There are some misconceptions in people’s mind about anxiety. Some people think of it as a disease and others feel it as a mental disorder. Though the fact remains that it is just an emotional state of mind. When your life is stressful and your mind has to deal with so many worries and fears, then the brain react in a certain way to cope up with the situation. This psychological condition lead to an anxiety attack. It is an indication that you need to unwind yourself and relax a bit. Now, if you label it as a disease, then most people will not even be ready to admit they have a problem forget about its treatment. On the other hand, if it is identified at the right time, then it can be treated without using medicines. Before we discuss about anxiety relief, let us know more about anxiety attack.
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What is an Anxiety Attack?
An anxiety attack can be described as the onset of an episode where people lose control over their thoughts and an intense fear develop in their mind without any definite reason. The duration of one such episode is one hour or so and then it subsides. During this brief period of time, people get various physical symptoms like excessive sweating, breathing difficulty, dizziness, suffocation, palpation, headache and so on. Some people get symptoms that are very similar to heart attack like chest pain, tightness in throat, rapid heart beat, etc. and they start feeling that they are dying. Even though an anxiety attack does not have any harmful effect on the physical health, it is indeed, a frightening experience.
When a person worries too much and suppress his or her anxiousness for a long time, then it causes anxiety attack. A number of stressful situations of life such as traumatic childhood, job stress, relationship problems, lack of adequate support system at home can be responsible for this. It can happen to people of all age group and that include small children too. The worst part of an anxiety attack is that it recurs from time to time and is unpredictable. Nobody knows when the next anxiety attack will occur. As a result, these people feel restless and uneasy all the time and their normal life and behavior get affected adversely.
How to Get Rid of Anxiety Attacks without Medication?
The medicines that are being used for the treatment of anxiety attack are effective for reducing the intensity of the symptoms only but they cannot prevent an anxiety attack. Moreover, these medicines cannot be used for a long time because of some unwanted side effects and people may get addicted to it. For all these reasons, many people prefer to handle anxiety attacks naturally. A few simple ways of dealing with anxiety attacks without medication are are follows:
Identify the Problem
First of all, you have to try and figure out the triggers that cause anxiety attacks. Make a list of all those issues that bother you so much and you tend to get an anxiety attack. You should also try to follow the pattern of the anxiety attack. It means you have to identify those moments or events when you are plagued by distressing thoughts.
Address the Problem
You must be aware of it, but still, I would like to remind you that every problem has a solution. Denying a problem will not resolve the issue. Think and find out a suitable solution for each and every problematic issue that you have enlisted. However, go slow and resolve one or two issues at a time. Do not expect that you can settle all the problems together.
Be Prepared
Now, that you are aware of the situations where you tend to get anxiety attack, you should prepare yourself to avoid the recurrence of such an attack. This is possible if you divert your mind when the anxiety symptoms set in. Stop thinking about the physical discomfort that you are experiencing. Look at any object around you and start describing it verbally. Continue to do so for few minutes. After some time, you will realize that the anxiety symptoms have disappeared.
Control Your Breath
From your previous experience you know that the breathing get faster during a panic attack. So, you must slow down your breathing when you get such an attack. It is possible if you practice some deep breathing exercises regularly. Sit in a quiet comfortable place, take one long deep breath through nose, wait for a second and release it through mouth. Take such deep and complete breath 8-10 times. Next time, when you get an anxiety attack, control your breathing in the same way and you will feel so relaxed.
Meditate
Meditation eases off the tension from mind and body and you carry out your daily activities in a much better manner. There are several different techniques for meditation. Simply saying prayers can release your anxiety. Focusing on one single thought for some time can also calm down your restless mind. Progressive muscle relaxation is another technique where you relax each and every single muscle of your body one by one.
Follow Proper Diet
When your body do not get adequate supply of nutrients, then depression may set in. Therefore, eat fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grain bread, brown rice, fish, etc. Such food provide you with plenty of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and omega-3 fatty acids which are essential for improving the overall functioning of the brain. It is equally important that you avoid unhealthy foods like sugary foods, fatty foods and caffeine substances.
Exercise Regularly
Exercising has an amazing effect on your physical and mental condition. When you exercise, some chemical are released into the body that make you feel happy, relaxed and confident. It also release the tension from the body muscles and make them strong and flexible. Do any such exercises that you enjoy the most for 30 minutes daily for relieving anxiety without medication.
Get Support from Others
When you know you have a problem, do not hesitate to take help from others. Talk to a trusted friend or a family member about your problem. You will feel unburdened after talking to someone. They will also give you some inputs that will make you feel good. You can join some support groups as well. You can get to meet and share your thoughts and feelings with other people who have the same problem like you. This proves to be highly beneficial for dealing with your own issues.
Hope this article has helped you to understand the concept of how to get rid of anxiety attacks without medication. You have to implement the suggestions given in this article for some time before you can see some results. Basically, you have to learn to handle tough situations of life by keeping your mind calm and stress free.
Tiffany is a Medical Student and also works as a fitness coach in part-time. She is also a writer and writes on health and fitness articles. Tiffany loves to engage with users and help them provide various useful information on General Health. She provides researched-based information and also featured on various blogs and magazines.