Living With Panic Attack Disorder

If you are someone that gets frequent panic attacks, you might have panic disorder. 
This is a type of anxiety disorder. Here is more information about what to expect and 
how to deal with it.

1. Do You Have Panic Attack Disorder?

By now, you might already have a good idea about whether or not you have panic 
attack disorder, but it is a good idea to look at the common symptoms before really 
deciding if you do. The reason this is important is so that you can have a better 
understanding of why you are dealing with the anxiety and fear, and what you can do 
about it. 

Like all mental illnesses, panic disorder will have a lot of different symptoms, and you 
may not experience every single one of them. You need to remember that every 
individual experiences things slightly different. Also keep in mind this may be in 
combination with another anxiety disorder like generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), 
obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

Symptoms of a Panic Attack

The main sign of having panic disorder is having frequent or random panic attacks. 
There are some other factors that will be discussed later, but you should first 
understand what a panic attack is like. The panic attack is mental, but you also 
experience a lot of physical symptoms at the same time. Here are some common things 
that occur when you are having a panic attack:

Pounding, fast-paced heartbeat 
Problems breathing 
Chest pain 
sweating and raised temperature 
Nervousness 
Tunnel vision 
Dizziness or lightheadedness 
Feeling like you are choking 
Stomach problems 
Numbness or tingling

These are all the most common signs of having a panic attack. Keep in mind you may 
have any combination of symptoms. Some people might always start sweating and 
have tunnel vision, while others feel more like they are having a heart attack. 

Frequent Panic Attacks

Along with having the actual panic attacks, which anyone can get even without this 
disorder, many people have another thing in common when they have panic disorder: 
they get them more frequently. This can be from something that triggers you to nothing 
at all. It is extremely common for someone with panic disorder to experience them at 
completely random times. 

You may notice you are just driving down the street or sitting at home watching 
television when it begins. Other people have triggers, from caffeine or alcohol to being 
in social situations. If you notice that you are getting panic attacks on a regular basis, 
you might have panic disorder.

Fear of More Panic Attacks

Another common trait among people with panic disorder is getting fear or anxious about 
having another one. Once you have gone through a severe attack, you then start 
building up this fear of having another one. They are debilitating and often make you 
feel like you are having a heart attack, so it makes sense that they would frighten you. 

2. Finding Your Panic Attack Triggers

As you found out in the previous section, panic attacks can come from nothing at all 
when you have panic disorder, or they can be triggered by something. A trigger can be 
any person, place, thing, or situation that raises the risk for you getting a panic attack. It 
is often something that triggers your anxiety, which can then eventually lead to a panic 
attack. 

Common Triggers

With mental illnesses like panic disorder, just about everything can be different from 
someone else you know with the same disorder. The same can be said for the triggers. 
As you learned in the last section, you may not be triggered by anything if you have this 
anxiety disorder. However, if you are, you probably have certain things that continue to 
trigger you over and over again.

Before looking at finding the triggers, it might help to know what the most common ones 
are. Keep in mind that yours may be similar to these or completely different. Though 
knowing them is a good starting off point to figure out what your triggers are so you can 
reduce your panic attacks in the future.

Being in a social situation – This is often related to social anxiety, though it can also 
happen when you don’t have this particular anxiety. You may notice that your anxiety is 
triggered by being in a social situation, such as in front of a crowd or at a wedding.
Doing something that scares you – This might seem like an obvious trigger, but it is 
worth noting. If you have a phobia, such as a fear of heights, being up high not only 
causes anxiety and fear, but can lead to a full-blown panic attack as well.

Experiencing heart palpitations – This is a big one for many people with panic 
disorder. Heart palpitations are audible, where you can feel them in your chest. This 
ultimately causes you to obsess over feeling the heartbeat, which can make you afraid 
of it stopping, skipping, or beating too slow or too fast. This often leads to panic attacks.

Nearly choking in food or drinks – If you are someone that has an intense fear of 
choking and not getting help in time, you may have a really hard time when something 
goes down the wrong pipe. This makes you even more anxious and may lead to panic.
Having trouble breathing or swallowing – Sometimes you can be a little short of 

breath if you are hot or tired, or may feel like you are having trouble swallowing. While 
other people don’t overthink it, it causes you to get panic and anxiety.
Chest pains after a workout – Exercise is great for anxiety, but it can be hard for 
someone with panic disorder. This is because you might get winded or experience chest 
pains, which your mind thinks is from something much worse than what it is.

