Panic Attack Treatment - A Fool-Proof 3 Step Plan

When you’re living with panic and anxiety, and you’re desperately looking for an effective panic attack treatment, the best advice I can offer you (based on my own experience with anxiety, and my 17 year hunt for the best way to tackle it) is to create a very simple plan of attack and to stick to it, no matter what.

I know how hard this can be from my own experience, so I’ve put together a simple 3 step plan of attack that you can borrow. I believe that if you follow this plan it will turn out to be the best panic attack treatment you’ve tried.

1. Read two books: The first is “50 Psychology Classics.” The second is “50 Self-Help Classics.” They’re both written by a man called Tom Butler-Bowden.

What I love about these books is that the author has read hundreds of books on self help and on psychology, and he’s selected only the very best ones and condensed all the valuable information from all of them into these 2 little books.

Read these 2 books (this alone will teach you more than you can imagine) and then choose a handful of the books mentioned in them and read those too. You’ll know which ones to choose - they’ll resonate with your own situation, and you’ll know on a gut level what could turn out to be a great panic attack treatment for you.

2. Take notes as you read the books: Jot down anything you think you can apply to your own situation. You’ll find lots, trust me, so don’t worry about that. You’ll know what will work for you when you stumble across it.

3. One by one, begin introducing those things you learned in the books into your life: Pick the most powerful one first, and spend a week trying to make incorporating it a habit. When you feel you’ve made it a part of your routine, then introduce another one, and so on, and so on.

This simple, step by step approach is one that I know will help your situation, if you follow the steps and stick with it. So give it a try, and I’m confident that this little plan of attack will turn out to be the most effective panic attack treatment you’ve tried.

Preventing Panic Attacks With A Vision Board?

Preventing panic attacks can be very tough, but there’s a great idea I came across a while back that worked for me, and I’d like to share it with you and see if your own situation can benefit too.

This idea is based on something called a “vision board.”

I first heard about vision boards from a more general “self help” guy. He was teaching this idea purely to help people set and visualise their goals in life. But when I heard him explain this idea, I knew that it might also work in preventing panic attacks, and maybe even stopping anxiety and panic disorders altogether.

So, what’s a vision board, I hear you ask!

It’s a collection of photos and/or images that represent your goals, where you’d like your life to be, and what you hope to achieve. These photos and images can either be pinned to a cork board, hung on the wall, or stuck up on your fridge door (as long as they’re somewhere you’ll see them throughout the day). If you spend a lot of time on a computer, you may even want to set these images as your desktop wallpaper!

The idea is this: you find images that remind you of and inspire you to achieve whatever goals you have in life. So if preventing panic attacks for you would mean that you can go on vacations without fear then you might have a picture of a beach, or ski slopes, or mountains - whatever your dream vacation would look like.

If preventing panic attacks would mean that you’d suddenly be free to take up a new hobby you’ve always wanted to try, put up a picture that reminds you of that hobby and how great it would be if you could take part.

You get the idea, I’m sure.

This is a cool psychological trick. Throughout the day you’ll be seeing your dreams and your goals on your vision board, and you won’t even really be aware of anything. But subconsciously you’re mind will be at work. It’ll suddenly be focusing on your dreams and your goals, instead of the worry and anxiety you’d normally be feeling.

So quickly put together your own vision board today, and place it somewhere you’ll see it throughout the day. You might be surprised at how effective this can be in preventing panic attacks.

Panic Attack Treatment - How To Use Gratitude To Kickstart Your Recovery

If you’re currently living with panic and anxiety, then there’s a good chance you’ve been looking for some time for effective panic attack treatments. That was certainly how it was for me a few years back, when I was looking for my own answers. And what I found was, back when I was trying anything and everything to stop my panic and anxiety, that amongst all the techniques and tricks and tactics that everyone was trying to teach me was a simple idea that worked better than all of them.

And this simple idea was gratitude.

I know that may sound strange, but stay with me on this for a moment. I thought it was strange too back then, and it was only that I was so desperate to find effective panic attack treatments that I even gave it a shot.

The idea is that each day you write a quick list of a handful of things you’re grateful for. At the time I came across this idea I was already keeping a journal every day, so to make keeping this “gratitude list” as simple as possible I decided to incorporate it into my journal-keeping.

So each day, after I’d made my journal entry, I’d force myself to list a few things (sometimes as few as 3) that I was grateful for. And these don’t have to be huge things. Some of mine were as simple as “I’m grateful that I didn’t have a panic attack today,” and “I’m grateful that I got a good night’s sleep.”

They key to this approach is that it gets your mind focused on the positives, not the negatives. And as time went on, I started to find myself actually looking for things during the day that I could later put on my gratitude list, and that completely changed the way I was living. Going from always thinking and looking at the negatives to actually being on the hunt for the positives was a real breakthrough for me.

So if, like I was back then, you’re currently looking for effective panic attack treatments, it might be worth giving this idea a try. So start keeping a gratitude list, no matter how silly the idea might seem. It can really make a difference.

