Stop Panic Attacks Starting Right Now
Filed under: Anxiety & Panic Resources, Articles, Random Thoughts
After living with anxiety and panic for 17 years, I know what it’s like when you desperately want to stop panic attacks. And I’d like to share a quick idea with you that I discovered a couple of years back. It’s something I used as part of my efforts to get over my severe anxiety, and if it worked for me, perhaps it can work for you too.
It’s all about focusing your attention on other people who have the same goal - to stop panic attacks.
I found great inspiration to see other people winning their own battles with these kinds of problems, and I’m sure it played a part in my eventual recovery.
One of the best ways I found for doing this was to find videos on the various video sharing sites. Quite a few people who suffer with panic attacks and severe anxiety seem to like to make little video diaries, or video blogs, where they talk about their own experiences, the progress they’re making, and the approaches they’ve taken that have worked.
Another great thing about these video sharing sites is that you can leave comments under the video, or in some cases even contact the creator of the video directly. I met a couple of people this way who turned into good friends, and we all learned a lot from each other about our various panic disorders.
So if this is something you haven’t tried, why not visit a couple of video sharing sites, take a look around, watch some videos, and see what it inspires in you? If it proves to be even half as effective as it was for me, you might just find that it plays a big part in helping to stop panic attacks completely.
Treat Panic Disorder By Creating Your Very Own Masterplan
Filed under: Anxiety & Panic Resources, Articles, Panic Attack Help, Random Thoughts
Back when I was trying to treat panic disorder I was a little lost. I didn’t know where to turn, or what to try. Some things I gave a shot, and I made a little progress. Other things I tried and made none. But my biggest problem was that I had no real plan of attack. I didn’t know what I was trying to achieve.
So when I realised this I started developing something that I’d like to share with you today, and I think if you make use of this idea you’ll have a great new way to treat panic disorder.
I called it my “masterplan.”
It was a combination of short-term goals, and long-term goals, and a way to track them.
I think it’s vital to have a long-term goal that you’d like to achieve (your ultimate goal), and many short-term goals (little baby steps you’d like to achieve along the way.). And just as important as those goals is an effective way to track them.
So first of all, decide on your long-term goal and write it down. Then plot out all the baby step goals that will take you from where you are now to your ultimate goal. When you see an entire plan laid out like this ic can be very inspiring, because it makes your long-term goal suddenly seem so easy to reach.
When you’ve got all your goals written down, start monitoring your progress towards them in a daily journal. You can either do this in a little diary, or maybe even an online blog. Nothing fancy - just a quick note of the progress you made that day, and if you’ve achieved or got nearer to any of your short-term, or baby step, goals.
Having a masterplan like this can produce incredible results, and I think if you stick with it you will have a great new weapon in your arsenal to treat panic disorder.
Overcoming Panic Disorder With The 3 Steps I Used
Overcoming panic disorder is impossible to achieve, in my opinion, without 3 things. Those things are hope, optimism, and modelling. Without these 3 things, I would never have overcome my own problems with panic disorder.
In fact, for many years I tried everything I could think of to help myself, and absolutely nothing I tried worked. It was only when I focused all of my efforts and attention on hope, optimism, and modelling that I finally started to make good progress.
The great thing is, you can learn from my years of mistakes, because through all my efforts I stumbled across an approach that I passionately believe can work for you too.
And the approach I’d like to share with you is based solely on the third vital aspect I mentioned a moment ago - modelling.
Modelling, in case the idea is one you’ve never come across before, is essentially choosing someone who has achieved something you would like to achieve, and “modelling” your life and your behaviour on them. If you do this well enough, and for long enough, then you should achieve the same goals they’ve achieved.
So this comes down to focusing all your effort and attention on people who’ve had some form of panic disorder and overcome it. Find a handful of these people, find out what they did, and copy it.
The best way I know to do this is to find books written by people who once had problems with anxiety and panic disorders. There are lots of these books around, and a few minutes spent searching online will turn up more than you could ever need.
Simply by going through these books, and being exposed to people who’ve beaten anxiety and panic, you’ll rediscover your hope and optimism (the first two things I said you’ll need if overcoming panic disorders is your goal). And the third thing you’ll need (the modelling) will come from focusing your attention on one or two of the authors of these books, finding out what they did to stop their anxiety and panic, and doing the same things in your own life.
This three-pronged approach to overcoming panic disorders is one I really believe in, and if you give it a try and stick with it, I think it could really help you.
Control Panic Attacks - Anti-Anxiety Breathing Could Be The Answer
One of the very best ways to control panic attacks is to change the way you breathe.
This “retraining” of your breathing can lead to many positive effects if you currently live with anxiety or panic disorders, including the elimination of unpleasant physical symptoms, decreased nervousness, decreased depression, and even complete elimination of panic attacks.
So, why can changing one little thing like breathing help in so many different ways?
There are a couple of reasons. First, you will correct the oxygen/carbon dioxide imbalance you probably have at the moment (most people with severe anxiety suffer this imbalance due to years of shallow breathing - a result of being nervous and on the edge of panic for so long). And the second reason that this breathing change can have so many benefits is because correct breathing leads to increased calmness and relaxation.
So, let’s get to the good stuff. How do you “retrain” yourself to breathe correctly?
It’s simple.
A few times a day, you’re going to force yourself to breathe correctly (I’ll tell you how in a moment). To begin with, this will feel awkward and you’ll have to concentrate to get it right. But after a few days of doing this your body will begin to develop a “breathing memory,” and even when you’re not doing the retraining exercises you will be breathing as you should be.
Here’s the exercise for you to do, a few times each day.
Sit upright in a chair. Place your hand on your stomach. Breathe in for 4 seconds. While you breathe in, slowly press your stomach out against your hand. Now breathe out for 4 seconds. While you breathe out, let your stomach flatten again under your hand. Do this for 3 to 5 minutes, a few times a day.
This is how you are supposed to breathe, but most people with anxiety don’t breathe like this. Soon, you will retrain your body to breathe this way even when you’re not doing the exercise.
This will reduce your day-to-day anxiety greatly, and as a bonus, it’s one of the very best ways to control panic attacks. Give this exercise a try!