How to Figure Out Your Triggers

With these in mind, you can start figuring out what your own panic attack triggers are. 
Remember that they aren’t necessarily related to these. They can be something else 
entirely. If you had something happen to you in the past, you might have some PTSD 
where certain memories can lead to panic attacks. This is one of many examples.

So how do you find your panic attack triggers? The best way is to record all the times 
when you do have anxiety and panic attacks. You want to be as detailed as possible, 
preferably in a journal or notebook. 

You should record the date and time, what you were doing or who you were talking to, 
and what you think caused the anxiety. Sometimes you will be able to tell what it was 
and other times, it will seem random. When you start recording them, you can look back 
at the journal and try to find patterns or similarities. 

What to do About it

Once you know what your triggers are, you will be able to avoid or reduce them as 
much as possible. Unfortunately, some of them can’t be avoided, like being around a 
certain person or when you have a work presentation you have no choice but to give. 
But in these cases, you can at least prepare for the anxiety if needed.

3. Why Keeping a Journal is Essential

If there is one common thing with most content that talks about anxiety disorders and 
ways to help, you will see that journaling is recommended. This is because it can be so 
helpful, not just for panic disorder, but other forms of anxiety and depression as well. 
Journaling provides a long list of benefits, but here are some of the top reasons why 
someone with panic disorder should have one.
 
You Can Find Your Triggers

In the previous section of this report, you learned about how to find your triggers and 
what to do about them when you discover them. These are things or situations that can 
trigger your anxiety and panic attacks. One of the top ways to figure out what your 
trigger are is by keeping a journal. You are going to record all of your panic attacks and 
try to find a common theme on all those days.

It can be someone you talked to, a place you went, or a certain thought or feeling you 
had right at that time. This is one of the top benefits to journaling when you have panic 
disorder because you can figure out if you have triggers and what they are, so that you 
are able to avoid them in the future and hopefully reduce how many panic attacks you 
have.

It Helps You to Focus on Something Else

Another way having a panic journal can help you is by giving you something else to do 
during the anxious or panicked moments. Many people with panic disorders have the 
attacks so often that they know the early warning signs. Perhaps you start sweating or 
you get a rapid heartbeat. When this happens, you know a panic attack is looming, and 
might be able to put a stop to it before it gets too severe.

This is where the journal comes in. As you know, focusing your mind on something else 
can help a lot with anxiety. If you can just write in your journal about anything, you may 
distract your mind enough to get rid of the anxiousness and fear you were just 
experiencing. Plus, it becomes a time of ‘brain dump’, where you can get rid of all those 
worries onto paper, helping your mind to be a little clearer.

Journaling Relaxes the Mind

In addition to helping you focus on something else, journaling is a really calming and 
relaxing experience. People often don’t realize how cathartic it can be until you begin. It 
allows you to talk about anything and everything, knowing it is completely private if you 
want it kept that way. You can talk about your worries and fears, dreams, aspirations, 
just about anything. 

This is the one place you have all to yourself where you won’t be judged and can be 
completely open and honest. That helps to relax you, whether from anxiety or other 
forms of stress in your life.

Tips For Journaling

If you are not used to journaling, it can be a little intimidating at first. Just remember this 
is something you don’t have to overthink. Write about anything you want, record your 
triggers, and keep it simple or complex. It really is up to you. Here are some tips for 
sticking to journaling:

Use a journal you enjoy – For starters, choose a journal that you really enjoy using. If 
you are writing with pen and paper, there are a lot of options to choose from. Choose 
wisely and go with something you find pretty or interesting to you. Select a good size 
that is easy to write on, but compact enough to carry with you. You can have fun with 
the pens or writing utensils too.

Keep it private – One thing that keeps people from journaling more often is that they 
don’t want to be too open, or others might read it. Whether you have a journal on your 
computer or you are writing in one physically, make it as private as possible. Make sure 
it is locked up somewhere safe or that your Word document on your computer is hidden 
from others and password-protected. When it feels private, you feel more compelled to 
write in it more often.

Carry it around with you – Convenience can go far, so by having the journal 
everywhere with you, you will be more inclined to use it often. This may mean having a 
digital journal on your smartphone or tablet, or a physical journal that fits into your purse 
or backpack.

