If you are anywhere and you find yourself in a situation where someone is suffering an anxiety attack , or it is your own friend or family member who is suffering, try to stay calm at all times because if you get nervous you will only increase your nerves of the person who is suffering the attack and it will not be beneficial to anyone. At Bekia we tell you much more about how to help and act in this situation so that everything goes well!

You must understand what is happening to that person

If that person is having an anxiety attack, it is most likely because they are afraid or afraid that something bad will happen to them or they may lose control and harm a loved one . They can last from five minutes to an hour, although the most common is that they do not last more than 15-30 minutes. It is difficult for it to last longer than this time because the body is not physically prepared to endure so much anguish for so long, and it ends up exhausted.

You should know that anxiety attacks cause the person to have extreme agitation for several minutes , and this makes them think that they lose control over themselves and their actions. Thus, it is the body itself that prepares itself to be on the defensive, forcing the person to confront or flee because they are in danger, be it real or imagined.

Therefore, it is important that to help you try to calm both that person and those around him , and that you try to calm the person who is suffering the anxiety attack and calm down, to calm the state of agitation of the body and prevent him from doing any uncontrolled act.

If you know in advance that the person has already suffered several anxiety attacks , it will be much easier to control the situation because he himself will try to calm down to make the symptoms decrease. On the contrary, if it is the first time that you are suffering an anxiety attack, we recommend that while you try to reassure it you call the emergency services, especially if the person suffers from asthma, diabetes or other medical problems that may aggravate the symptoms .

Try to find out what caused the anxiety attack

It is much easier to control the situation when you know what is happening to that person. In addition, this makes you rule out that what happens to him is something more serious such as a heart attack or asthma, which would require immediate medical attention.

However, it is true that many anxiety attacks have no apparent cause , or the cause is unknown or unconscious. So if the person doesn’t know why this is happening, don’t pressure them. Try to calm him down and take a deep breath and do not get nervous or hysterical about not knowing how to act, that will only make things worse and aggravate his symptoms.

You should let the person know that it is an anxiety attack and not something more serious

When that person is at the highest peak of anxiety, the crisis seems unstoppable and they may even think that they are going to die. Try to explain to him that the first five minutes of the anxiety attack is the worst of the whole crisis, and that after the 15-30 minutes have passed, everything will be over if he calms down and takes a deep breath. With this you can help and calm their anguish.

So, let him know that it is an anxiety attack, that he will not die or have a heart attack, that he will not run out of breath and that in a few minutes everything will be over and he will feel much better. Breathing techniques are a very good way to relax the person so that they enter a calm state as quickly as possible , but remember that to help you should never overwhelm or pressure them, everything has to be on time.

If the person tries to flee because they want to find a safe place, try to convince them not to do so and stay with you . You can go with him to a more secluded place if that is what he wants, but he should never run away because his head would relate the place where he gave you the anxiety attack with the cause of the attack, and this will make him unable to lead a life normal from then on. Flight and avoidance is what fuels anxiety, and should be avoided at all times .

It is logical that people approach because they worry about the person who is suffering the crisis, but try not to do so as much as possible as this will make them much more nervous and increase symptoms and stress . The relaxation , breathing control and not burden are the keys to overcoming the sooner an anxiety attack. Put it into practice and everything will be under control!