How to Deal with an Anxiety Episode
April 23, 2020

One of the many unpleasant aspects of living with chronic anxiety is experiencing an anxiety episode. An anxiety episode can derail your whole day, make you feel out of control, and can digress all the way to a full-blown panic attack. That’s why it’s important to learn how to identify the symptoms of an anxiety episode and how to handle the situation in the most calm and collected way. Here’s how you can deal with an anxiety episode.
What is an Anxiety Episode?
First off, let’s define what an anxiety episode is. Anxiety episodes or anxiety attacks are characterized by feelings of overwhelming fear and worry that often come out of nowhere. They’re not as intense as a panic attack, but that’s no consolation when you’re having an episode. Anxiety episodes are extremely intense and accompanied by physical symptoms like shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness, and a racing heartbeat.
Anxiety episodes and panic attacks are slightly different phenomena. Panic attacks are known for being pretty scary. People feel as if they are in imminent danger of dying or losing control of themselves. Anxiety episodes can last hours or days. They have the following characteristics:
It’s important to note that you don’t need to have all or even most of these symptoms to be experiencing an anxiety episode.
Stopping Anxiety Attacks
With practice, you can learn how to stop an anxiety attack before it intensifies further. Here are some key techniques and practices that can help get you back on track.
Anxiety attacks can co-occur on top of chronic, lower-level anxiety. They can become a brief worsening of an ongoing anxiety disorder, too. Figuring out what situations and stresses contribute to your anxiety episodes is an essential first step to getting long-lasting relief.
Consider the following two-step process for reducing daily anxiety:
Treating Depression-Linked Anxiety With No Side Effects
If you suffer from depression and are experiencing anxiety because of it, consider Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) therapy. This is an FDA cleared non-invasive treatment for depression that uses targeted magnetic pulses to stimulate areas of the brain that affect mood, which helps you get back to your best life quickly and with no side effects. Among the many treatment options out there, TMS therapy is an excellent, pain-free solution that is covered by most major insurance companies. The best part is there are no side effects associated with TMS therapy, making it an excellent solution.
This blog post is meant to be educational in nature and does not replace the advice of a medical professional. See full disclaimer.
Works Cited
CBT for Panic Attacks Panic Attack Treatment Without Medication. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://cogbtherapy.com/cbt-for-panic-attacks
Symptoms. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/panic-disorder-agoraphobia/symptoms
Tips. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://adaa.org/tips
Wells, A. (1990). Panic disorder in association with relaxation induced anxiety: An attentional training approach to treatment. Behavior Therapy, 21(3), 273–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0005-7894(05)80330-2