Anxiety and Panic Attacks - Your Number One Defense

I’ve found that anxiety and panic attacks are easiest to stop if you use a journal to measure your progress, so what follows is my very simple plan on how to make journal-keeping a new habit that you stick to and benefit from.

First of all, you need to decide exactly how you’re going to keep your journal. You have two real options here - you can keep a regular journal in a little notebook, or you can use an online blog.

When I first started keeping a journal I used a little notebook. I chose one that was small enough for me to carry around with me in my back pocket - that’s important, so that you always have it with you. And this approach worked pretty well for me. Once or twice a day I’d make a little entry in my notebook, describing how I felt, noting my mood, and anything interesting I’d done.

It’s important to get into the habit of writing down how you feel. This is how a journal can help your anxiety and panic attacks. I’ve found that when you make progress in fighting off panic and anxiety, the progress comes in very small steps that are hard to measure. But when you have dozens of entries in a journal to look back on, it’s suddenly very easy to see if you’re going in the right direction.

So do your very best to make at least one entry a day, and soon you’ll have countless entries to look back on and learn from.

As I said above, when I started keeping a journal I used a little notebook. But a few months later I switched to using an online blog. And now that I have, I wouldn’t go back. It’s just so simple and convenient. If this is something you’d like to try, simply go to any of the free blogging sites, set up an account, and start blogging - or journal-keeping!

Make at least one entry a day. Describe your mood, how you feel, and anything interesting you’ve done that day. Pretty soon, as you begin to look back on all your entries, you’ll begin to see why this is such a powerful way to successfully fight off anxiety and panic attacks.

Dealing With Panic Attacks - A Book Recommendation

Back when I was dealing with panic attacks, pretty much everything I tried to improve the quality of my life failed. Doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, medication. You name it, I’d tried it, and it hadn’t worked.

What worked for me, though, was reading. Studying anything that I thought might help me, on a variety of subjects. There was one book in particular that set me on the path to full recovery, and I’d like to quickly recommend it to you, because I think it can be helpful to you too.

It’s called The Gift of Fear, and it’s written by a man called Gavin De Becker.

At first glance, it’s not a book that looks to be much help for dealing with panic attacks. Actually, it’s a book about how to stay safe from dangerous situations, including things like domestic violence, street crime, stalkers, and those kinds of things. So it would be easy to read some reviews of this book and decide it was of no real benefit for someone with anxiety and panic disorders.

Luckily for me, I read this book anyway, and it proved to be the kick-start my recovery needed. In the book, Gavin De Becker has some wonderful insights on what fear is, why we experience it, and even how to control it. It made me see my problems with panic and anxiety in a completely different way, and not long afterwards I was making rapid progress.

So if you’re currently dealing with panic attacks, and you’d like a new approach to give you the same kick-start I had a couple of years ago, I’d really recommend that you read The Gift of Fear.

Controlling Panic Attacks In 3 Simple Steps

Controlling panic attacks through the use of mindfulness meditation can work wonders, even for people who have tried all other approaches and had no luck. But to get the maximum benefit from this approach, it’s vital that the right techniques are used.

So what follows is a simple, 3 step plan that will allow you to use mindfulness meditation as you go about controlling your panic attacks.

1. Do some very basic research on mindfulness meditation, just to give you a head start before you begin using the techniques. You don’t have to go overboard with this - a simple Internet search will bring you all the information you need. The important thing here is to familiarize yourself with this approach, and to form a basic understanding of why these techniques work the way they do.

2. Purchase a CD, or find an online download, where a qualified mindfulness teacher talks you through the techniques. If you hunt around, you can find very cheap CDs, and sometimes completely free Internet downloads. These mindfulness audios are invaluable when you’re just starting out, because they will talk you through every step of the process, guaranteeing that you get the most out of your time from the moment you begin using mindfulness to control your panic attacks.

3. Create a mindfulness mediation routine. Try to set aside 10 minutes a day where you can lie or sit somewhere quiet while you listen to the CD or audio you’ve found. Make this 10 minutes of meditation a habit that you stick to each day. The longer you can stick to this routine, the more likely you’ll be to develop a permanent schedule that always allows you to find time for your mindfulness meditation.

Using mindfulness mediation is one of cheapest, simplest, quickest ways to reduce and eliminate panic and anxiety from your life. In fact, controlling panic attacks with mindfulness mediation is often the single most effective approach for many people. So start right now by learning a big about the process, find yourself a CD or an audio download, and get started!

Panic Attacks at Night - Why They Happen, How To Stop Them

Panic attacks at night are actually pretty common amongst people with panic and anxiety disorders. When I first started experiencing them many years ago, I thought I was unique, but now I know differently.

Sometimes referred to as “nocturnal panic attacks,” these night-time episodes can be truly terrifying. In many cases, you’ll be fast asleep and perfectly calm, only to awaken all of a sudden and find yourself slap bang in the middle of a huge panic attack.

Or on other occasions, you may be lying awake for an extended period of time, and slowly feel your anxiety levels increase until a full-blown attack develops.

In my own case, I experienced both types of these panic attacks at night.

