4 Simple Steps to End a Panic Attack

Panic Attacks Are Common

When I first became certified as a Hypnotherapist in 1990, I was surprised by the number of people who came to me with anxiety and panic attacks. Many people experience panic attacks frequently and live their lives avoiding situations that frighten them, in many cases irrationally. This simple technique for ending a panic attack was part of my hypnotherapy training and has been used successfully by many of my clients since then. Using the four easy steps below, you can learn to end a panic attack in as little as three minutes.

What Is A Panic Attack?

A panic attack is a condition of adrenaline being released into your bloodstream. A message of fear sends a signal to the adrenal glands that there is an emergency.

The adrenal glands are pea-sized organs that sit on top of your kidneys. They are filled with adrenaline that, when released into your body, gives you heightened abilities to respond to emergency situations. This emergency response causes physical symptoms that many people misinterpret as a heart attack or other serious physical conditions. Misinterpreting these symptoms can cause the fear response to continue.

Here's How It Works

Adrenaline causes the heart to pump extra blood. This extra blood gets pumped into your major muscles to increase your ability to run fast and to increase the strength in your arms. Extra blood also goes into your brain to give you heightened abilities to respond to the emergency.

It takes three minutes from the time that your brain sends the emergency signal until your body is fully adrenalated with extra blood in your large arm and leg muscles and in your brain. In that three minute period you experience your heart pumping hard and extra blood flowing throughout your body. As long as your adrenal glands keep getting an emergency message, they continue to produce and release additional adrenaline. Once your brain stops signaling an emergency, your adrenal glands hold the adrenaline instead of releasing it.

It Only Takes Three Minutes To Stop A Panic Attack

It takes three minutes for your adrenal glands to fill your body with the adrenaline response. It also only takes three minutes for your body to stop the adrenaline reaction. If you stop a panic attack as soon as it starts, the reaction only has to last for three minutes.

It's Very Simple

Stopping a panic attack is very simple. All you have to do is stop the emergency message from being sent to your adrenal glands. Learn these four simple steps and your panic attack will only last for three minutes. Once you understand how this works, you never have to have a panic attack again.

Learn These Four Simple Steps

If panic attacks have been a recurring problem, write the four basic steps on a little card, with a list of sample Coping Statements on the back. Mark the card with bright stripes to make it easy to find in your wallet, and keep it with you everywhere you go until you memorize the steps and know them thoroughly. Study these steps and learn them in advance. If you have a panic attack, get out your card immediately and follow it exactly. Once you learn these steps you won't need the card.

Full Resolution

If you experience panic attacks more often than occasionally I strongly suggest that you work with a practitioner to resolve the cause of your anxiety. You owe it to yourself to be free of anxiety. Permanently resolving issues of anxiety is one of my areas of specialty.

The Four Steps:

1. Relax.
2. Stop Negative Thinking.
3. Use Coping Statements.
4. Accept Your Feelings.

Here's How:

Step 1. Relax.

Relax by taking slow, deep, complete breaths. Calm yourself by remembering that you are only having a panic attack and that nothing more serious is happening to you. Continue to take slow, deep, complete breaths. Slow, deep, complete breaths will relax your body, which is the first step to reversing the release of adrenaline.

Step 2. Stop Negative Thinking.

Stop negative thinking by shouting the word "STOP!!!" really loud inside your head. By shouting the word "STOP" you are interrupting the emergency message that your brain is sending to your adrenal glands. Often people having a panic attack get into an endless loop repeating the same catastrophic thoughts over and over in their head. Interrupting this endless loop gives you the opportunity to replace the scary message with a calming one.

Step 3. Use Coping Statements.

A coping statement is a positive statement that is at least as strong as the catastrophic statement that you have been scaring yourself with. Replace the negative thought with a positive one. Choose a statement that addresses the negative thought.

For example, if you think that you are having a heart attack (a common fear during a panic attack) then you might be saying something in your head like, "Oh my God, I'm having a heart attack" or, "I'm gonna die, oh my God, I'm gonna die!" After you shout the word "STOP!" immediately replace the fear thought with a positive statement that helps you to cope with the situation, such as "I'm only having a panic attack and it will be over in three minutes if I relax" or, "My fear is making my heart pound harder, my heart is fine."

