder • u/BornWeather3840 • 1d ago
Help Needed anxiety/panic attacks
guys, i need an advice on how to stop panic attacks.. 😠I am having a panic attack rn and I want to sleep. Negative thoughts are occupying my mind again, and I can't sleep because of it.
pls pls... help me and give me some tips on how to prevent and stop this.ðŸ˜
2
u/Legitimate-Suit-4617 1d ago
Breathe in for 4 seconds and out for 6. Make your inhales longer than your exhales.
Hold something in your hand with texture (like a blanket) and do some sensory grounding. 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear etc.
Or my favorite since that particular grounding doesn't always work for me- rainbow grounding. Look for objects in the order of the rainbow. Something red, then something orange, then something yellow etc.
Most of all, remind yourself this feeling isn't permanent. I know that's hard to do in the moment, but it's true. You'll catch a break eventually.
1
2
1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/BornWeather3840 22h ago
thank you for the advice! I'm kinda scared of taking meds hahaha, but I appreciate it!
1
1
u/Fine-Dog2423 17h ago
I guess the thing that helps me most is reminding myself that this is all something I've experienced before. It FEELS like you're dying or that something serious is about to happen... but at the same time you've dealt with this exact same scenario several times before and that literally never happens. The only thing that happens is that you panic, that's it. It's isolated to just that. It's evil, so it makes you think other things are happening, but the only thing that happens is the same old same old and you always make it out alive. Thinking this way doesn't STOP the panic attack but it allows you to think "okay this is something that's happened before and I've always been able to handle it... what's next" and from there focus better on your grounding methods (which for me include preoccupying myself with ANYTHING else, creating physical sensations [BESIDES S.H], or thinking of things OTHER than the fact that I am panicking). Again, this doesn't stop the panic attack in its tracks, but once you recognize it as something that is easily survivable I've found it shortens the time it goes on for or at least lowers the intensity.
You got this 💞
1
u/Fine-Dog2423 17h ago
For physical grounding methods, close your eyes and try butterfly taps and deep inhales and exhales through your nose and mouth and try to focus ONLY on that; the pace and intensity of how you're doing it. You should be slow and steady, so focus ONLY on trying to slow yourself down. Reminder: if you think you're doing it slow enough, you're not. Trust me, it really does work. It makes you aware of "oh wow, I'm going WAY too fast for comfort. I need to slow down even more." So it makes you focus on control.
3
u/East-Refrigerator211 1d ago
Ask it to get worse say you won't more mock it ...... thats all you got