There are so many tips and tricks when it comes to dealing with panic attacks. Weather it’s deep breathing, muscle relaxation, or simply distracting yourself, there are many tried and true methods to help calm the attack. While I cannot say there is one simple method that always works for me, there is something I always like to remember when battling the symptoms of panic.
Ride out the wave of panic.
Panic attacks can be incredibly frightening, even when you have experienced them in the past. They can cause physiological symptoms that are so scary you may fear that you are truly in danger. When in the pits of dealing with anxiety, I would do anything to avoid a panic attacks because I feared these symptoms so greatly. I would escape any situation where I began to feel panic, or simply avoid it all together. However, after beginning therapy to learn more about my anxiety, I realized that this was actually making my panic attacks worse. In order to overcome panic attacks we must allow ourselves to feel them.
We must learn to ride out the wave of panic in order to teach our body that there is nothing to truly fear.
When experiencing a panic attack, I try to imagine myself riding out a wave in the ocean. It will go up, it will get rough, but eventually, the panic WILL come down. My job is not to try to escape it, my job is simply to ride out the wave. To know that it will pass, and to trust myself that I am capable of managing it.
Just hold on.
As someone who is inspired and moved by music, I was pleasantly surprised when listening to John Mayer’s song, Emoji of Wave, from his most recent album, “The Search for Everything.” Although the track is a love song written about the ups and downs of relationships, I found that it serves as a great reminder when facing panic attacks.
The chorus of the song goes,
“Oh honey
Oh honey
It’s just a wave
It’s just a wave, and I know
That when it comes
I just hold on
I just hold on”
On days where I am experiencing anxiety or panic attacks, I listen to this song a lot. It helps me to remember that panic attacks do not last forever. I CAN and WILL ride out this wave of panic.
I just hold on.
The next time you are experiencing anxiety I encourage you to listen to this song…
and just hold on.
By: Grace Wirth, Anxiety In Teens Contributor