Your body goes through a lot physically during a panic attack, as well as taking a mental toll on you. Because of what your body goes through, recovery is not always instant after the panic attack has subsided. In fact, it is quite common to feel something like a panic attack hangover as your body recovers.
This post will give you a little bit of information about what goes on in your body during a panic attack and some tips for dealing with the resulting hangover effect. Keep reading to the end and I will share with you a method that can end panic attacks entirely, so that you will never have to deal with the hangover anymore.
What Happens During A Panic Attack?
When a panic attack sets in, your sympathetic nervous system is activated. This is where your body goes into fight or flight mode, sensing a threat or danger. Your heartrate speeds up, your body fills with adrenalin and blood is pumped to the muscles you need in order to fight or flight. Often your breathing quickens, to allow you to take in more oxygen.
After a little while the parasympathetic nervous system kicks in. While the sympathetic nervous system gets you full of adrenalin and on high alert, the parasympathetic nervous system does the opposite and calms you down. Even if you do nothing to help yourself during the panic attack, at some point the parasympathetic nervous system will kick in to action regardless. It is like a safety mechanism in your body, and without it we would stay in our panic attack until the threat or danger has passed.
What is important to remember if you suffer from panic attacks is that they will not harm you. Even though sometimes you might feel like you are dying during the panic attack, your own body will not do itself any harm. It’s hard to think logically like this in the midst of a panic attack, but if you can remember that one thing then it may help you to get through the panic attack a little bit easier.
What Happens After A Panic Attack?
Once the panic attack has subsided, often we are left feeling the after effects of it. Some things that you may be feeling include:
Tiredness, lethargy or fatigue
Sore muscles
Nausea
Chest pain
Body aches
Sore jaw
Sweating
Dizziness
Headaches
Restlessness
These are the effects of an adrenalin hangover. The soreness in your body and jaw is caused by your body tensing up during the panic attack, and now that it is relaxing it is left feeling sore. The tiredness or fatigue is because your body has just been through a lot, similar to strenuous exercise. Feeling these effects is quite a normal experience after a panic attack.
Tips For Managing A Panic Attack Hangover
Now that we know what has happened in our bodies during and after the panic attack, we can look at ways of dealing with the symptoms we may be experiencing after the panic attack has gone.
Light exercise. It is quite common to still feel a little bit of adrenalin and restlessness after a panic attack, and a good way to deal with that is through some light exercise. You don’t have to do too much here, just a walk is plenty. The walking will help you to release endorphins and lower stress hormones as well as the other benefits of exercise for mental health. Exercise is a proven way of reducing stress and also boosting your mood. If you want to know more about the benefits of exercise for mental health then read this post.
Eat something. Remember, your body has just been through something similar to strenuous exercise, so it is important to replenish and refuel. You don’t need to go for a big meal, just a light snack will be fine. You may not feel like eating after your panic attack as your body is still getting back to normal, but if you can manage it, a light and healthy snack will be ideal.
Speak to someone. While your body has just been through a lot, so has your mind. You may still be trying to process everything that you have just experienced. A great way to work through it is to speak to someone you trust and explore what feelings or fears might have triggered the panic attack.
Rest. Panic attacks are exhausting, and often we feel very tired afterwards. It’s ok to want to sleep or lay down, and if you are feeling tired then allow yourself time to rest. A 20-30 minute nap is a great way to recover from the tiredness, rebalance your adrenalin levels and give your aching muscles a rest. Try not to sleep for too long as you don’t want it to negatively impact your nightly sleep. Limiting your nap to a maximum of 30 minutes should be enough to help you recover without keeping you up all night later on.
Change of scenery. Perhaps something in your surroundings triggered your panic attack, such as a large crowd or a hectic and chaotic scenario. Obviously, you don’t want that to trigger another panic attack, so moving away from that situation is ideal. Try to find somewhere calm and peaceful as it will help you to recover from the panic attack hangover a lot easier.
How Long Does A Panic Attack Hangover Last?
While the panic attack itself will only last up to 20-30 minutes, the hangover effect can linger for quite a while. It is not uncommon to still feel the effects of the hangover up to a week after the panic attack. Obviously, this has a significant impact on your life and is an unpleasant way to live, but fortunately there are solutions available to stop the panic attacks so that you have no hangovers to deal with.
How To Get Rid Of Panic Attacks
All panic attacks are driven by fear. Sometimes that can be the fear of a situation, like a crowded social event or public speaking. Sometimes, just the fear of having a panic attack can actually result in a panic attack. It’s a horrible situation, but fortunately it can be treated.
I used to suffer from panic attacks and I had also been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. My anxiety levels would be sitting quite high at most times of the day, and it didn’t take much for it to spiral into a panic attack. It was not a pleasant way to live.
I used to take Valium whenever my anxiety was getting too high, but the problem is that it was just a temporary measure. On top of that, the more I took and the more often I took it, the less effective it would be. And it was doing absolutely nothing to stop the anxiety or panic returning.
I wanted a way to stop the panic attacks and reduce my anxiety without Valium or any other medications, so I bought a course called Panic Away. It seemed to tick all of the boxes for what I was looking for – stop the panic attacks and reduce the anxiety without medication.
I am happy to report that this course worked wonders for me. It is very rare that I have panic attacks anymore, and on the occasion when I do, they don’t bother me. I can actually laugh in the face of them (this course teaches you a way to do that). I still suffer from anxiety, but it is nowhere near as bad as what it used to be and I only take Valium for it on very rare occasions (maybe once every 2 months or so).
I honestly believe that anyone can have the same results as what I did. I am nobody special, but just by following the course I was able to achieve a fantastic result. The added bonus is the course is quite cheap to buy and there is a 60 day money back guarantee. They wouldn’t offer that without knowing that the product works, but it essentially makes it a risk free purchase. You can find out more about Panic Away using the link below.
Click here to learn more about Panic Away
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