Psychologist Andrey Chernyshev on how to help yourself in troubled times

The ability to be afraid is necessary for us to survive. But it's also important to deal with fear, especially when disturbing news comes from everywhere. RBC Trends understand,

Many events in our lives can cause fear, and for some people, the tension associated with it is expressed in a bodily way. In everyday life, such conditions are often called a panic attack, but from a medical point of view, an attack of fear and a panic attack should be separated.

A panic attack has a time frame - it usually lasts 15-20 minutes. This is due to the release of hormones - for example, adrenaline, norepinephrine, cortisol - and you need to wait out this surge. During a panic attack, a person has difficulty breathing, cannot function normally, and sometimes loses the ability to control himself. You can quickly normalize the condition with the help of breathing exercises - those that can be found in any search engine on the relevant request will do.

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Unlike a panic attack, anxiety attacks can last for a very long time. A person can imagine some kind of danger, add aspects that frighten him more and more, and be in this state for hours or even days.

Any stress does not pass without a trace for the body, and panic conditions are no exception. Panic attacks are essentially the product of destructive thoughts that we scroll through our heads over and over again. By concentrating on these frightening scenarios of life, we can feel powerless, headaches or nausea for hours. The inability to concentrate on business due to the manifestations of somatics certainly affects the quality of life. Panic attacks can even lead to a dramatic outcome, because such attacks happen suddenly and can overtake while driving or in a dream. Therefore, if there are some disturbing circumstances in life that cause constant fear, it is better to immediately seek help from a specialist and, if necessary, prescribe medication.

How to deal with panic on your own

Fear that causes panic is accompanied by tunnel thinking, when a person is not able to distract himself from his experiences. It's like blinders that are put on horses so that they can only see the road ahead. A person who has succumbed to panic perceives information in this way, but if you manage to stop in time and think a little, you can stop this feeling, prevent it from growing.

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It is quite difficult to do this at the moment of panic, but you can try to think over the tactics of behavior while in a calm state. For example, to remember people, events or things that are important and give a sense of security. If panic attacks are frequent, you can set a reminder on your phone and fill it with any information that will help you feel better and more grounded.

It is useful to watch videos about self-help, read articles and books - this will already be the minimum concern for yourself. The main thing is not to dismiss your condition, but to look for ways to solve it. Those emotions that we are trying to suppress will sooner or later catch up anyway, so accepting them is already a lot of self-care.

And, of course, the most correct decision is to go to a psychologist and together with him choose individual ways to solve the problem.

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Reducing Background Anxiety: Expert Tips Be yourself. Take a look at yourself, understand what you are strong in, where there are good supports in life. It can be yourself, your HEALTH, work, hobbies, family, relationships. All this supports a person and makes his life harmonious. Think about what you can do, what you can achieve. Such an inventory helps to be stronger, more stable and to resist any hardships and troubles. It builds our inner courage and the foundation for peace. If you feel overwhelmed, do not take drastic actionsgive yourself time to think. The ability to give yourself time is truly a universal recipe. We often make hasty decisions that we regret. Now is the time when in a hurry we can do something about which we will be sad later. Therefore, you should not make hasty decisions in a panic. Think of yourself in new realities. How to live now, what to do. Thinking about ourselves makes us calmer, calmer and makes the fabric of our being stronger. Try to do the same for your loved ones and relatives, those who surround you. As much as you can, no more and no less.

Life brings surprises all the time. A person will always find something to worry about, because anxiety is within us, it is our gain. Times are a little calmer, a little less calm, but anxiety is always with us, and we need to accept this fact and learn to deal with it in a certain way.