Oh no! It’s happening again. You get this feeling like you’re drowning, but there’s no water in sight. Before you know it you’re sweaty, your heart starts pumping, you’re trembling, and it feels like you’re suffocating. With every breath you take your mind is racing a mile a minute. You’re out of control and can’t seem to figure out how to calm down.
Anyone who suffers from anxiety knows exactly what this feeling is – a panic attack. Try as you may to calm yourself down it seems that nothing seems to be working. It’s a very scary occurrence, and if not managed, can alter every aspect of your life.
Unfortunately, stopping panic attacks and anxiety isn’t as simple as taking the right medication or using the right breathing techniques. It essentially boils down to learning methods that will help you to manage your anxiety and reduce the number of attacks you encounter. Below, are some solutions you can start using daily to keep panic attacks at bay:
Vitamin B6 and Iron Supplements
Serotonin is referred to as the happy hormone and is vital to improving mood and reducing stress and anxiety. To ensure your body is producing enough of this hormone, it is recommended that you take dietary supplements that contain high doses of both vitamin B6 and Iron.
Cannabidiol (CBD)
Cannabidiol is a chemical compound found in both the cannabis and hemp plants. Though research is still fairly new, there has been some evidence that CBD can help individuals suffering from anxiety. The chemical properties are said to aid the body in naturally increasing its production of serotonin.
You could take a daily supplement or invest in the best disposable CBD vape pens and fluids if you’d prefer to smoke. The best part is, it’s non-psychoactive so you don’t have to worry about getting in trouble with the law or feeling “high” all day.
Keep Caffeine Consumption to a Minimum
You may think there’s no big issue with having your daily dose of caffeine to give you a jolt of energy, but when you’re suffering from anxiety, it’s the worse thing to consume. Eating foods and drinking beverages containing caffeine actually increases your anxious feelings. Since caffeine is a natural stimulant, drinking it will only send your body into a “fight or flight” stage. Keep in mind that caffeine is not only found in coffee, it’s also present in chocolate, tea, soda, and can even be present in certain medications.
Have a Cup of Tea
If you love feeling the warmth of a nice cup of tea steer clear of caffeinated options and instead pour yourself a cup of chamomile tea. Chamomile has calming effects that naturally help the body to feel relaxed. A cup or two a day should certainly do the trick. While you’re at it, why not kick up your feet and read a good book or listen to some soothing music to really relax the mind and body.
Think Confidently
When you start to become anxious or suffer from a panic attack it’s often triggered by negative thinking. You doubt yourself or your ability to get things done and this sends your mind into overload. To counteract this, you have to have confidence and get out of your head. Every time you feel yourself start to doubt whether you can get through an experience, replace those thoughts with confident ones. You can also think of difficult circumstances from the past that you may have been nervous about but eventually got through them.
Anxiety is a normal response to certain circumstances in life. However, when you’re constantly in a fight or flight state of being, it weighs on you physically and mentally opening the floodgates for a ton of problems. In order to calm your nerves and reduce panic attacks, it is imperative that you develop daily health habits such as those described above. If your symptoms don’t subside or living with anxiety has started to hinder your personal and professional life, however, it is best to talk with your doctor or therapist for further treatment options.
A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.