Between college admissions, standardized tests, and extracurriculars, there’s a lot for teenagers to consider in their high school careers. As these stressors accumulate, the risk of panic attacks looms over the student population.
A panic attack is an intense and immediate influx of fear, often unexpected and momentarily paralyzing. Panic attacks can run in families, appear with major life transitions, be triggered by severe stress, or are the result of medical conditions, according to Mayo Clinic. Oftentimes, triggers aren’t able to be distinguished by victims, making the abrupt ordeal even more severe.
In a study done by Harvard Medical School, by conducting their National Comorbidity Survey (NCS), it was found that, “an estimated 2.3% of adolescents had panic disorder.”
Dealing with panic attacks is a simple enough process. To avoid a panic attack, try to stay away from smoking, alcohol, and caffeine and learn how to control your breathing. To help someone having an attack stay calm and attempt to get them focused on their breathing or move around to get them out of their heads.
What causes your panic attacks?
Sometimes, they can be induced by large amounts of stress at one time and can be triggered by stressful situations such as family issues or even exam week.
How do the attacks affect your academics?
Sometimes, I can’t get work done because it affects both my motivation and memory, making it hard to do work and remember what I have to do. Even when I try my hardest, things get hard and overly intense from classes, and I can’t handle it all, all the time.
What do you do to deal with them?
I can’t always deal with them while I’m having them, but once it passes, I try to get back into my work, or I get up and eat something good for me and take a short break or even a nap. But for the bad ones, I have to just stop and lay down and watch TV or do something peaceful for a bit, and I’ll eventually get back to work.
Do you have any advice for people who have panic attacks?
All panic attacks are different. Some are super mild where you just cry for no reason and feel completely useless, and that’s okay. The best thing to do for those is to lay down a bit and get stable. There’s bigger panic attacks where you shake and sob and feel absolutely miserable and you may explode with rage or tears; let those take a course for a little and try to not say things that’ll hurt someone if they’re trying to help. I recommend, from my experience, to be alone. Once you start feeling better, drink water or juice, eat some fruit or oatmeal, and take a nap, then go back to work and breathe. Just go slow.