‘If You’re Dealing With Anxiety, I Hope This Helps’
The influencer, 22, shares on TikTok methods she uses to copes with a panic attack
Alex Earle is sharing her recent experience with anxiety — and her coping technique for getting through it.
This week, the influencer, 22, opened up on TikTok about going through a panic attack while attending the U.S. Open in New York City.
“I had a little panic attack which I really haven’t had in a while,” she says in the video. “I’m literally on the floor of the bathroom in the suite. I thought I was going to go home, I thought I was going to have to call 911, I felt like I couldn’t breathe,” she continues.
This isn’t the first time Earle has opened up about her mental health.
In August, she opened up on TikTok about her struggle with acne and how it affected her self-confidence. “I just want to talk about the fact that [acne is] normal. This time last year I would cry probably 3 times a day. I did not want to leave my house.”
Related: TikTok’s Alix Earle Opens Up About Her Long Struggle with Acne: ‘I Did Not Want to Leave My House’
Following the panic attack at the U.S. Open, Earle posted a TikTok that takes her followers through her step-by-step plan of how she copes, sharing a photo taken during the attack.
“No. 1, and I know this is super hard, but I like to tell someone that I don’t feel good, that I’m having anxiety,” she says. “For example, here I’m with my friend Christian. I was like ‘Christian, I’m having really bad anxiety right now. We need to go to the bathroom.”
“It helps to have someone there, you know, that if something does happen to you they’ll be be able to get help or do something,” she continues.
The second thing Earle says she does to calm herself down is practice breathing exercises. In this case, while in the bathroom, Earle explains she would breathe in for 4 seconds, hold it for 5 or 6 seconds and then breathe out for 6 seconds. “I’ll repeat that a few times,” she adds. “That helps calm your nervous system and get into a better headspace.”
Once Earle calms herself down a bit through these steps, she says the next thing she likes to do is distract herself.
During this panic attack, Earle says she helped clear her mind by talking about the food she ate that day and asking questions about what was happening around her. “You will just go through this rabbit hole in your head freaking out so you need to, as hard as it is, just find something else,” she says.
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She adds: “I just wanted to make this video because I was able to get myself out of that headspace, and we stayed and we had a great time. Years before when something like this would happen to me, I would usually end up just leaving.”
“So that’s what helps me, so if you’re dealing with anxiety I hope that helps you,” she concludes.
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
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