Attacking Your Anxiety

When you feel that anxiety attack approaching, it can be a very scary time (especially if you've had one before, because you know what you're in for), so people often try to ignore it, or become so scared that it simply perpetuates the anxiety, making the attack come on much stronger and much quicker. So the best thing you can do for yourself is to simply understand that "Yes, I am having an anxiety attack." Saying this out loud to yourself can be very helpful. Anxiety is almost entirely psychological, so a much more positive approach such as that, in contrast to "Oh no! Oh no! What's happening to me?!" already begins working to alleviate some of that fear and panic which comes with the anxiety.

In the midst of an attack, people are often left feeling helpless and alone. Informing a family member or friend or roommate of what you are going through can be extremely helpful because you won't be feeling so alone. In fact, bringing all that internal tumult out into the open has the potential to be the beginning of the end of the attack. Just knowing you have somebody to talk to is helpful, and actually talking to someone will help take you out of the temporary insanity of your anxious brain, forcing you to bring those thoughts into something cohesive and tangible, and suddenly, all that craziness will seem much more sensible and manageable.

A very simple trick in curbing some of your anxiety is to concentrate on your breathing. Sit or lay down on something comfortable, placing your hands on the arms of the chair or the mattress you're on, and breathe in for ten seconds, hold it for ten seconds, and exhale for ten seconds. Do this five to ten times and you'll be surprised at how much more in control you feel.

If you're experiencing one or many anxiety attacks, it is not for no reason! Even if they seemingly "come out of nowhere", there is always a reason for their presence. Start thinking about where you were, what you were doing, and what you were thinking when the attack started. Take notes on it. Consider everything in your life that might be creating stress. Anxiety/panic attacks are horrible things, and can make you feel like the problem is a bigger deal than it actually is. You might even think that something is physically wrong with you! Stress is a very strange thing and can manifest itself in physical ways, but once you figure out where that stress is coming from, those physical symptoms will disappear.

While there are common symptoms for an anxiety disorder, there are also different symptoms for everyone. Stress works in circles, i.e., if you're stressed, you might break out in hives. The hives will make you more stressed and you'll break out in more hives, etc...
Instead of separating the hives as "one more thing that's wrong with me," it is important to understand that it's actually probably very strongly related to the same source. If you keep separating the symptoms, it can often lead to hypochondria, where you'll start believing all sorts of things are physically wrong with you. You might even start to make up symptoms in your head!
Common symptoms of anxiety or an anxiety disorder include: Heart palpitations, loss of appetite, dizziness, tingling in the hands or feet, headaches, paranoia of some unnamed catastrophe lurking just around the corner (this is also known of agoraphobia, where you are so scared of having an anxiety attack that the fear ends up inducing one), drinking/smoking to excess, hypochondria, body shakes, hives, frequent diarrhea, inability to think clearly/ constant confusion, depression.
Understanding that this is all coming from your anxiety will actually do a lot in relieving these symptoms, and in doing so, will relieve your stress and anxiety.