If you feel afraid hearing footsteps behind you on the street you might say, "I've walked down this street hundreds of times" or, "I walk alone on the street every night when I come home from work; what I hear behind me is someone else who is walking home from work."

Other coping statements might be, "I've gotten through this situation many times before and I can get through it again" or, "I am fine, everything is fine."

Brainstorm the kinds of fearful thoughts that bring on panic for you and then make a long list of coping statements that you can look at when you need to rather than trying to think of coping statements in the middle of a panic attack.

Note: If your fear is in response to a real danger I suggest that you consider making new choices that address those fears. If you are concerned about your health consult with your doctor.

Step 4. Accept Your Feelings.

Accepting your feelings is very important. Minimizing this experience usually serves to perpetuate it.
Start by identifying what emotion you are feeling. Most panic attacks are caused by the emotion of fear or some variation of fear. Identify the emotion you are feeling and find the reason that you feel it.
Validate that feeling and the reason for it. If you are having a panic attack before giving a speech, you are afraid because it's scary. Stage fright is a common cause of fear and panic. If you're afraid that you're having a heart attack, it's certainly valid to be afraid of that. If you are afraid of footsteps behind you on the street it's reasonable to be afraid that something bad might happen to you.

In all of these cases take the appropriate precautions. Have a regular check up so that you know that your heart is healthy. Walk in a well-lit area and be aware of your surroundings on the street. Walk like a warrior and not like a victim. These are all important precautions to ensure your safety. Then, when you use a coping statement that reminds you that you had a check up recently and that your heart is fine, you can reassure yourself that it's okay to be afraid, knowing that you are safe.

Fear is a positive emotion that reminds you to take care of yourself. Listen to your feelings, take good care of yourself, and keep your emotions in proportion to the situation by keeping an appropriate perspective.
Many people have stopped having panic attacks after learning these steps. However, there is a deeper solution to permanently resolving panic and anxiety responses, fully giving you emotional freedom and happiness. Your mind has the power to significantly influence your negative responses in all situations. By working with hypnosis and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming, a powerful way of changing or enhancing your thinking processes) we can achieve any goal, solve any problem and create the excellence you desire in all areas of your life.

You can become the person that you choose to be.

How to Stop Panic Attacks

Panic attacks are often common when we have sudden feelings of fear and anxiety. This happens due to the stimulation of the adrenal hormone by the adrenal glands. The released adrenalin helps the body prepare for a fight or flight situation.

This is usually for the good but sometimes it may cause trouble. Especially when it happens too frequently, it is difficult to manage them The problem with these attacks is that they appear out of nowhere. But you can handle it.

Steps

1. Breathe and relax. Put an end to a panic attack before it starts. When you begin to feel like you are going to have panic attack, relax your muscles by tensing all of your muscles up in one area of your body (e.g. face, left arm, etc) for a few seconds and then relaxing them. Do this with every muscle in your body. Be sure to focus on your breathing.
2. Change the atmosphere. Changing your surrounding or circumstances at the onslaught of a panic attack can sometimes prevent it from happening. When you feel a panic attack coming on, try drinking a cold glass of water, tell yourself a joke, sing your favorite song or whatever it takes to stop the negative thought process that can start the panic attack. When you find something that works, use it next time. This will help prevent the attack before it starts.
3. Make panic attack journals. Make a panic attack journal with strategies that have helped prevent attacks in the past written down. Have one for your home and one for your car. You may even need this same journal at work. Keep phone numbers for your local crisis line or doctor's office with this journal. If you feel yourself starting to have a panic attack, refer to the notebook. If the panic attack is more than you can handle, you may need to use the phone number to call the crisis line. You could also include the phone number for a close friend of family member that has helped in the past.

Manage the stress

1. Stress Management and Rest: Panic is due to excessive tension. The best cure for tension is rest. Get more sleep and enjoy your life. Go out on a vacation.

Use dietary intervention

1. Adjusting your diet: Reducing intake of caffeine, sugar and foods that are high in fat has been proven to help reduce the occurrence of panic attacks.

Go herbal

1. Herbal Remedies: Trying herbs is not a bad option. They have been found to be effective most of the time but not always. It is your brain that decides whether you should have a panic attack or not.

