5 Things my Clinical Psychologist told me that might help you during those pesky Panic attacks!

Welcome back to another post on 'Mental Health'.

I really am overwhelmed by the response to our last post on Anxiety/Panic attack. Thank you!

A couple of months back, I decided to visit a Clinical Psychologist to help me improve my quality of life in terms of the panic attacks, which were becoming frequent and painful.

I had just shifted back to the city and the change of place wasn't helping me much at the moment (Although it turned out to be the best thing for me in the long run). Anyway, I wanted to address my inner insecurities, my tendencies to overthink and negative thinking and to deal with the panic attacks head on!

I got really lucky that the first therapist I went to, clicked! That's one thing you shouldn't compromise with.

So, here are the 5 things she asked me to do/try. They did help me a lot and I hope that you might find them useful the next time you have an anxiety/panic attack :

1. Train your brain for the long run, not just for the moments of weakness.

This was a big reason I wanted to see a therapist. I informed her about it on our first meeting - "I want to change the way I see things and deal with situations in life"

(I'm grateful to god, for being aware of the need to change my mentality towards life. A lot of people and reasons helped me do it. If you haven't realized it by yourself yet, I hope this post gives you a reason to think about it.)

She asked me to talk to myself just like she was talking to me. Ideally, that's what you should be doing during a panic attack too - tell yourself it's going to be alright - but it's next to impossible during that moment of weakness.

We can't be the smart one & the vulnerable one, all at the same time, right?

That is why we have to train our mind during the healthier anxiety-free period in between the episodes, to do things like positive thinking/ not thinking about the future & staying in present/ feeling safe in the moment. We have to keep explaining and schooling our minds to become this new 'smarter, practical' person.

It will not only minimize the frequency of panic attacks but also help us improve our quality of life & happiness in general.

2. Remind yourself the soothing facts over and over again.

I am giving you a small task now, ok?

You have to go get a set of post-its or even small slips of paper & a cello tape.

Write the things you would want someone close to you, to tell you while you are anxious. But write it as yourself & for yourself. For example :

3. Find an outlet. Share!

Lucky are those who have friends or family who understand them. If you are one of the lucky ones, god bless you! Share your heart out. It's more than just a cliché statement.

If you are not so lucky and you feel you are misunderstood, either find a therapist

or

if you are unable to afford that financially, find an outlet to share online. The world is getting smaller and there are people out there to support in Facebook groups or pages or NGOs & more.

NOTE : Finance should be the only deterrent to not seeking professional help. If the reason is lack of time or stigma or "It's just a phase", do yourself a favour & just seek help professionally or from a friend.

4. Stay busy - Find more than one purpose.

Staying busy + finding purpose are two parts of one step. In fact, you first have to find at least one purpose (the more, the merrier), and stay busy working towards it.

For example :

I need to do my house chores + I will put up a new painting/art work on my Insta page every week + I will read a new blog every two days (anything that might interest you) +

Chart these activities down as to-do lists and tick off when you accomplish them. No matter how small they are! This will help you stay busy + give you little sense of achievements throughout the day.

5. Understand what's happening.

Spreading awareness about mental health is very important. Majority of us don't even know what's happening to our mind or body or both.

You should be aware of your mental and physical health.

Read credible articles & watch videos of good sources. However, Don't get dragged into a negative spiral about your problem.

• Avoid triggering posts, photos, people online.

• Do not take part in conversations that are negative.

• Do not believe on all you read online, use proper resources. Headache is not brain tumour 99.9% of the times!

If you liked what you just read and think this might help someone in need, feel free to share.

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