I’m not a medical professional. I’m not even a mental health professional. I have studied a lot about mental health and worked in the mental health field. Perhaps more importantly, I have experienced mental illness personally. Because of this, I know a fair amount about coping skills, and have probably tried most of them. I want to share with you some things that have helped and some things that have not.
Everyone is different physically and mentally and emotionally, so this is not not one-size-fits-all situation. There is no guaranteed playbook for mental health. But there is a lot of research and a lot of personal experience out there to be found.
I have found that different things work at different levels of anxiety, so where writing things out may be helpful in a slightly elevated anxious state, it is not as helpful for me in a high anxious state.
High anxiety to panic attacks
- This is going to be your survival mode. Your body is responding as if there is a bear chasing you, or at least that is how it feels to me. At this level, the best thing I can do is to breathe. Breathe. Breathe. This is not an easy task. It takes a lot of concentration to breathe. I like to breathe for 4 seconds in and 4 seconds out. If there is someone with you, they can help count with you. Working on breath not only gets your body calmer, but gives your mind something besides panic to focus on.
- Getting cool is also very helpful to me. I tend to get very hot and feel feverish when I panic, so splashing cold water on my face, or taking a cool shower can feel very calming. Taking care of your physical needs at this point is going to help influence your internal panic.
- Grounding yourself is going to be key. A panic attack takes you outside your body so anything you can do to bring your mind back into the physical world is great. There are a ton of great breathing/grounding exercises. One of my favorites is drawing a square on your leg, breathing in while moving up and left and then breathing out while moving down and right. You can also use ice or tea or nuggets to eat slowly and deliberately, focusing on every taste and smell and feeling you have in your mouth. Ok so the nuggets are my favorite exercise. Again, this forces you to breathe slowly and focus on something other than the panic.
- Having something soft that you like to hold on to is another great option. I tend to grab a pillow and hug it tight because it feels like my chest might explode.
Again, this is a very short list of the options that are out there. If there is something you’ve been wondering about, I’ve probably tried it, so feel free to ask me about it!
Next time I’m going to come back with some ways I have learned to take care of myself in the medium anxiety levels.
Camilla Griffith 