Try CBT

1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/One Move Technique: This therapy is also known as the One Move technique. Panic attacks are caused due to fear and the fear is due to the release of adrenalin. The release of adrenalin is directly linked to the adrenal corticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulated by the pituary gland. So that is where you need to control. If you can control the stimulation of ACTH then you can certainly overcome panic attack.

Seek prescription remedies

1. Prescription medications: Popular classes of medications include tricyclic antidepressants, beta blockers, benzodiazepines, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s). Drugs that have been approved by the FDA for the treatment of panic attacks have been shown in double-blind, placebo controlled studies to significantly lower the likelihood of panic attack episodes.

Try physical reactions

1. Put your arms straight up in the air. It works for some people.
2. Try hiding. Get under a favorite blanket or quilt. In public, pull down your hat and button up your jacket and slip into the shadows for a while.
3. Watch TV. It can take your mind off the rising panic and substitute other experiences.
4. Stick with someone you trust and feel safe around.

Video

Tips

• If you feel panic, then don’t react. Let it through. It will come to an end. Panic attacks are like a roller coaster. It will come to end.
• Don’t resist panic attacks. Accept it and let it flow through you. It will come to an end.
• Don’t feel afraid. Remember one thing: Fear increases fear. If you are afraid of panic then it will create more panic and you will face more trouble. So let it go through your body.
• If you let it flow through you, then you will lose your fear of panic. When that happens, you become less scared of panic attacks and more relaxed when you have a panic attack.
• Medication is a short term solution, find some good natural panic attacks treatments that treat the cause not the symptoms.
• Learn how to Stop Panic Attacks with these more detailed natural techniques.

 

Stop Panic Attacks

Stop Panic Attacks: Reliable tools and techniques can help you

Desperate To End Anxiety Episodes? Stop Panic Attacks Q Can Help You

The need to Stop panic attacks has been a recurring theme during the delivery of our personal development program. Through our program hundreds of people have been motivated and inspired to overcome barriers in life, and have dealt with a myriad of issues, from areas like motivation and procrastination, complex issues including OCD, all the way through to anxiety and panic attacks. Anxiety has cropped time and again as a barrier between people on the confidence course and their personal fulfilment. We have seen that anxiety can have a massive range of triggers as individual as the people suffering from it. Many have had social phobias which trigger fight or flight reactions in their nervous systems. It makes their heart race, their bodies tense, their breathing tight and their mind race with fears. These people may perceive that others are as acutely aware of their symptoms as they are, adding further embarrassment on top of their other quickly mounting sensations of panic. They can become desperate to stop panic attacks being seen by others. These sensations escalate quickly, piling one on top of the other, soon either the person will manage or confess the problem or make a hasty exit in quiet shame, compounding the problem. We always encourage sharing the problem to reduce its burden.

Tools, techniques and programmes to help Stop Panic Attacks are available

If these symptoms sound familiar, don’t worry. You’re in all too much company. Millions of people have unconfessed anxiety problems, but the good news is are programmes to help you and starting off with acknowledgement of the issue makes it easier. Not only will be others be prepared to assist you through momentary panic episodes, but sharing the problem can really reduce the anxiety of expectation that you may have a panic attack, so that it may not happen in the first place.
You see, part of the problem is the internal rehearsal of the panic episode. Many people believe that certain things, environments and patterns will trigger their panic. They see the situation coming, they feel it coming, they imagine how embarrassed they will feel, and lo and behold – they experience what they have rehearsed. This is similar to the thinking behind personal development visualisation techniques, only that the technique the anxiety sufferer is using is against themselves! There are some great tools out there that we can use to stop panic attacks and reduce anxiety symptoms. And right at the start, before we begin to use the tools available to stop panic attacks we can use some basic techniques to reduce the impact of unnecessary panic. The good news is that we can overcome the problem with deliberate practice. Here are a few simple practices to start with:

5 simple techniques to stop panic attacks

1. Take time out to imagine yourself in the anxiety situation, but control your body and mind to feel positive. See things going well instead of going badly. Control your breathing, and do so easily.

