Anxiety is a feeling of fear that affects a person when a source of potential danger arises. Most of us have felt it at some point in our lives. Anxiety develops into an anxiety attack when its intensity is such that the individual can lose control of their body and their thoughts. While anxiety attacks are more common in people with generalised anxiety, certain one-off events can also trigger the disorder without you knowing why. Erratic breathing, sweaty hands, trembling legs, speech problems, intense fear … do you recognise yourself among these symptoms? No doubt, you’re prone to anxiety attacks? Overview of the anxiety attack and natural tips to calm it down.

What is an anxiety attack?

An anxiety attack or panic attack is a moment of intense anxiety, manifested by somatic and cognitive symptoms. A person having attacks cannot control their body or their thoughts. Each attack episode lasts approximately 10 to 30 minutes.

Symptoms of an anxiety attack

Physical symptoms

While it's hard to tell the difference between simple anxiety and an acute anxiety attack or panic attack, there are some obvious signs. While stress and sleep disturbances are the symptoms commonly associated with anxiety, an anxiety attack manifests itself as more violent symptoms. The somatic symptoms of an anxiety attack are manifested by muscle tremors or spasms, increased heart rate, hot flushes, abdominal pain, dizziness, a feeling of suffocation, nausea and vomiting.

Cognitive symptoms

Chronic anxiety attacks are fuelled by a dangerous vicious cycle. As such, the physical symptoms of an anxiety attack are accompanied by cognitive symptoms such as the fear of dying, the fear of losing self-control or the fear of going crazy, themselves causing the somatic symptoms mentioned above.

Where does an anxiety or panic attack come from?

You need to identify the causes of severe anxiety or anxiety attack to better address them. Thus, there are three main factors of an anxiety attack:

●phobia: you’re afraid of a situation or object without really knowing why;

●post-traumatic stress: usually caused by a traumatic event in the past;

●regular use of psychoactive substances such as alcohol or drugs.

More rarely, an anxiety attack can be spontaneous, that is, without a specific trigger.

Either way, a diagnosis of an anxiety or panic attack can only be made after consulting your doctor. As it’s inherent in mental health, personalised anxiety attack monitoring may be covered by health insurance.

How to calm an anxiety attack?

Although there are several tips to calm an anxiety attack, it’s crucial to consult and be sure of the diagnosis, before attempting anything. A general practitioner or psychiatrist will be able to guide you on the most suitable drug treatment to calm your anxiety attacks. Treatment with drugs will be mainly symptomatic. Your doctor will usually prescribe tranquillisers and anti-depressants to calm the panic attack more quickly.

Simple tips can also help calm panic attacks. We think in particular of natural remedies such as aromatherapy, sophrology, breathing exercises, acupuncture, the use of mother tincture or even music therapy. Easy to use, these tips can be used at the first warning signs of an anxiety or panic attack.

Adopting a healthy lifestyle also helps reduce the onset of anxiety attacks. Exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet, get enough sleep, consume less coffee and alcohol and quit smoking!

Calming an anxiety attack with essential oils

Using diffusion or local application, essential oils act directly on the limbic brain to rebalance our emotions. Check out our tips for using essential oils properly to calm your panic and anxiety attacks.

How to calm an anxiety attack with essential oils?

●Via local application

Apply two or three drops of sweet orange essential oil at the back of the neck to calm tension and promote relaxation. Sweet orange essential oil can also be used in synergy with lemon and grapefruit essential oils to protect you from stress and anxiety.

●In diffusion

Lavender essence triggers slow brain waves responsible for states of deep relaxation. If you regularly suffer from panic attacks, don’t hesitate to diffuse a few drops of lavender essential oil each evening before going to sleep to create a soothing, relaxing atmosphere in your night space. Exotic verbena essence is also known for its soothing action on the nervous system. Do you feel a panic attack coming? Pour a few drops of exotic verbena essential oil into your Aromasound diffuser to take full advantage of its soothing, regulating, sedative properties and calm your attacks.

How to calm an anxiety attack through synergies of essential oils?

Did you know that citrus essential oil has exceptional relaxing properties? That ylang-ylang essential oil helps the heart rate return to normal? So there’s nothing better than a combination of lavender essential oil with essential oils of sweet orange, mandarin and ylang-ylang to benefit from an effective synergy against stress and anxiety. Of course, you have the option of using ready-to-use synergies, to ensure the correct dosage of each product. Your best bet? A complete kit that lets you get the most out of the best essential oils designed to calm anxiety and panic attacks. And to make your daily life easier, go for the functional gift set which combines a mist diffuser and synergy of anti-stress essential oils.

Thanks to their multiple mental health benefits, essential oils are popular in the well-being market. Although some of them are great for helping us manage our emotions and calming anxiety attacks, they should be used with maximum care.