Make it part of your daily routine – Start a new daily routine that includes writing in 
the journal, even if for just a few minutes every day. This can be your morning routine 
when you are getting ready for the workday, something you do on your lunch break, or 
what you do at night just before going to sleep.

4. How to Reduce Future Panic Attacks

While it is a good idea to understand what panic disorder is and how to stop panic 
attacks once they start, you also need to be aware of how to reduce them from coming 
back. Panic disorder, as a type of anxiety disorder, doesn’t necessarily have a cure, but 
instead treatments. For some people, this might actually reducing the frequency of 
them, along with the severity.

Here are some different things you can try when you want help reducing your future 
panic attacks.

Reduce Your Panic Triggers

Naturally, one of the first things you should do when you get frequent panic attacks is to 
avoid your triggers. By now, you know what triggers are and have started to get a better 
handle on them. This is really important, because many people find their number one 
way to avoid panic attacks is try to stay away from their triggers as much as possible.

Before going any further, we want to stress this: this should not mean avoiding all 
people and situations. If something in your daily life becomes a trigger, like talking to 
people or leaving your house, you should continue seeking treatment to help with those 
triggers. It should not be a reason you just avoid living because of your anxiety.

However, for triggers that are easy to control, like caffeine or physical triggers, you 
should be able to avoid them to a certain extent, and reduce your panic attacks in the 
process.
Follow a Healthier Lifestyle

This may not be what you want to hear, but being healthier physically can also help you 
mentally. This ranges from reducing caffeine and alcohol, which can bring on panic 
attacks, to trying to eat better, exercise, and drink more water. Many people try to live a 
healthier lifestyle simply for the health benefits and to lose weight, but then they notice 
their mental health has also improved. This is a major bonus and one you should 
consider.

Get a Handle on Your Thoughts and Fears

Panic attacks are the way your mind reacts to thoughts, fears, and feelings. You are not 
actually having a heart attack, even though it often feels like it. Your body can have 
responses to your thoughts and worries, so by controlling your thoughts, you are able to 
control how your body reacts. 

This is why learning things like meditation, mindfulness, and what you learn in cognitive 
behavioral therapy is so important. You learn to have a brand new mindset where you 
are more relaxed and don’t have the same thought process when certain things occur. 
This in turn can help keep away many of your panic attacks.

Try to Be More Reflective

When something occurs that would normally lead to anxiety and a panic attack, try to 
learn how to be reflective on it, as opposed to reactive. This is what causes you to 
analyze something for what it is, instead of getting anxious over what it isn’t. If you 
typically experience panic attacks when you are having heart palpitations, learn what 
palpitations are and how they are not necessary a dangerous thing. The more informed 
you are, the more reflective you can be instead of instantly reacting to things.

5. Steps to Stop a Panic Attack

While the methods described above to reduce how many panic attacks you have can be 
very helpful, it isn’t going to keep all of them away. With panic disorder, you don’t 
always have a trigger, which means they can sometimes come out of nowhere. This is 
when you need to learn the proper techniques for stopping one as soon as it begins. 
Here are some tips to do this.

Stop With the Scare Tactics

The only thing that is causing your panic attacks is your mind and how it causes your 
body to react to your thoughts and feelings. This can be really frustrating, but it also 
means you might be able to learn to have some control over it. If you start to feel panic 
coming on, stop your mind from making it worse. 

People with anxiety who often experience panic attacks are going to make it a lot worse 
once the anxiety kicks in. You might have had a dry throat when swallowing a pill, which 
for a normal person, wouldn’t be an issue. They get the pill down, take extra water, and 
that’s it. With anxiety and panic disorder, the thoughts race, suddenly with you worrying 
about choking on the pill, not being able to get it down, or it going down the wrong way 
and getting stuck in your air pipe, cutting off all air circulation.

In fact, just this explanation might cause your heart to race if you have panic disorder. 
But this is just your mind creating a scenario that probably won’t happen. Once you feel 
the dry throat, just remember what it is and don’t scare yourself further.

Learn How to Calm Your Mind

The next technique to learn for stopping panic attacks is to calm your mind. This might 
be different for everyone, so you should try a few different methods until you figure out 
what works best for you. You want to calm your body and mind, trying to relax so you 
can also stop the panic attack. 