2. See alternatives. Remember and rehearse the times you did really well or felt confident and peaceful. If we are spending too much time automatically thinking/rehearsing the negative, we need to balance it out by thinking deliberately positive thoughts. This can seem like work at first, but soon you’ll enjoy it because you’ll be feeling great every time you do it.

3. Create rule-free time zones of peace in your daily schedule. If you do this, you’ll soon have a reference point of peace to remind yourself when you recognize the anxiety symptoms starting.

4. Watch for chemicals and foods in your diet including alcohol and caffeine which may be making your anxiety problems worse.

5. If you are already in a panic attack and want to get out of it quickly, switch behaviors to break the pattern instantly. An example of this is to sing, move your body in a free way which means your state of being changes. It may seem a little strange to others, but you’ll be glad you applied this when it breaks the spell of anxiety.

6. These simple techniques can give you the ability to tackle your anxiety, so that when the symptoms come you will feel more peaceful and know what to do to set yourself right again before you ‘lose control’.
Will these methods always stop panic attacks? They can certainly help, but these tools form only a basic methodology of treatment which everyone can apply to help themselves. There is a wide array of products and techniques out there that can help, and make lasting change. But how do you know which product to select or technique to try?

On this site you will find reliable advice, information, product reviews and guidance that will help you stop panic attacks and choose with confidence. And before you buy anything, you will find here a ready source of support, encouragement and advice to help you as you overcome the burden of anxiety in your daily life.

Helpful Reminders For Dealing With Panic Attacks

1. Anxiety is often driven by anticipation. Try not to indulge thoughts about what could happen. Allow your thoughts to focus on what you are doing now or where you are now. Stay out of the past and out of the future. If you "stay in the now," your anxiety level will come down. If you are anticipating upset, planning your escape, checking your watch or thinking about past "failures," your anxiety level will go up. Focus on your immediate surroundings to help you stay in the present, (e.g., colors, textures, the details of a conversation, etc.). Tell yourself: "Stay in the here-and-now." "Keep your feet on the floor." "Keep your mind where your body is." "What am I doing now? What do I need to do now?" "I'll deal with that when the time comes."

2. Accept your "first feelings" of anxiety. Don't try to fight off, control or ignore these initial feelings. You cannot make them go away and trying to do so will only make your anxiety get worse. Rate your anxiety from 1 (none) to 10 (panic) and observe that it fluctuates up and down. If you find yourself rushing, slow down. Tell yourself: "Accept--don't fight." "I can be anxious and still do this." "I will accept this anxiety and continue doing what I must." "It is okay to be anxious. It is okay not to feel in control."

3. Don't add "second fear." This is the fear associated with your anxiety, like the fear of dying, fainting, going crazy, losing control or embarrassing yourself. It often starts with sudden thoughts like "What if...?"/"Suppose...?"/"If I don't get out of here soon, I'm going to..." If you tell yourself you are in danger, your body will dutifully react as if you really are in danger and it will scare you more. Sometimes thoughts are so automatic or feelings follow them so quickly that you won't see the connections, but look for them. In time, you will become more skilled at seeing and interrupting such connections. Tell youself: "It's just what-ifing!" "I've felt like this before and the worst didn't happen." "I'm not going to (die, faint, go crazy, etc.). This is still just anxiety." "This is very uncomfortable, but it is not dangerous."

4. Accept panic when it happens. If you are having a panic attack, label it as such and remind yourself that it is self-limiting. That is, it will pass shortly on its own if you don't add second fear, don't fight it or don't try to make it go away. Try to bring on a panic attack or try to make your symptoms worse. This is the paradox: You can't do either by willing it. Truly trying to do so is a move toward acceptance and will help the feeling pass. Try to make your symptoms worse: If your heart is beating fast, make it beat faster. If your legs are weak and shaky, make them feel weaker and shakier. If your hands are sweating, make them sweat more. Tell yourself: "If I'm going to have a panic attack, let's go ahead and have it right here and now." "It is an adrenalin surge. It will pass--just accept." "Even with panic, I can do what I need to do." "What I resist persists."

