What should you do if someone is having a panic attack

I've had a fair share of my panic attacks in public places and have seen all kinds of reactions. I know seeing a person in such a distressed state is not pleasant. It can be scary, it's most definitely awkward and can feel pretty bad if you don't know what to do. Today I wanted to tell you what are the best most appropriate reactions that I've gotten from people and what I would generally advise you to do if you face such a situation.
Every panic attack is a unique experience and it's very different for someone who knows what they are and have had them before and someone who has never experienced anything like this before. We'll talk about them both.

Small things you can do today to battle climate change

Climate change is a very serious thing that, unfortunately, has to deal with a lot of denial these days. Don't doubt, it's a real issue and the consequences of it are only getting worse each year. Learning about the scope of this problem can be overwhelming and trying to help is a daunting task.
Today I wanted to offer you a few ideas of little things you can do today that'll help reduce your carbon footprint and bring a deeper awareness of products that surround you.
Let's get into that.

Teach your kid how to properly interact with animals

Spending quality time with animals can do wonders for kid's development. I've seen the impact it made on my daughter and I will continue to seek opportunities for these interactions.
However, children are still learning right from wrong, and I've seen so many situations when adults don't provide any guidelines when it comes to playing with pets. This can jeopardise the integrity of the animal and the child.
Here I've compiled a few things you should keep in mind when you allow your kid to interact with animals.

Let me start by clarifying exactly where my experience comes from. We have two dogs at home, so we had to teach our daughter from very early on how to have a safe and healthy relationship with them. My mom grows chickens in her house in Russia, so Sofia had the opportunity to observe and care for them when we visited my family about a year ago. She has also interacted with cats, goats, horses, pigs and camels either on our camping trips or in Mexican/American zoos. All of my advice comes from observing my daughter and mistakes she sometimes makes and trying to correct them so that both my daughter and the animal are safe and comfortable.

So, there you go. I'm no expert, I'm just a mom. You've been warned. If you feel like I'm doing something wrong, please feel free to point that out in the comments. I appreciate any feedback.

Things I didn't know about panic disorders

I've been battling anxiety and panic attacks for more than half of my conscious life and yet I still manage to discover some new things that are related to my panic disorder.
Learning more about my anxiety has significantly improved my mental health. If you are reading this because you struggle with similar issues, I hope this article will be of some help. If you are reading this in the hope of understanding someone else that might be going through this, thank you for your effort, you are making an impact even by being aware of those issues.

The most effective ways to decrease your anxiety

If your anxiety is interfering with your everyday life, making you feel isolated and completely defeated, you need to seek professional help. I'm not going to trick you into believing that there is some miracle cure. There are situations in life when you need the help of another person. Mental illness is a very serious issue and it shouldn't be ignored.
However, if your anxiety is not life-threatening and seems manageable, I do have a few pieces of advice on how you can decrease anxiety not in the moment, but in the long run. I have lived with intense social anxiety for as long as I can remember and for the first time I actually think I'm succeeding at battling it. I really hope this article can help you too.

How to fly with a 2-year old

About 2 years ago I posted a similar article that listed a few things you need to consider while flying with a baby. It would still be relevant for those of you who has a baby of 1 year and under. However, traveling with a kid who is 2 and a half years old is a whole other thing, therefore today I want to give you some tips about those unpredictable loving-and-hating semi-independent guys and most importantly on how to keep them happy during a flight.

What a panic attack feels like

Continuing with the subject of anxiety, I wanted to talk about what panic attack actually feels like for anyone who is trying to figure out if that’s what they just had or for someone, who knows people with panic disorder.

As always, keep in mind that everybody is different, so someone else’s panic attack might feel completely different from mine or only resemble parts of it. For a complete list of signs of a panic attack, please visit a verified medical page. I will link a few useful sites down below for you to check out.

It's ok to not be ok sometimes

I think everyone is familiar with the feeling of not being able to get things done, when the fear or anxiety, or even simple laziness stops you from doing something you want and then it just piles up and the more time passes the harder it gets to start again. It seems easier to give up and make peace with this feeling of uselessness.

My anxiety has stopped me from doing many things. But more importantly, it is stopping me from being the person that I really want to be. Since I’ve lived my whole life being introverted, unsocial and very shy it became so normal that it’s almost comforting. I’m not going to lie, I absolutely hate this part of me. I envy all of those people that can walk into a big crowd and feel comfortable, I envy those, who can speak up in public and not lose it, and, finally, I envy those, who can face their fears instead of running away from them.

They always say: “Don’t fight your anxiety, it will only make it worse”. It makes perfect sense. I know exactly what I need to do to feel better. But how can you possibly embrace something that you resent? How can you let it happen if all you want is for it to pass and never come back? Well, I don’t have the answer to this question yet.

