No need to panic! How to cope with a panic attack at work

[jisansorkar12]

Psychologist and Gestalt therapist Maria Kugaevskikh tells how to quickly pull yourself together and what you need to do to prevent panic attacks in the future.

What is a panic attack
This is a combination of somatic manifestations with psychological components: that is, a feeling of fear, panic and anxiety joins the heartbeat, increased sweating, tremors, nausea and some other symptoms.

The attack begins with the unexpected appearance of strong and unpleasant physical sensations. The moment of surprise is fundamentally important. Then the person concentrates his attention on this and interprets what is happening as a catastrophe ("I'm dying"). This increases anxiety, triggers a stress reaction, releases adrenaline, and intensifies unpleasant symptoms. They repeat in a circle, intensifying and intensifying: sensations-attention-fear-adrenaline.

In reality, however, nothing threatens a person's life and health at the moment of a panic venezuela whatsapp list attack. The most unpleasant thing is that this condition becomes fixed and the person tries to avoid the situation and circumstances where it arose.

How to overcome your fears
Working with the problem of panic attacks should take place in two directions.

One is to develop an operational tactic for reducing anxiety, which will help to take control of unpleasant somatic manifestations and not enter the "vicious circle of panic" (sensations-attention-fear-adrenaline) at the moment of an attack. These will be the so-called first aid techniques.

Another direction studies the causes of such states and implies restructuring the system of personal reactions. This process of studying the inner world most often requires contacting a psychologist. Specialists distinguish several levels of reaction to an event, at each of which a "breakdown" can occur.

The first is cultural and social: a person may have panic attacks due to difficulties with adaptation. For example, if he moves to another country or encounters a culture that is very different from the one he is used to.

The second is social and group: a new person may appear in the social environment with whom it is difficult to build relationships, or, on the contrary, a loss of a close, supportive person may occur.

Disorientation at the third, personal level is associated with a conflict of values. The fourth is the level of mental reactions: when a person poorly recognizes his emotions, does not know how to regulate them safely for himself and others (will endure for a long time, not notice his fear or anger).

And the last, fifth level is biological, which involves the emergence of unexpected circumstances. For example, a person flies on an airplane for the first time or performs a new job and turns out to be unprepared for new responsibilities.

What Not to Do During a Panic Attack
When fear hits, don't panic, as this will only increase anxiety. Remember that these are just unpleasant symptoms and your life is not in danger right now.

You should also not listen carefully to all your feelings - this also leads to an increase in unpleasant manifestations. It is better to distract yourself with a conversation or switch to neutral memories.