I tried many different approaches to stopping them, mostly unsuccessful approaches, but finally I stumbled onto some ideas that worked. The first one is to simply address the root-cause of the anxiety, whatever that may be for you. The night-time attacks are just the symptom, so we have to go after the root-cause.

So that approach needs some time and some effort on your part, in order for you to investigate your own situation and find what’s really causing your panic and anxiety.

But the good news is, there’s also something you can start doing right now.

And that’s to eliminate anything stimulating for an hour or two before bed. So no TV, no Internet, no books (unless it’s very gentle subject matter), no coffee (of course!), and no stress that you can avoided.

The calmer you are when you go to bed, and the longer you’ve been calm before you go to bed, the greater your chances of avoiding these horrible panic attacks at night.

Panic Attack Causes & How To Avoid Them

The list of potential panic attack causes is extremely long, and that’s because we’re all different and can all have different anxiety and panic triggers. My worst trigger, which might have the potential to cause an instant panic attack if it catches me at the wrong time, may not even cause you to bat an eyelid.

And you might have a similar trigger that causes me no problems.

So, if all the potential panic attack causes can be so varied and so different for each of us, how do we go about spotting them and discovering our own causes?

Well, finally some good news.

While there are many panic attack causes that are different for us all, there a handful of them that seemingly affect everyone with any form of anxiety and panic disorder. It’s a good idea to be aware of these common causes, and then you can do your best to avoid them whenever you can.

1. Stress: Yep, stress rears its ugly head. It’s almost become a cliché to say it, but it needs to be said anyway - stress causes anxiety. And if you already have anxiety, it increases it.

2. Stimulants: Ready to hear how everything you love is bad for you? Okay, here goes! Coffee, chocolate, sugar, canned drinks, artificial sweeteners. Anything that contains a lot of sugar, or that gives you that “buzz” that you love until it passes and leaves you out cold, can be a trigger for anxiety.

3. Negativity: TV news, tabloid papers, negative people, your own lack of optimism. All of them can increase stress and anxiety levels. Avoid when possible!

Panic Attack Drugs - The Facts

Panic attack drugs is a blanket term for all the various medications that your doctor may prescribe you if you’re experiencing severe symptoms of anxiety and panic disorders.

If you have any form of anxiety or panic disorder, then in severe cases this will lead to you suffering panic attacks. These will vary in their severity - some will be mild spells where you feel slightly on edge, with an increased heart rate and increased sweating; some will be severe, causing you extreme panic, along with symptoms such as palpitations, nausea, dizziness, depersonalization, fatigue, and headaches.

In the latter case, when the attacks have become severe, this is when your doctor may prescribe one of the many panic attack drugs.

Usually, that will mean a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). You may have heard of these, and you may associate them with depression. But these anti-depressants are also used to treat many forms of anxiety disorder.

Some of the most common SSRIs in use today, and ones that your doctor is likely to discuss with you, are:

Celexa (citalopram)
Prozac (fluoxetine)
Zoloft (sertraline)
Paxil (paroxetine)
Lexapro (escitalopram oxalate)
Luvox (fluvoxamine

If you and your doctor decide that one of these panic attack drugs is right for you, then you’ll typically start on a very low dose to reduce the risk of suffering any unpleasant side-effects.

This dose will be increased gradually over a few weeks until you are taking the full dose.

Similarly, when it’s time to stop taking your medication (usually anywhere between 6 and 12 months), you will gradually reduce your dose over a period of many weeks, reducing the risk of experiencing any withdrawal symptoms.

Panic attack drugs work for around 1 in every 3 people who try them, and it’s important to remember that when you go down this road.

Panic Attack Relief That Works

If you have any form of panic or anxiety disorder, then you’ll probably know how hard it can be to find panic attack relief.

And the reason it can be so difficult is because by the time the attack strikes you’ll be in no condition to decide what to do to stop the attack, or to lessen its impact. If you have this kind of attack frequently, then you’ll know how they scramble your mind, disorientating you, making it very hard to think clearly.

So by the time you’re actually having the attack, coming up with a plan to stop it will be close to impossible.

The answer? Decide your plan ahead of time, when you’re not having an attack.

If you decide on the steps that you’ll take right now, when you’re calm and can think clearly, it will be much easier to recall that information during an attack than it will be to invent it on the spot.

So first, ask yourself this: In general, what calms you, what relaxes you?

Because whatever calms you and relaxes you in general will also work best when you’re having a panic attack. We’re all different, so finding out what works best for you is the key to being able to find panic attack relief.

You may find that music works well for you. Or perhaps doing something physical will be a better option. How about talking to a friend or family member? If that’s something that normally relaxes you then it might be a good choice to employ when your anxiety strikes.

The key here is not so much what you decide to do when you’re looking for panic attack relief. The key is that you have a plan in place, ready for when the attack strikes. This will make it much easier for you to find relief when you need it the most.

« Previous Page — Next Page »

• Categories

  • Anxiety & Panic Resources
  • Articles
  • Panic Attack Help
  • Random Thoughts

• Archives

  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008

• Links

  • Prevent Your Panic

• Meta

  • Log in
  • WordPress
  • XHTML

•