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."