Sometimes, you don’t notice it happening. But suddenly, you’re spiraling, and your brain is flooded with both incoherent and terrifying thoughts. Your breathing becomes fast and shallow, your heart is racing, and you feel lightheaded and nauseous, but all you can focus on is the overwhelming fear: You’re in danger. Even when you’re not.
Panic attacks once overwhelmed Asad Ghiasuddin, M.D., HMSA medical director and Honolulu psychiatrist. But after a long journey of healing, he can confidently say he’s found his way to the light at the end of the tunnel.
Facing your fears
“I used to have a phobia of geckos and bugs,” explains Dr. Ghiasuddin. “My fear of cockroaches started to interfere with my ability to go to certain places since they seemed to be everywhere!”
Everyone experiences anxiety to some degree in their life, and it’s normal to feel stressed or worried in some situations. But if it seems to happen more often, lasts for increasingly longer periods of time, or starts to impact aspects of your daily functioning, it’s best to reach out for help from health care providers.
“People experience anxiety in different ways,” continues Dr. Ghiasuddin. “I used to get a fear response at the sight of cockroaches or geckos, including racing heartbeat, sweating, needing to escape the situation, and having catastrophic thoughts of what would happen if the creature came closer to me.”
Dr. Ghiasuddin says common mental and physical manifestations of anxiety include:
- Excessive worrying.
- Overthinking.
- Replaying events from the past in your mind.
- Catastrophizing about future events.
- Having irrational fears.
- A change in your breathing (rapid shallow breathing or chest tightness).
- Feeling shaky and sweaty.
- Muscle tension/headaches or stomachaches.
In addition, excessive worry can lead to avoidance of a situation. Overthinking and fear can impact self-care and lead to poor sleep and nutrition and lack of exercise, which can lower self-esteem and subsequently worsen your mood.
The journey to healing
Prioritizing self-care can drastically reduce anxiety symptoms. That includes focusing on getting adequate sleep, nutrition, and exercise.
“Find what works for you in terms of de-stressing, quieting the mind, or discharging anxious energy,” says Dr. Ghiasuddin. “For some people, it’s yoga or Pilates. Others may enjoy going on a run, meditating, or journaling.”
Many types of psychotherapy can help manage anxiety. Dr. Ghiasuddin used a combination of exposure therapy and EMDR to get over his fear of creepy crawlies. For some people, anti-depressants and therapy together can work wonders. Support from loved ones can also make a difference.
“Sometimes knowing how to help someone ground themselves and get through a panic attack is what is needed; other times, loved ones will need gentle nudging to not give in to their anxious thoughts and avoidant behavior,” says Dr. Ghiasuddin.
While his fear of bugs hasn’t completely disappeared, therapy has helped make his anxiety surrounding it much more manageable.
“I don’t have as much of a startle response,” he says. “I was recently even able to handle a surprise roach in an enclosed space without having a panic attack!”
Focus on mental health
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month and Anxiety Awareness Month, here are more stories that highlight the importance of taking care of your mental health:
