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If you’ve had a panic attack in public you know two things. One it’s a terrifying experience. Two it is horribly embarrassing. High on your list of things to do is to learn how to treat a panic attack in public because you don’t want to go through that again do you? The first thing to understand is that a panic attack cannot harm you. It is simply the result of a mistaken message sent by your brain to your body that there is an immediate threat or danger. That message triggers the fight or flight response and the changes that response makes to your body are what you feel in the attack. You are not having a heart attack. You are not dying. You are not crazy. If you do nothing, the attack will be over in less than 15 minutes. But what you want to do is stop it in its tracks right? Understand that the key to stopping a panic attack is stopping the message from your brain saying that there is danger when in fact there is none. The way to turn off that message is to distract or otherwise overwhelm the brain with other tasks. Verbalization, speaking out loud, is a powerful tool in distracting the brain but it really isn’t an option if you are in public. Here are a few tips that you can use in public and do not require verbalization. - Recognize the attack for what it is. Typically the attack will be preceded by a general feeling of uneasiness or even doom. You have a certainty that something bad is going to happen. If you can catch the attack in this stage it can be stopped much faster.
- Deep breathing. Consciously take deep breathes in through the nose and out through the mouth. Try to keep it to 8 or 10 breaths per minute. This not only prevents the rapid breathing associated with an attack but slows the heart rate as well. More importantly, you are taking control from the brain that is demanding rapid heart rate and breathing.
- Scream silently. As loud as you can, in your mind scream “Stop”! at your brain. Make it a demand. Do that four or five times and then move on to the next exercise.
- Task your brain. Distract the message it is sending by demanding that objects around you be identified. If you’re in a mall you might look in a shop window and ask (silently) “What is that”? And answer “That’s a pair of shoes”. “Who makes them”? “Prada”. And so on. The important thing is give your brain more work to do.
- If you find that these simply aren’t working try to find a place to sit down. Continue your deep breathing, focus your eyes on one subject and start counting backwards from 180. This gives you three minutes of deep breathing and tasking and you will start to feel the effects as each second goes by.
You can treat a panic attack and you can avoid the embarrassment. But that’s not the real problem is it. These tips just deal with the symptoms and not the root cause. They really don’t deal with what your real fear is do they? You really are afraid not of having the attack, but the idea of another attack. As a result you’re probably avoiding places that you think might trigger one. You need to figure out what that trigger is if you want to solve your anxiety and panic issues. It really isn’t as difficult as it sounds and your life will be so much happier.
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