5 Ways to Prevent an Anxiety Attack

Anxiety attacks and panic attacks are different. While panic attacks come on quickly and only last a few minutes, anxiety attacks can build over time. They can last for minutes, hours, or even days. Thankfully, there are things you can do to both prevent anxiety attacks and deal with them if they do happen. You don’t have to live with extreme fear for days on end. 

Let’s cover a few helpful things you can do to keep anxiety attacks at bay and take control over those invasive thoughts that tend to trigger the attacks.

1. Practice Breathing Exercises

When you’re in the middle of an anxiety attack, deep breathing can help to calm you down and make it easier to focus. But you don’t have to wait until you’re experiencing an attack to put those exercises to use. Try to make breathing exercises a part of your regular daily routine. Inhale slowly through your nose and out through your mouth. Doing so can help to establish a sense of calm and tranquility, so you’re less likely to let anxious, invasive thoughts take over. 

2. Be More Mindful

Mindfulness is a great tool to use when you’re feeling anxious. You can also do it every day to protect yourself from anxiety attacks. Anxiety often creeps in when we spend too much time dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Mindfulness forces you to stay focused on the present. Close your eyes, take in your surroundings, and breathe. Let thoughts come and go like clouds without holding on to them. The more mindful you are, the less likely it is for thoughts outside of the present moment to cause you to become anxious.

3. Exercise

Your physical and mental well-being are more closely linked than you might realize. Regular exercise can reduce stress, boost your mood, and help you feel calm. It’s also a great way to reduce tension and boost your self-esteem, so you can fight back against invasive thoughts. You don’t need to join a gym or run a marathon to experience the mental health benefits of exercise. Find a way to stay active that you genuinely enjoy, and you’ll be more likely to stick with it.

4. Find Support

Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in the world. Unfortunately, it’s easy to feel totally alone and isolated when you’re going through an anxiety attack. If you’re starting to feel anxious or you can feel it building over a few days, seek support from other people who might be dealing with similar issues. Chances are, people in your friend circle are also struggling.

If you don’t want to reach out to anyone you know, personally, consider joining an online support group or chatting in forums. Sometimes, realizing that you’re not alone and listening to advice from people who have gone through similar things can make a big difference.

5. Seek Professional Help

The best way to prevent anxiety attacks is to get to the root cause of your anxiety. If there’s a “silver lining” to this mental health condition, it’s that it is often very manageable—with help. When you work with a therapist, you’ll dive deeper into what caused your anxiety in the first place. You’ll also learn more about your triggers and how to manage your symptoms. Discovering the root of your anxiety is not always easy, but it’s a necessary step in the healing process.

When you’re struggling with anxiety, you might feel like it’s threatening to take over your life, especially when an anxiety attack comes on strong. It doesn’t have to be that way. Take control again, prevent these attacks, and learn how to manage your anxiety in healthy ways. Schedule your free 30-minute consultation today!