How to Deal with the Panic Attack Aftermath
The ever-so-dreaded and terrifying panic attack happened again. This time, I was driving home for the holidays (yikes!). The four-hour drive from Chicago to Iowa is typically not my favorite now that I have a panic disorder. My anxiety is triggered from a (sometimes unrealistic) fear of being trapped —so driving through the middle of a corn field for hours doesn’t necessarily leave me feeling warm and fuzzy.
How to Deal with the Panic Attack Aftermath
I had gone out for a birthday dinner the night before. While I had vowed to go home early and cut out alcohol to be anxiety-free for my drive home, I’m human and none of those things happened (insert the emoji with the girl with her hands in the air - my personal favorite). I got on the road the next morning with heightened anxiety and since I was sleep deprived, I chugged a big ole coffee. I mean, I basically signed myself up for said panic attack.
In fact, I was feeling totally fine until about halfway through the drive, then it hit me. Like, literally felt like a truck hit me - for no reason at all, my breath shortened, my heart started racing, and I was terrified. I had my heat blasting and I was sweating. Yet at the same time was shivering cold. I thought I was going to throw up. So I pulled over (don’t worry, Dad!), took some breaths, and used my phone-a-friend lifeline. Since I was driving, I had to be really careful utilizing medication that can make me drowsy.
After I semi-calmed down, I threw on some Taylor Swift at maximum volume and pretended I was in concert to distract myself for the remainder of the drive home. I’m happy to report that I was a complete champion (if I do say so myself) and got through it to make it safely to my destination.
So, it’s over, right? Not for me, folks - woohoo!
For me, the aftermath of a panic attack can be just as cruel because my brain enters the anticipatory dread of another (pretty much the symptom of a panic disorder). Dr. G. once told me that after your body recovers from going into full fight or flight mode, you can be as exhausted as if you had just ran a marathon. I’m not planning on running a marathon any time soon, so I’m just going to take his word for it. The days following a panic attack, I need to take my anxiety very seriously. It’s almost like I need to make my brain immediately forget about how the attack happened and what it was like - otherwise, I may have another and then feel really out of control.
How I Recover from a Panic Attack
Eliminate CATS
Honestly, I hate having to do this, but sometimes in life you have to do shit you don’t want to do. CATS = caffeine, alcohol, tobacco and sugar aka the anxiety quadfecta (yes, this is a word, I Googled it). First of all, I am not a morning person and I love coffee. No talkie before coffee, if you will. Cutting out coffee is super sad for me and also kind of makes me a miserable human until about noon. At least I’m self aware. That being said, the side effects of too much caffeine are kind of similar to anxiety and a panic attack. So it’s incredibly important that I ease up on it the days following a panic attack. I don’t need anything reminding me of those feelings again.
Secondly, my panic attack was right before all my family holiday parties so cutting out alcohol entirely was not happening. I’m human, I love Christmas parties, and I’m not going to feel bad about it, dammit. I did, however, pay very close attention to my consumption levels and made sure to drink several glasses of water throughout the night to ensure my anxiety stayed within control. Tobacco was easy because that’s not a thing for me. Sugar wasn’t too bad either because I’m not a huge sweet tooth. Although I did have one or two Christmas cookies, obviously.
Move Yo Body
Again, this one was very challenging because I was completely out of my routine being home for the holidays. Also, I’m from a small town and there are -5 options for a workout besides running outside, and I’m clearly not doing that. Yet, it’s imperative that I find time for even just 30 minutes of exercise to ease my anxiety. “Exercise produces endorphins and endorphins make you happy.” Name that movie. Really though, exercise is a natural anxiety reducer. I’ve found that I really enjoy online yoga and dance cardio when I’m unable to attend my regular classes in Chicago. You can find videos for these all over the Internet. I personally enjoy obé fitness for the dance cardio and I’ve heard Melissa Wood is good for yoga too.
Rest, Rest, Rest
This is a vicious cycle because anxiety typically causes insomnia and insomnia makes my anxiety worse the next day, which is incredibly rude. I am thankful for the days when I’m free to take naps after a sleepless night, but I don’t always have that luxury. To ensure a good night of sleep, I love a hot epsom salt bath. Epsom salt helps ease the muscles, which is especially good after they’ve been tense post-panic attack. My favorite brand is Dr. Teals because it smells ah-mazing.
I will also drink a tall glass of Natural Calm Magnesium and as of recent, I’ve been trying the ever-so-trendy CBD oil before bed to relax. None of which knocks me out completely, but it does help calm my nervous system. Lastly, I love a good soothing sleep sound. My friend introduced me to this great app called Relax Melodies. Thankfully my friends get down with sleep sounds while on girl’s trips, too. I know how to choose ‘em.
Focus on the Present
I can feel really frustrated after a panic attack, especially if I haven’t had one in awhile. Beating myself up about it shockingly doesn’t help. I also have to mentally practice not fearing another attack. Whenever I start to think about my anxiety or panic, it’s helpful for me to envision a bubble type object around the thought and then move it out of my head to bring me back to the present moment. I swear it’s not as weird as it sounds. Literally see that shit move out and then start talking to yourself positively.
I’ve become better on focusing on the present when I need to through my meditation practices at night. I can tell when I fall out of practice, because when I am practicing my meditation, my brain finds it easiest to bubble up and release thoughts than when I’m not. I guess it makes sense because the brain is like a muscle. Ah, science.
Ultimately, after a panic attack, I have to press pause and really listen to my body, and sometimes that means relaxing instead of doing certain activities that I really enjoy. My doctor also suggests a low dose of anti-anxiety medication throughout the following days to proactively keep myself calm and retrain my brain. If my natural remedies aren’t working, I will refer to this tactic. After a couple days of diligently following these practices and going panic attack free, I’m back to normal. I conquered the drive back to Chicago after Christmas like a total badass too (but my Dad asked me to drive the speed limit, so I did).