OUT & ABOUT

GOOD MORNING

Today I am going to discuss what to do when you're OUT & ABOUT and have a Panic Attack (P.A.)...

First of all, you want to keep a check on correct breathing, what I mean by this is, when we get anxious, there is a tendency to breathe in too much oxygen too quickly which CAUSES the dizzy-spells, numbness and that swooning feeling. There are a couple of ways on dealing with this, depending upon where you are at at the time. They are:

1 - If you are in full swing of a P.A., I suggest you go somewhere quiet (toilet is usually the best when out) and, instead of the old paper bag trick, you simply use your hands, cup them over your nose & mouth & breathe until you feel yourself starting to re-align again. This will help balance-out the over-oxygenated feeling & sensations. Time will vary on severity of symptoms.

TIP: TRY to go about your day by breathing through your nose whenever possible (preferably all day), this will help to eliminate getting too much oxygen in and keep you calm throughout your day :)

2 - Try to avoid caffeine where possible, this is a STIMULANT and will more than likely exacerbate these symptoms.

3 - Smoking is another one, BUT, only if you are ready to quit. I found that quitting was more stressful than the actual habit at the time!

4 - If you are at the point of feeling a P.A. coming on, DIVERT YOUR ATTENTION. This was a great tip told to me by a friend. When out, start to look at objects and name them, name the colour and then the number. For example: Lamp, Yellow, 1 - Desk, Brown, 2 - Chair, Grey, 3 - Plant, Green, 4, etc, etc, etc. What this will do is begin to disengage old thought patterns and begin new ones :)

Once you have the severity of the symptoms under control. THEN is when I suggest you concentrate on your breathing as mentioned previously:)

LOVE

*.*.*. JOY .*.*.*