I have struggled with anxiety and panic attacks for many years.

When I was first diagnosed with suffering from anxiety I had gone to the doctor with what I thought was a chest infection! I had spent weeks feeling a tightness in my chest and not being able to breathe properly. When I tried to inhale deeply it felt like there was something restricting my ribcage and that I couldn’t quite create enough space to take the large gulp of air I felt I needed.

I will be forever grateful to the doctor that spent time with me and asked me about my stress levels. I explained that I had finished a particularly stressful project a couple of months ago but my stress levels were okay now. He asked how I was feeling in myself and I burst into tears! I don’t know where the emotion came from or why that question, or that time, or that setting released it, but it did, and I then spent about 10 minutes sobbing uncontrollably. After the embarrassment subsided and I composed myself the doctor said he thought I was suffering with anxiety and in a similar way to how we sometimes get ill when we go on holiday because we relax, my body had been in fight mode during the stressful project, and now it was relaxing the anxiety that had been building up was now being released as panic attacks.

A few years later I was in my garden feeding my rabbits one morning and my chest constricted, I had pain, I couldn’t breathe and collapsed. I honestly thought I was having a heart attack. I was taken to hospital and after tests, and to my utter embarrassment, I was told I had had a panic attack. Again, at this time I wasn’t stressed but hadn’t long come out of a stressful work situation.

Your body has a fight/flight/freeze response built in which can be super helpful when faced with dangerous situations to react in an appropriate way that may save your life. The thing with a panic attack is your body has a reaction when you are not facing into a dangerous situation. Even having struggled with panic attacks previously, as proved, I couldn’t always recognise when I was having one. 

Struggling with panic attacks can dent your confidence. You don’t know when they will strike. You can fear making a fool of yourself and this fear then increases your anxiety which makes having a panic attack more likely! 

I have found meditation and mindfulness to be helpful in managing my anxiety. Spending a few minutes each day tuning into my breath, and trying to quieten all the internal chatter so I’m only focusing on breathing creates a sense of relaxation in my body and helps me stay in control. 

If you are interested in trying or starting your own practice, I would recommend the calming mediation you can find here: 

• Find a quiet place where you can sit undisturbed for 3-5 minutes. 

• Visualise the word calm in white letters in the area of your heart. 

• Breathe in slightly deeper than normal and when you breathe out say the word calm to yourself. 

• Keep doing this for 3 to 5 minutes. 

Breathing deeply has been proven to reduce anxiety. Being present and not thinking about anything other than what you are doing means your mind has no room to worry or feel fear as in this current moment you are safe and calm. With the above meditation, the only thought in your mind is of calm. Any internal dialogue that often escalates your feelings of fear is focused on calm. This simple exercise means you can reclaim control over yourself quickly and is a great thing to have in your toolkit to keep your confidence in any situation that may have previously caused you anxiety.

I would love for you to try this and let me know how you get on!