Have you ever been so stressed that you go into a panic, for instance; you can't breathe, your chest feels tight, you're hyperventilating, you're thinking of every possible bad scenario, and the worst part is; you want to be held and told that it will be alright but as soon as someone gets close to you your breathe increases!
If you have felt this you are absolutely dealing with anxiety!
However, anxiety may not be this dramatic it may come in subtle forms of worry, tears, depression and other involuntary reactions/feelings.
My name is Anii Cooper, I’ve been dealing with Anxiety for a very long time in my life. Anxiety has been such a battle for me that I dropped out of college, dance, and even the military! Anxiety isn't something that just "GOES AWAY" but it's something I've learned to cope with and to minimize when I feel I just can’t take it anymore. I’ve battled with this for so long starting from mild attacks of tears all the way to extreme cases of delusion and ambulance rides.
So basically the point is… I’m talking from experience.
I'm just going to great straight into it and give you guys the keys of life to dealing with anxiety attacks. I just want to make a disclaimer to please research anything I list below to make sure it works for you!
Support
When it comes to anxiety, you often need support in order to calm you down. Try to make a contact list of your top 3 people to call when you're going through an anxiety attack. These people could be family, friends, or even a therapist. This is beneficial for when you're ever in public going through an attack, this way you can give someone that list of numbers in case they are clueless of how to help you. These support systems may even come in handy when you're home by self and your forget what to do. These people should know exactly how to comfort you if not share this article with them so they know in the future ;) .
Herbal Tea
Using herbal teas are good calming factors for anxiety as well. Tea's seem to be more helpful for anxiety in the night time. Some teas that are good for anxiety are Lavender, Chamomile, Rose Bud Tea, Peppermint Tea, Green Tea, and St John's Wort. These teas whether taken together or separate are known to have helped people calm their anxiety, depression, colds, fevers, and more.
CBD
Disclaimer: This is only if it is legal in your city!
CBD is the non-psychoactive compound that comes from cannabis AKA "It does not get you high and you can not fail a drug test from 100% CBD." Using CBD oil, cream, flower, or tincture is great for relaxing the mind and body. Please make sure that the products states that it is full spectrum CBD and there is not a high ratio of THC within the product as long as you do not want the psycho active effects. This is a therapeutic and relaxing solution that has changed my life.
THC
CBD is a great alternative, however, for those of you that are old enough and it is legal in your city THC in effect with CBD is great for relaxing the mind and the muscles. Please know that THC is the psychoactive compound of cannabis AKA weed, and it will get you high/make you fail a drug test. THC comes in many forms as well as CBD so you can find the form that works best for you. Indica dominant strains of THC are better known for its relaxation properties, which helps for when dealing with an anxiety attack.
Transcending music
Putting music on that contains a calming frequency like 528 Hz will help to calm your nerves in order to focus on what it going on at that moment. When dealing with anxiety it is hard to focus on one thing at a time. Transcending music triggers our brains to focus and slow down our subconscious thoughts giving us time to relax and breathe.
Write
I will constantly promote writing when it comes to dealing with anything mental, emotional, and/or spiritual. Writing is such a release and disperses so much energy. Just creating, talking about your feelings and venting about everything that is going on at the time will help to relieve any tension and give your mind a break from storing so many thoughts and information.
Fluids
For some reason, when I am going through a panic and I feel I can't breathe an ice cold drinks helps to literally "cool me down." Specifically, water helps with hydration which helps to bring down the intensity of the anxiety attack.
Focus
When everything feels so intense like the room is spinning/closing in or there is just too much going on at one time something that usually helps me calm down is to focus on one thing. Often times I may count “1 mississippi, 2 mississippi, 3 mississippi” as I breathe in and then the same thing as I exhale. Doing this repeatedly helps my breathing to slow down. As I do this I like to focus on a sound or even a person. This helps to ease the mind because overthinking causes anxiety to go from mild to extreme.
I hope these tips were very helpful to help calm yourself or someone you know during an anxiety attack. I am not a health professional these are just some things that have helped me along the years. However, in the event that the anxiety attacks intensifies please call a local health provider or 9-1-1 as soon as possible.