You are at your desk, or perhaps in your car, and suddenly your chest tightens. Something strange is going on with your heart.
Part of your brain is absolutely convinced something is very wrong, even though nothing around you has actually changed.
Then there is the question, which tends to complicate matters, how long will this last?
It is among the initial questions posed, and it should be answered directly.

The Short Answer

The abrupt and sudden type of anxiety attacks usually peaks within 10 minutes.
The entire episode will take around 20 to 30 minutes. It may seem like an eternity when you are in one, but the body physically cannot sustain that kind of stress reaction that long.
It exhausts itself.
With that said, the after-effects do not fade as soon as the peak is reached. Many individuals report feeling tired or foggy or emotionally raw hours later.
It is not a second attack. It’s just your body coming down from something intense.

When It’s the Slower Kind

Not all anxiety arrives as a sudden wave. Some people deal with something lower and heavier.
A background hum of dread that sits on them for most of the day, sometimes longer. This type doesn’t peak and resolve the same way a panic attack does.
It builds quietly and can stretch across an entire day.
It’s often tied to things that have been piling up:

• A stressful stretch at work
• Something difficult at home
• Too many nights of poor sleep
• Carrying something emotionally heavy without any real outlet for it

What Makes One Episode Last Longer Than Another

Duration isn’t random. There are always some things that extend the length of an attack:

• Trying to fight the emotion instead of letting it flow through. Resisting it is more likely to maintain the body in high alert.
• Working with insomnia. A weary nervous system is a more responsive one and requires a longer time of rest.
• Stimulants or caffeine – which may increase the physical symptoms such as a racing heart.
• Being in a place that is not familiar or where you do not feel safe.
• Lacking a sure method to drag yourself back to the present when events begin to get out of control.

What the Recovery Window Actually Feels Like

Most individuals do not instantly feel normal after an attack has passed. The hour or two afterwards may be composed of:

• Physical exhaustion.
• Feeling emotional or even crying without an apparent cause.
• Worrying that another episode might come.
• Difficulty in focusing or being somewhat out of touch with what is actually going on around you.

All that does not imply that there is something wrong with you. It implies that your body has experienced a physically and emotionally challenging experience, and it requires time to recuperate.
Taking a break, getting water, not throwing yourself back into stressful activity, etc., all help more than you would imagine.

When the Length of an Episode Is Worth Paying Attention To

The majority of attacks are concluded in half an hour. When your attacks habitually last longer than that, occurring more than once a week, or you are busying yourself between attacks in fear of the next one, that is something to consider.
It is also interesting to see whether you have already begun to reorganize your life around anxiety in a quiet manner.
Saying no to things that you really liked. Relying on alcohol or another substance to make it through the day.
They are indications that you are being influenced by anxiety to make decisions, and that is not something you can simply wait through.

Things That Can Help During an Episode

These will not address the problem, but can make a single attack less long and less consuming:

• Do breathing exercises. Exhale longer than inhale.
• Stand with both feet on the floor and name some things that you can physically see or touch around you.
• Don’t continue checking your pulse or searching for your symptoms.
• Allow the sensation to be and not to strain it out. Ironic, yet it tends to pass faster when you’re not fighting it.
• If you can, go for a slow walk. It provides the stress hormones with an outlet.

What Actually Changes the Pattern

It is important to learn how to handle a single attack.
But when they continue to recur, the actual objective is to change the conditions that bring them about, not just to survive as each of them comes.
To many, anxiety that cannot be treated through the normal means has a neurological aspect.
The stress control system of the brain is not functioning as it should, and breathing exercises in themselves will not be sufficient to get to that.

TMS treatment involves the non-invasive application of magnetic pulses in areas of the brain that contribute to mood and stress regulation, without medication, with no side effects, and with a recovery time.
Another alternative, which can act within a short time, is ketamine therapy, which can be applied specifically to individuals who have not had a lot of success with other therapies.
They both have their basis in actual neuroscience. They are both performed in a quiet, controlled environment.
And each is included in treatment regimes constructed on what is actually happening to you, specifically, rather than a blanket protocol.

Related – Anxiety, Heartburn, and ADHD: How Your Nervous System Connects It All.

Ready to Stop Just Getting Through It?

We are Eterne Wellness in Las Vegas, and we deal with anxiety, depression, PTSD and the conditions that have not been treated by regular therapies.
We take the time to actually understand your situation before recommending anything.

Book a Consultation: eternewellness.com/contact-us