Tips for panic attacks

How to cure yourself of panic and get a normal life.

The following are tips for panic attacks that have worked for me. They include methods that you can use to help yourself to stay in control and reduce stress.

Stay in the present – don’t allow your mind to skip ahead to ‘what might happen if’. Concentrate on what is happening NOW.

Change your thinking and how you react to it. Realize that anxiety is affected by what you are feeling and its not life threatening. You have some control over yourself.

Don’t be self absorbed -join in a conversation, take in what’s going on around you, take a walk and appreciate the beauty around you. Try and concentrate on doing something. Distraction is my greatest ally in combating panic attack. We tend to over analyze our thoughts and negative self talk is our greatest enemy.

Feel good about yourself – don’t belt yourself up, accept who you are. We often feel stupid, failures or not ‘good enough’ but we are really our own worst enemies. If you ask the people closest to you they will not agree with your own self worth.

Breathe normally – I start with holding my breath for the count of 5 then let it out slowly then inhale for 5 counts etc. This stops my over-breathing which most of the time I am not aware I’m doing. It works well to stop panic attacks from coming on.

Don’t avoid situations or places that make you feel anxious. Take baby steps towards overcoming this fear e.g if you get anxious being enclosed in a lift, next time you have to take a lift just go one floor, then the next time go two floors and so on. Take your time, take as long as you need with each step along the way until you feel confident to take the next step. Like the tortoise you will get there eventually.

If you have a panic attack, accept what is happening to you, let it flow over you as you know it will fade and you will be OK. This is one of the hardest things to accept but when you do, you don’t have to fear having a panic attack again.

These final tips for panic attacks you can start right now. Cut down on caffeine and sugar in your diet. Try and eat properly, relax and do some exercise as often as you can.

How are you feeling right now. Let me know. Post a comment and tell me your story.

Be Sociable, Share!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

4 comments to Tips for panic attacks

  • Max

    I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.

  • All very good points that I have used successfully in those situations- some of them seem simple, but they work!!

  • I also suffer from panic attacks and i can manage it by deep and slow breathing. i also practice meditation.. ‘

  • Mancha

    I had my first panic attack three weeks ago. I had no idea what started it… I was at work collecting the garbage, night janitor at a calling center… I was almost finished collecting the garbage, about five rows left when my heart started racing, I started sweating, and I felt like I was going to pass out… I went home because it was so bad… As soon as I got home, it went away… The next day I was fine… I was fine all the way until last Thursday… The negative thoughts about: What if I have another one again? The vicious cycle now continues almost daily… Garbage has become a nightmare…

    Trying to manage it is hard… I keep trying to stay positive and tell myself: You won’t have another one… But so far it hasn’t worked and soothing music seems to be my only alli. I just feel really dumb feeling this way… Getting over it isn’t going to be easy…