How To Recognize and Manage Anxiety and Panic Attacks – 2024 Guide

When you have a panic attack, you literally feel like your life is on the verge of ending. Chances are, you’re trembling, sweating, and feeling dizzy—among other things.

One of the most frustrating things about panic attacks and anxiety, in general, is there’s not much you can do except ride the wave.

This is the main reason those who suffer from these issues have to find and utilize their own techniques to get through this scary, overwhelming feeling.

With this idea in mind, we thought it’d be useful to compile a list of some of the top methods used to center yourself when panic creeps in. But before we get to the good stuff, let’s discuss anxiety, panic attacks, and how they’re related.

The Relationship Between Anxiety and Panic Attacks

Anxiety affects roughly 40 million Americans, so you’re not alone if you suffer from this issue. We all experience some level of anxiety occasionally. Still, sometimes it gets out of hand and snowballs into something more terrifying.

Simple anxiety can be worrying about a presentation, relationship, or anything else. More severe anxiety causes you to worry about every single detail of your life. You worry if you locked your door, turned the oven off, said something wrong to a co-worker or associate, etc.

These obsessive thought patterns are well-known terrain for anyone who knows the inner workings of anxiety. Anxiety makes it hard to concentrate on any tasks in front of you, and it proves to interrupt nearly every aspect of your life at times.

Some of the most common anxiety disorders are generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, separation anxiety, and other specific phobias.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common anxiety symptoms:

• Feeling nervous or restless
• Tension in the body
• Rapid breathing
• Sweating
• Trouble breathing
• Issues getting to sleep
• Excessive worry
• Fatigue
• Inability to concentrate

If you regularly experience any of these symptoms, it’s always a good idea to understand your options. More specifically, it’s good to have methods to overcome these feelings. We’ll get into those methods momentarily.

So, Where Do Panic Attacks Fit In?

General anxiety is manageable for most people, especially when you know how to approach your triggers and symptoms.

When people experience anxiety, they tend to experience a combination of the symptoms above. Still, these feelings are amplified with panic attacks. You will most likely feel like you have a heart attack and ultimately losing control.

Panic attacks don’t often happen to the bulk of society. Still, for those with some type of panic disorder, it can happen more often.

The scary thing about panic attacks is they can pop up anytime—driving, work, at a party—anywhere.

Here are some symptoms of panic disorder:

• Feeling detached from reality
• Numbness and tingling in extremities
• Feeling that you’ll lose control and die
• Rapid heartbeat
• Trembling and/or shaking
• Chills
• Chest pains
• Headaches
• Hot flashes

Anxiety and panic attacks are closely related. Most people start out with anxiety symptoms, and before long, they’ll experience a full-blown panic attack.

This happens many times because some individuals don’t know how to keep the mind under control and give in to the fear of attempting to overtake them. Understanding your body and recognizing anxiety and panic are a huge component of managing the symptoms.

If you haven’t had much success managing anxiety and/or panic attacks in the past, let’s get into a few things you can incorporate into your routine.

Try Meditation

There’s a reason millions of people worldwide rave about the calming and restorative abilities of meditation. You can choose from a wide range of meditation techniques such as mindful meditation, guided meditation, mantra meditation, and much more.

The main goal of meditation is to set aside time to quiet the noise in your mind. Our minds are constantly “on,” and as you can imagine, it gets crowded in there.

When your mind becomes overwhelmed and overcrowded with an excess of thoughts, it’s an open invitation to anxiety.

Keep Sour Candies on Hand

Keeping a few sour candies in your bag or car is a great way to shock your mind into focusing on the candy instead of anxiety symptoms, because the more you focus on those symptoms, the more they seem to intensify.

Suppose this happens, and your mind keeps intensifying the effects. In that case, they grow into something more intense when the panic comes into the picture.

Keeping these candies on hand is a simple and effective way to manage anxiety symptoms.

CBD Works Wonders

Ah, the holy grail of anxiety relief—CBD. If you struggle with anxiety, CBD is a complete game-changer. There’s a wide variety of products to choose from on the market, like gummies, teas, capsules, tinctures, and much more.

CBD capsules are one of the most popular products on the market. Additionally, CBDfx produces a famous line of CBD capsules made with organically-sourced hemp and coconut-derived MCT oil. This is helpful because the addition of this fatty oil ensures better absorption and effectiveness.

This is an excellent option because it’s pre-measured and hassle-free. You take one, and you’ve got calm, chill vibes with you all day long. If you’re just getting started with CBD, you can opt for CBD gummies. This is a popular option with beginners because they come in lower concentrations, as low as 5mg per gummy.

You’re able to adjust your serving amount as needed by adding or taking away a gummy from your dosage.

Deep Breathing Exercises

When you feel anxiety coming on, or you recognize one of your triggers. Take a moment to stop and breathe. Many find great success with the 4-7-8 breathing technique.

When you add deep breathing in your life, you’ll see decreased stress, improved immunity, better sleep, and so much more!

Positive Affirmations

If all else fails, you can never go wrong speaking positivity into your life. Make it a habit to tell yourself positive things all day long. When you feel anxiety creeping in, use those statements to level yourself out.

Final Thoughts

Anxiety and panic attacks don’t have to run your life. The first thing you need to do is understand your triggers and figure out what methods work best for you, and manage your symptoms when they manifest.

It’s all about educating yourself, and with these tips, you’re on your way!