What to do when you have an anxiety attack

Anxiety attacks (not to be confused with panic attacks) have become a common occurrence for me recently, well more than usual, so here's a few tips on how I deal (or not as the case may be) with them.

What exactly is the difference between an anxiety and a panic attack? The two terms are often used to mean the same thing but although they can seem to be very similar they are actually key differences:

An anxiety attack occurs as a result of a stressor. 
Stressor: An event or stimulus that cause us to experience psychological stress.

For example  I normally experience these when my stress levels are particularly high due to work or otherwise, (yes I did have a meltdown about my knitting earlier today but lets just skip that one) being in a situation that causes you to panic (most social occasions really) and even anything that takes me out of my comfort zone.....hence why I am such a creature of habit. 

A panic attack on the other hand is often not set of by a particular stressor and can in fact be quite random in so far as they are unpredictable and unprovoked. As well as feelings of panic and apprehension these may also be accompanied by physical symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath, nausea and even dizziness. 
Read more about the pschologicallyness here


So now that we've cleared that up, what does it feel like to have a anxiety attack? Well in short its hell. Besides the crippling fear you can feel your heart beating at a rate that is off the charts and are very short of breath. Oh and tears: in my case there's normally a lot of tears involved.
However anxiety attacks are as unpredictable as they are annoying and can take many different forms:

As an anxiety attack is normally brought on by a stressor you can normally stop them be taking removing yourself from the situation. Simply walk away from the problem. I often find that my attacks are accompanied by a hot flush so find that going outside for some fresh air is very helpful. 

Talk to somebody you trust. Whether this is your best friend or a 'responsible' adult the old cliché 'a problem shared is a problem halved' applies perfectly. It doesn't necessarily have to be someone you know as I often found that talking to a stranger helps to. (apologies to the shopkeeper who I ranted to for like an hour)

Breathe deeply. As you may become short of breath during one of these episodes it is crucially important that sufficient oxygen is reaching your lungs. Try calming yourself down by taking 10 deep breaths.

Music is a great healer: OK seriously how many clichés can one blog post hold? Anyhow I find that having a playlist to listen to whenever I am feeling particularly anxious is really helpful and offers a calm atmosphere reminding me that everything is going to be ok. You can listen to my playlist on spotify by clicking here.