Dealing With Anxiety In Public – How To Deal With Anxiety Attacks
Anxiety is a big thing in life today especially in 2020 and 2021 and that’s why it’s more important than ever to tackle these issues. Anxiety in public can be a hard thing to overcome although there are various ways in which to do this. When it comes to ways that I tackle public anxiety I use different methods, that being said these methods aren’t going to work for everyone and if it doesn’t work for you that’s fine, you can always try something else.
Anxiety and panic attacks are no fun at all, I’ve had many while in public and anxiety attack symptoms can vary from person to person, one is never the same and that means how to deal with anxiety attacks are going to be different for everyone.
What Are Anxiety Attacks
If you’re wondering when do anxiety attacks happen, there’s no real way to determine. Anxiety attacks are the feeling of losing control, heart palpitations and chest pains; it can also include dizziness and the feeling of passing out.
Anxiety and panic attacks, however, are different, although can be mistaken to be the same thing. Symptoms can be the same, however. If you’re looking for more information on the difference between panic attacks and anxiety attacks check out this handy post from Healthline.
How To Cope With Anxiety Attacks In Public
Now before I begin I will say that I’m not an expert, doctor or medical practitioner. I write about my own experience with mental health, the ways that have helped me cope and hopefully ways that will help others.
Some of these anxiety coping mechanisms might seem obvious, common sense or just stupid but trust me, they have worked for me and I do believe they can work for other people at the same time!
Listining to music
Music can be a powerful thing and you can use music to combat anxiety for sure. I find that I have anxiety attacks when I’m out on my walks and when I’m listening to music I find it gives me something to focus on. I also play Pokemon Go when I’m going for a walk which also helps me focus on something other than what everyone else is doing around me.
The other great thing about listening to music while you’re out is having headphones. If you have headphones in people are less likely to approach you, resulting in less anxiety attacks and one less thing to worry about! I wear wireless in ear headphones however you can also get big wireless headphones that really give people the impression that you don’t want to talk!
This also helps really well with social anxiety, if you’re in a situation you’d rather not be in like when I get anxiety on public transport, I make sure that my headphones are clearly in and that way no one talks to me and if they do I can ignore them because I have music going!
Counting in your head
When it comes to anxiety attacks help counting is something you should be keeping in mind. I’m not talking about counting to 10 either, I’m talking about counting down from 10. It’s the same for trying to go to sleep, they say you should count down from 100.
If you’re counting down it’ll help keep you calm and distracted as you’re putting more thought into the action of counting. If you’re having an anxiety attack in public, find a bench or somewhere to sit and start counting down, trust me it works (for me anyway).
Anxiety going out in public
A lot of people get anxiety issues in public which is fine and anxiety on public transport is more common than you think. It’s important that people know all about dealing with anxiety in public and the methods that work well for them.
At the end of the day, public transport can cause anxiety, especially in 2020 – 2021 if it’s packed and crowded people are going to get even more anxiety about getting unwell. So if you’re thinking, what causes anxiety attacks, crowded places should be avoided.
One last thing I will say is that if you have to go somewhere, see if you can walk rather than take public transport, it’s better in regards to exercise, fresh air, staying away from people and anxiety so always check that.
