There is a difference between experiencing high anxiety and panic attacks, though most people think they are one in the same. High anxiety almost always has a trigger, meaning an experience, incident, or thoughts that fuel the anxiety. Panic attacks may or may not have a trigger. Most panic attacks happen randomly, without any rhyme or reason, and usually last less than 10 minutes. For people who experience panic attacks, the random nature of them creates anticipatory anxiety and can even trigger a panic attack to happen. Panic attack symptoms are:

· Racing heart

· Feeling as if you are having a heart attack/chest pain/difficulty breathing

· Feeling dizzy

· Tingling/numbness in extremities

· Sense of terror/doom

· Feeling a loss of control

Here are some helpful coping skills for when you are experiencing panic:

1.) Don’t fight it. Think of a finger trap toy; the more you try to pull your fingers out, the tighter the apparatus becomes. This is the same with panic attacks. The more we try to deny and pretend like it is not happening, the worse it will get. Validate that a panic attack is happening and will be over within 10 minutes.

2.) Do jumping jacks. When we are in panic mode, our sympathetic nervous system kicks in which triggers our fight/flight/freeze response. By doing jumping jacks or any other type of exercise, it activates the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system regulates our heartbeat and can help our brain realize that something life threatening is not happening. This helps relax your body.

3.) Drink very cold water. By drinking very cold water, or splashing cold water on your face/neck, it also activates the parasympathetic nervous system, and gets us out of fight/flight/freeze. I recommend sipping ice water and holding it in your mouth for a few seconds before swallowing. Do this 5-10 times.

4.) ABC’s. If all else fails, use distraction. Pick a category such as animals, bands, food etc. Proceed to go through the ABC’s and name an item that starts with each letter until you reach Z. If the panic attack is still going, start again with another category.