| having had a few hundred, I usually characterized mine as having the following timeline: 1. A few seconds of acute fear 2. 10 to 30 minutes of anxiety 3. An hour or two of cooldown before return to normal (initially it just drained all my energy and made me depressed) I'm a naturally anxious person, but that's okay. here are some things that help in phase 1: - Spot 5 things you see, 4 things you hear, 3 things you touch, 2 things you smell, 1 thing you taste - Try to think logically about what it is you are anxious about. I had medical anxiety and would convince myself of delusions of having possibly contracted tetanus from a finger prick while restringing my guitar. After some research, the logical conclusion was that tetanus is most commonly found on farmer's fields not metal, presents in deep wounds and has an incubation of 10 days on average, so no point worrying now. It's also curable. - If all else fails, just remember phase 2 will soon be around the corner For phase 2, remember that your emotions and your thoughts are most likely at odds. if you can integrate what your emotions feel into what your thoughts think, you may still have panic attacks but they shouldn't ruin your day. This is where the CBT that others mentioned is relevant. I sparsely went to therapy so didn't know this initially. Many times with my panic attacks I felt as though there was a question that needed answering and once I found the answer I would have to write it down because afterwards I felt that the answer no longer mattered enough to remember. This happened many times as I believe I was piecing my life together one anxiety at a time. I think I didn't remember it because it became a part of me. For phase 3, have some snacks and try to get your energy back. Another important part of CBT is asking yourself the question: what would I be doing now if I was living a worthwhile life? and then doing that no matter how much it feels wrong. EDIT: I rarely go to therapy and am not big on drugs of any kind (even alcohol, tylenol, caffeine). What did help for me which I don't necessarily recommend is a keto diet. I now fast until ~2pm each day and I find I get similar albeit less pronounced benefits. |