5. Strive not to escape or avoid. To do so only reinforces the idea that there is something genuinely dangerous about your feelings. Always stop and consider your options, rather than making decisions based only on how you feel. Remember that it is not the place, but rather your catastrophic thought that makes you anxious. Each time you face your fears and accept your feelings is a step forward. Each time you escape or avoid is one less opportunity to take a step forward. If something you are avoiding seems too big, try to break it up into steps you can do. Remember that your recovery lies in the places, situations and anxious feelings you have fearfully avoided. Tell yourself: "It's not the place, it's the thought." "I can be here (or do this) even with panic." "I will not run or avoid--that only causes more problems." "Face the fear and the fear will disappear."

6. Practice diaphragmatic breathing and relaxation skills. To practice, lie on your back, with one hand on your chest and one hand on your belly. Observe the movement of your two hands as you breathe regularly. Now try to focus your breathing in your belly so that hand moves while the one on your chest stays virtually still. Allow your breathing to be calm and rhythmic rather than hurried or forced. As you breathe in this manner, allow relaxation to flow into your muscles throughout your body. Once you have developed some skill with this method of breathing, try it in other positions, such as sitting or walking. Try it while you're in a conversation with someone. Eventually, practice your abdominal breathing skills when you feel anxious. Although such breathing skills usually help anxiety, the goal of such breathing is not to get rid of your symptoms. Such breathing activates the part of your nervous system that counteracts panic, may directly reduce any symptoms due to hyperventilation, gives you something to do rather than catastrophize or flee, and encourages calm acceptance of your anxiety. Tell yourself: "Breathe low and slow." "Loosen and accept." "Breathe and accept." "I can practice breathing and accepting when I'm anxious."

7. Practice and be patient. Remember that recovery lies in changing your relationship with your anxiety and panic symptoms rather than in making them go away. Oddly, you have to be entirely willing to have them before they can begin to subside. Consider your options for practice every day. Be committed to recovery, but don't be rigid and perfectionistic. It's okay not to be perfect. Give yourself credit for small successes--don't diminish them with thoughts like "Yes, but I used to..." or "So what, anybody can..." There will be times when you feel you are no better--you may even fear that you are getting worse. Remind yourself to be patient and not to be too harsh in your judgments at any given point in time. Strive for a sense of perspective about progress over time. Recovery is accomplished in thousands of small steps, one step at a time. Do not try to control things outside yourself that are beyond your control. Nothing in your future is prevented by worry. Tell yourself: "It took time to get this way. It will take time to recover." "Each time I face the fear, I learn that I can see it through by accepting the anxiety." "It's okay to make mistakes. I'll just try not to make the same mistakes repeatedly." "I do not have to judge my progress by how bad I feel today." "I can recover just as others before me have recovered."

Feeling panicky comes from a strong sense of fear. Whether the source of fear is rational or not is of no consequence. Panic can cause mental anguish and physical symptoms. Panic attacks were once written off as a bad case of nerves or stress, according to the Mayo Clinic, but they are now viewed as a valid medical condition. A feel of panic can cause a fast heartbeat, breathing difficulty and chest pain, among many other symptoms. Severe repeated panic attacks may require professional help, but there are steps you can take at home to stop feeling panicky. 

Instructions: 

1. Use relaxation techniques to help calm your breathing and heart rate and reduce feelings of stress. Deep breathing exercises, as well as visualization and yoga, can help. Utilize a meditation or deep breathing exercise CD to guide you through the process of relaxing and managing stress.

 2. Write down your thoughts when you feel panicky to release them from your mind. Set aside a specific time slot to read what you've written down and worry about it then. Doing this helps you take control of worry and anxiety, rather than having it control you.

3. Take inositol, a nutritional supplement, to help calm you and reduce the length, severity and frequency of panic attacks. Check with your doctor to make sure inositol is a good choice for you.

Tips & Warnings:

• See a doctor if feelings of panic happen regularly and are adversely affecting your life.
• Limit caffeine and sugar intake as they can make it difficult to get a good night's sleep and can cause blood sugar to rise and fall rapidly, which affects your emotional state.
• Thirty minutes of exercise is an effective natural anti-anxiety treatment. Exercise as many days a week as possible to reduce stress and boost your emotional and physical energy.
• Alcohol may temporarily calm you, but as the effects wear off it can lead to feelings of anxiousness. Cut out or eliminate alcohol beverages.