Relationships June 15, 2018
They can be frightening experiences for all parties involved.
Your friend says their heart is racing. They’re sweating, trembling and feel like they can’t breathe. Most likely, your friend is in the middle of an anxiety attack.
Anxiety attacks can be frightening experiences, especially if you’ve never seen or had one before. And it’s a lot more common in America than you think. According to Anxiety and Depression Association of America, around 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety disorders. That’s 18.1 percent of the population.
It’s not the same as being anxious. An anxiety attack can feel like something worse. Some people have reported feeling like they’re having a heart attack. Some have even been hospitalized after one. They might only last a few minutes and they come on suddenly, so you might not have time to prepare.
So what kind of help can you give to a friend who might be in the middle of an attack? Quite a bit, actually.
The first step in helping a friend is to make sure you don’t start panicking yourself. The fact that your friend might have a racing heart or feel short of breath might be super scary, but that doesn’t mean she’s in any real danger.
PsychologyToday says, “Panic attacks feel dangerous because they engage our brain’s emergency system which tells us we are in imminent danger. But like a fire alarm placed to close to a toaster, the emergency systems in the brains of people with panic attacks are issuing false alarms.”
So while it may be incredibly difficult and frightening, you can relax and know that your friend is going to be fine. Plus, if you start panicking you might make the situation worse.
If you don’t have anxiety, it can be tricky to understand what your friend is feeling. Anxiety attacks are different from just generalized anxiety,. The difference is a feeling of panic about what is happening at the moment, rather than worries about future possibilities, according to PsychologyToday.
The site also explains that this feeling is why the physical symptoms kick in. Physical symptoms include increased heart rate, sweating, shaking, shortness of breath, nausea, feelings of unreality as well as others. These sensations result from what is described as escape reflexes signaled by the brain.
So what brought the anxiety attack on? It’ll help to understand that. It might also help to understand the symptoms so you don’t accidentally overstep boundaries. For example, if your friend doesn’t want to be touched, respect that.
Anxiety.org calls this “grounding” and says that it “helps you bring gentle awareness back to your general surroundings.” This usually involves something simple, like noticing the ground under your feet or another tactical sensation. You could also do things like focus on a specific object in order to ground.”
Point out specific details of the area around them. Helping them to focus on the here and now rather than their present symptoms can help alleviate the sense of panic.
Some helpful ways to support your friend after a panic attack might be to start practicing relaxation techniques such as yoga or meditation together. A study published in Life Science Journal reported that patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder benefited from yoga exercises to combat anxiety. Take a class together to encourage healthy relaxation.
You could also help your friend research more methods for controlling anxiety and encourage her to talk with a professional. In the meantime, just be a friend and support them.
Mental illness is a tough topic to deal with, particularly when someone close to you is experiencing it, but you don’t have to let the person handle it themselves. You can talk about it and sometimes take the extra step and help out. Just remember that there’s always something you can do, even if it’s just to sit there and be a friend.
