How to Manage Anxiety and Panic Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Have you ever had a panic attack? My daughter once told me that it is the scariest thing she's ever been through.

I have two loved ones who still experience the terror of panic attacks and sometimes even debilitating anxiety, and I sometimes wonder how they're able to make it through each day during this coronavirus pandemic.

Panic attacks are real. Thankfully I've never been hit by one, but I will always remember the time when my daughter was a teenager and one day begged me to drive her to the Danbury Hospital ER because she thought she was having a heart attack. She couldn't catch her breath, and her chest was tight, she was sweating and trembling. When we arrived, and we were walking into the ER, she collapsed even before we reached the triage desk. She honestly thought she was dying. That is what it's like to experience a full-blown panic attack.

According to medicalnewstoday.com, panic attacks and anxiety attacks are not the same things. Panic attacks can come out of nowhere and are more intense, while some other event usually triggers an anxiety attack.

Experts tell us that the coronavirus is exacerbating both panic and anxiety disorders according to the website psychcentral.com and having a therapist you can trust is a valuable tool. There are other ways to help lessen the effects of anxiety and panic during this COVID-19 pandemic, which the following video will illustrate.

You will also find many helpful suggestions to manage your anxiety by clicking on the National Alliance on Mental Illness website.