The thing that I wanted to tell you here is: there are some things that you can’t control and it’s ok if they happen. They might make you feel angry, depressed or helpless, but just know that it’s ok to not be ok sometimes. Life is never going to be just ‘good’ or just ‘bad’. And what your life is now can either depend on you or not. Either way, the shitties, worst days in your life are important too. In fact, they are the things that shape you as a person.

Don’t compare yourself to others, you never know what they have to deal with in their life. Measure your days by only your own progress, your productivity, your bravery and your happiness. After all, the only person you should answer to is yourself.

Right now, I’m not having the greatest week, to be honest. I want to do so much and there is absolutely nothing that is stopping me, but yet I can’t do them. Instead of giving up on myself and hate my life I’m going to suck it up and start little by little. I know that I only need to make the tiniest step towards my goal and it will get easier. Writing this is part of this step.

I guess, what I want you to remember after reading this is: you are not alone, there are many people that are facing the same obstacles and are battling same fears as you are. It is ok to feel bad for a little while. Just a little though, because if you let yourself give up, the negativity will swallow you. Coming back from that is much, much harder. But one day of eating chocolate and crying in the bathroom is fine. Just one little break before you get back up on your feet. And if your family or friends, or your loved ones don’t understand what you are going through, it doesn’t mean that they have never had those days themselves. Every one’s struggles are just different.

Start doing little things. Maybe if you’ve always wanted to move to another place, start checking other cities or even countries. Just for the purpose of doing something. It is not a big hard thing to do, but it is a step towards something. Worst case scenario it will take your mind off of your sadness, best case it will inspire you to do something awesome!

Little steps towards a big dream. Little wins are all it takes to find a ground underneath your feet.

Stay brave, stay happy. Love y’all.

Climate change. Let's raise the awareness!

My husband and I just watched Leonardo DiCaprio’s movie about climate change and it inspired me beyond describing. 

For a very long time, I was ignorant about a lot of things that are happening in the world. Climate change was one of them. At the time it was called global warming and seemed to be this far away thing that someone else needed to deal with. And then I went to study abroad. I met so many people from countries all over the world. I’ve actually seen the horrible pollution in China. It made me wonder about the consequences of our actions and about the impact that we actually have on Earth.

I’m not going to explain the science of the climate change, overpopulation and pollution even though it is very interesting. I believe that I’m not qualified enough to even try to explain it to you. Instead, I’ll leave you some useful links at the end and I really hope that you’ll check them out because the impact we have on everything around us can no longer be ignored.

It still amazes me how some people can just “not believe” in climate change. The facts are there. You cannot just choose to ignore them. You cannot pretend like it’s not our problem. You cannot deny your responsibility. It’s simple. Really. You don’t shit where you eat. Right now we are shitting all over our beautiful home. We are destroying spectacular forests, leaving thousands of animals homeless and defenceless, we are over-consuming, and exploiting our resources and overpopulating our planet.

People are truly arrogant. All we want is money, and power, and recognition, and fame. We all want to be important. We all want to matter. We were even arrogant enough to start claiming land and fighting for it *ahem (politicians)*, but for some reason, we refuse to take the responsibility that comes with it. The only way we can start addressing this issue is by acknowledging it, being aware of it, taking interest in it.

And if you don’t believe in climate change, I’m not going to argue with you. I’m just asking you to consider the possibility. What if? If it is real, won’t you feel embarrassed in front of your kids and their kids that you didn’t try to stop it? Aren’t you afraid that in 50 years you’ll look back at your life and see that you had an opportunity to contribute, but you chose to ignore it because it was more convenient? And guess what? It’s not going to matter who won the election. It’s not going to matter why Brangelina broke up. It’s not going to matter who won the Super Bowl. If we don’t do something, we are going to pay for our arrogance. And the whole world will pay along with us.

So take even a few minutes and watch a TED conference instead of a cat video. Take a stand and share it. Take an action and change your lifestyle to make the world a better place. We happen to live in the most incredible, fascinating and miraculous place. Let’s not screw it up!

I don’t expect a lot of people to turn their life around, because of this post, because what do I know? I’m just one tiny person. But I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t try. And if even one person takes interest in this serious issue, then it would be totally worth it.

Thank you for your attention.

https://youtu.be/90CkXVF-Q8M - Before The Flood

https://www.open2study.com/ - Open2Study offers many free courses on all kinds of subjects, including climate change. I would highly recommend checking it out

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/global-warming-climate-change/threats-solutions/index.htm - Climate Change Threats and Solutions

http://carbotax.org/ - here you can find out your climate impact

http://climate.nasa.gov/ - Global Climate Change page by NASA

http://www.world.org/weo/climate - Here you can find a list of 100 Top Climate Change sites if you are feeling a bit more curious