Tools in my tool box - helping through panic moments

There was some techniques I kept in my toolbox to help when I was having anxious moments.

What do I do when I have an anxiety attack?

When the anxiety comes, it comes in a variety of ways. First I want to talk through the physical symptoms and how I manage these:

Light headed and dizziness:

I breathe.

Deep Breaths.

I breathe in for a count of 4, through my nose, and exhale through my nose or mouth for a count of 4. I do this for 10 cycles.

Blurred Vision

This I found hard to manage, but the best thing that helped me was stepping away from screens, as I found this made it worst. Again the breathing technique above helped.

Difficulty swallowing:

With finding it hard to swallow and eat, I would eat things that were soft like Jelly, Ice cream (when I could eat). I found anything like chips, meat etc was too tough for me. (Hence I stopped eating meat and now 5 months later I am vegetarian.)

Stomach Churning:

Feeling like you have a stomach ache, I drank water as I felt in my head this would ease this.

Hands shaking:

I did the breathing technique above, and just sat down as the shaking hands made me feel like I was rushing.

"Jelly Legs"

I have to sit down when I get this feeling. Or breathing again. (breathing deep breaths honestly really help).

Sleeping Difficulties

I just napped whenever I could. I was finding it so hard to sleep through the night. However my counsellor gave me a couple of great tips the other day:

• When you wake up in the night, whatever you are thinking that wakes you up, write it down in a notebook or journal. This helps get out what's in your head on paper. Sometimes you don't know what to right, just right whatever comes to mind.

• Visualise a place where you can find calmness and content. For me this is imagining myself in the amazon rain forest with an small opening to a small waterfall. I imagine myself here meditating or doing Yoga.

Loss of motivation

Break down big tasks in to very small little ones. For me this was:

Making a cup of tea,

Then break.

Moving the washing basket to the washing machine,

Then break.

Getting dressed,

Then break.

etc.

You feel like you have achieved more in a short space of time.

Tiredness

I did very minimal yoga to help boost my energy levels. After I would rest, with a cup of tea.

Short term memory loss

This I couldn't change unfortunately. But the main thing to remember is to not let it stress you. Either laugh it off, or it wasn't important enough in the first place to remember!

I used to lose my train of through a lot through mid sentences, and yes it used to stress me because I felt I couldn't even talk properly! Don't let it stress you, don't worry about it :)

Fears:

Going Mad

Talk this out, I did with my counsellor and Step-mum.

Brain Tumour

Again as above, talk it out. Talking things out helps you hear the words and realise it's just an irrational thought.

Fainting/collapsing

I would do a couple of things:

• Put my head between my legs; if I was going to faint then putting my head between my legs helps the oxygen get back to my head. It made my mind think I was getting better.

• I laid down.

• I did my breathing technique above.

Feeling like I was dying:

This is intense, but the feeling is so there. Again as the above other fears I talked this out.

Choking

Same with difficulty swallowing above, I ate foods that were easier to swallow.

Not being able to bear it any longer

Talk it out, straight away.

I have to be honest:

I did do these things above, and for me it has taken time to really get to a point where I feel I can manage it. It didn't make it go away in the beginning. You may have moments of giving up these things above (as sometimes is just less effort to give up). But the more you practise, like with anything, it gets easier and better.

I can have an anxiety attack anywhere, I know now what triggers them mainly, but even now (6 months on) I still sometimes don't know why I'm feeling anxious.

Other tools I use:

• Writing

I have a notebook/journal that I carry everywhere with me. I write in this absolutely when I feel I need to. I mainly write out my anxious feelings, but I do use it to write positive messages to myself.

• Yoga

I started doing a very small amount of yoga, literally 10 minutes a day. This helped me to find mindfulness.

• Meditation

I have written a previous blog on this. Please check it out to see how meditation has helped me.

It helped me practise my breathing techniques and helped me feel in the moment. Anxiety can make us feel like we're losing control of the moment and like we're floating. This brings me back to the moment.

• Waiting in cues - this would bring on anxiety

The thought of waiting in a cue made me feel lightheaded and dizzy. My counselling gave me a great tip:

When waiting in a cue, put your basket down in your spot and if you feel you need to walk around or walk away for a moment, do so. The basket is holding your spot while you take a moment.

I also think in my head all that I am grateful for. Think of the things you are happy about and your thankful for having them in your life.

• Talking

The one thing that really helped me. I never knew I needed it so much!

I share these to give awareness that no matter how intense that moment feels, there is a small step that can just help you to come back to the present moment.