Coping

I was wondering how you cope with anxiety and panic attacks. I'm not very good at coping and tend to get lost in the feelings of desperation. I feel so trapped when I have my attacks. I needed some ways to get through it and maybe even cutting the time they last.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

I listen to music and stay in my bedroom when I'm anxious. Do you take meds for your anxiety?

No. My mom doesn't want me taking it. She's actually not keen at all on the whole situation. She doesn't get it unfortunately. Im 18 now though so I've been thinking about getting the medication on my own if it helped. Do you take it? Does it help you?

I have to take anti-anxiety meds or I wouldn't be able to function. Some other things I use are to focus on my breath. We tend to take shallow breaths that only goes into our upper lungs. When I focus I work on getting it down into the lower part of my lungs. If you have another episode see where your breath goes. Another thing I'll do is to try to re-focus my attention. I'll pick a single digit number and count up to 100 by that number and then back down.
If I can get my mind on something else I can sometimes get myself out of that situation.