Deep breathing exercises – This is going to be at the top of most people’s list. When 
you are breathing in deeply, your mind is focusing on the breathing, so you focus less 
on your fears. You can’t completely concentrate on two thoughts at the same time. So, if 
you only concentrate on the breath going in and out, you can’t really think about what is 
causing the panic attack.

Listening to music – For some people, music relaxes their mind the most. This is one 
of the methods you have to try out and see if it works for you. Others might find that 
music – or certain types of music – actually causes the opposite effect, so don’t feel 
pressured if it doesn’t help. Just move on to something else.

Alternative focus – If your panic attacks tend to worsen because of the racing heart or 
sweating or tunnel vision, simply focus on another body part that isn’t giving off the 
physical response during the panic attack. You can concentrate on your itchy skin or a 
joint that is sometimes sore or how your toes are tingly. Why does this help? You are 
focusing on something that is not going to give you anxiety or panic.

Find a Good Distraction

Finding something to distract you during a panic attack is similar to the techniques 
described above, but a little different. You aren’t just trying to find something that 
soothes your thoughts, but that keeps your thoughts from the physical response you are 
having. 

Think about something, anything, that tends to bring you joy. Something where when 
you do it, you enjoy it so much you hardly think about anything else. This is what is 
going to be your biggest distraction. For a music lover, it will be listening to their favorite 
song, while artists might prefer being creative, and planners love writing in their to-do 
lists. It doesn’t matter what it is. 

Remind Yourself What is Happening

For some people, being realistic is what helps the most. They don’t need to distract their 
mind, but just reflect on what is happening. Do your research, learn about panic attacks 
and why they happen, really get into the science of your body’s response to your 
thoughts. Then think about this during an attack, and the education alone might help 
tremendously.

6. Telling Other People About Your Panic Attack Disorder

With any type of mental illness, from anxiety to depression, it is important for you to get 
a good support system. You don’t need to share all your personal details with everyone 
you know, but you should have a close group of people (or just one person) you feel 
comfortable enough to open up to.

That way, you don’t feel like you are dealing with it all alone. When you have a lot of 
anxiety or stress, or you are going through a panic attack, there is at least one person 
that understands. One person you can call or text, who might even be able to talk you 
down from it. Don’t shy away from finding people who can be understanding and help 
you through the worst panic attacks.

 
Benefits of Telling Other People

Here are some of the top reasons you should start telling more people about your panic 
attack disorder:

You have someone to turn to 
It helps build a good support system 
They understand when you have to cancel plans 
If you are having an attack, they know how to help

At the very least, when you are out with other people who know you have panic 
disorder, they won’t be shocked if you are acting a certain way due to a panic attack. 
This makes it easier and more comfortable to be social with this type of anxiety 
disorder.

7. How to Deal With Panic Attack Disorder Long-term

For the last section of this report, we want to discuss how to deal with your panic 
attacks on a long-term basis. This isn’t just how to reduce the panic attacks or stop 
them when they occur, but help treat this anxiety disorder itself.

See a Therapist

Therapy is important for everyone, but especially if you have an anxiety disorder 
keeping you from your life. When panic attacks are so bad that you can’t make it to work 
every day, are no longer able to socialize, and just really notice how it affects your entire 
life, it is time to consider professional help.

This might come in the form of psychotherapy to learn the emotional responses of your 
anxiety, to just learning to live with it through cognitive behavioral therapy. You also get 
the benefit of dealing with other issues you might have, from mental illnesses to 
struggles with relationships, work, and just life in general.

Consider Medication

You may be recommended for medication based on how severe your panic disorder 
and if you have other mental illnesses as well. Sometimes, panic disorder is related to 
anxiety or depression, so medication is typically the best way to deal with it.

You can either get medication from your regular doctor or a psychiatrist. Your counselor 
or therapist might recommend it, or you can ask for it from your regular doctor. These 
usually include SSRIs, which are anti-depressants that also help with anxiety. Here are 
some common brands you might recognize:

Zoloft 
Paxil

Then there are anti-anxiety meds like:

Klonopin 
Ativan 
Xanax

Find What Works For You

At the end of the day, you really just need to figure out what works best for you. Each 
individual needs to deal with their anxiety disorder on their own terms. Try different 
things and stick with what works the best.

