Easy Tips for Coping with Panic Attacks
Even if you know what triggers your panic attacks, try not to avoid the situation
completely. Often we fear the unknown and by running away, the trigger itself can
become larger than life and all-consuming.
Try to remember that you are not expected to rid yourself of panic attacks
overnight. While it’s very easy for onlookers to simply say “Don’t panic, just relax and it will pass,” for the person suffering from panic attacks, it is extremely hard to imagine the attack being over. Taking small steps (that you feel you can cope with) and very gradually increasing the demands on yourself can help facilitate a smooth transition back to a panic-free life.
If you are experiencing stress, whether in your relationships or at work, try and work on ways to improve or change the stressful circumstances – stress is a major precipitant of Panic Attacks. Take steps to change the things that can be changed and learn stress management techniques.
Make sure that you eat regular wholesome meals, have sufficient sleep and also
exercise regularly – all important in the management of Panic Attacks.
Avoid stimulants such as caffeine and CNS depressants, especially alcohol.
Tips for Coping with Panic Attacks:
● Try not to let your mind get the better of you by running away with negative
thoughts of death, disaster or fainting. Try to focus on the thought that the
“this too shall pass.” Try saying this out loud – remember if you can talk, it
means you are still breathing!
● Slow down your breathing by closing your eyes, taking SLOW deep breaths
and blowing each breath out through pursed lips. By keeping your hand on
your stomach you will become more aware of your breathing.
● Don’t concentrate too hard on the symptoms as this will only increase your
anxiety. Try to simply ‘let go’ of the need to stop the attack and rather try to
ride it out – getting yourself ‘through’ the worst of it until it passes.
● Keep in mind there is no actual danger in having a panic attack. Reassure
yourself that the fear of harm is only sustaining the attack and allowing it to
last longer than necessary!
Related posts:
Anxiety disorders are astonishingly common. They include Panic, Phobias (including Agoraphobia and Social Phobia), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Generalised Anxiety Disorder. For many people self-help is a viable way forward and this is why we wrote our book Free Yourself from Anxiety. We aim to show you, step-by-step, how to set up and follow an individually tailored self-help programme.
Part one looks at lifestyle, because very often the way you live is contributing to Anxiety. By making simple changes you can get yourself fit and ready to tackle your Anxiety driven behaviours.
Part two shows you how to challenge your Anxiety in a safe controlled way, by setting small goals that take you gradually towards letting go of anxious behaviours.
Part three shows you how to recognise your anxious thinking, challenge it, and ultimately change it.
Part four explains how to delve into some of the deeper issues that may be driving Anxiety. We also suggest where it might be appropriate for you to seek professional help.
Our aim in this book is to be as comprehensive as possible. Each reader will be able to decide which aspects of the recovery programme they need to complete and which are not relevant to them. In addition we have only discussed proven safe techniques.
Throughout the book we have used the words of Anxiety sufferers who are in various stages of recovery to illustrate our points
The authors
Emma Fletcher is a UK-registered counsellor with 20 years experience of helping anxiety sufferers and of training counsellors and volunteers on anxiety help-lines. She remains firmly committed to the self-help principle and believes that much of her work consists of giving her clients the tools to enable them to live more effectively. This book is an attempt to bring those tools to a wider audience.
Martha Langley is a professional writer and journalist. She has more than 10 years experience as a volunteer on helplines for people dealing with Anxiety and has also been a one-to-one mentor and recovery group leader. This has given her an insight into the difficulties faced by people trying to put self-help techniques into practice. Her aim in Free Yourself from Anxiety was to explain these techniques, to explain the reasoning behind them, and to make practical suggestions that will give every reader the best chance of recovery.
Free Yourself From Anxiety ISBN 978-1- 84528-311-7 is available from bookshops, book websites and Amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Free-Yourself-Anxiety-Self-help-Overcoming/dp/1845283112/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233135806&sr=1-1
Leave your response!