my aunt has been experiencing a lot of panic attacks lately. i happen to be quite familiar with an anxiety attack and how it can completely crush your ability to reason with yourself and feel stable. it can cause you to lose your breath, make your head spin, feel your heart pounding etc. add ALS to that and not being able to communicate your fears and that must be the ultimate anxiety.
anyway, my aunt was having one so i got on the phone with her and talked her down from it. just want to pass on the technique i've learned. it helped her tremendously.
the key is to focus on two things that make you calm and happy. for my aunt, it's her dogs. they have dog houses out in the backyard. so i had her sit at the door and slowly let her eyes roam from one dog house over to the other... and back and forth and back and forth - counting to 5 slowly in between. the back and forth rhythm is good to calm the nervous system and the counting gives the mind something to focus on. constantly remind yourself or the person you are coaching to relax their shoulders and the rest of their body. let them know that severe anxiety cannot last longer than 3-5 minutes. an attack though can last for up to 30 minutes. so focus and stay at it. DO NOT fight it. let your body feel panicked. let it freak out. it will pass. just keep looking slowly back and forth at something that makes you relax or feel good.
ok, just a piece of advice. xo nicole
anyway, my aunt was having one so i got on the phone with her and talked her down from it. just want to pass on the technique i've learned. it helped her tremendously.
the key is to focus on two things that make you calm and happy. for my aunt, it's her dogs. they have dog houses out in the backyard. so i had her sit at the door and slowly let her eyes roam from one dog house over to the other... and back and forth and back and forth - counting to 5 slowly in between. the back and forth rhythm is good to calm the nervous system and the counting gives the mind something to focus on. constantly remind yourself or the person you are coaching to relax their shoulders and the rest of their body. let them know that severe anxiety cannot last longer than 3-5 minutes. an attack though can last for up to 30 minutes. so focus and stay at it. DO NOT fight it. let your body feel panicked. let it freak out. it will pass. just keep looking slowly back and forth at something that makes you relax or feel good.
ok, just a piece of advice. xo nicole