Bertil Hjert

Panic Attacks – How to Deal with Them and Control Them!

Controlling your panic attacks is a matter of mind over body. When the anxious feelings start to invade your mind, causing your body to tense up and your heart to race you need to immediately counteract this effect with a release of tension and a relaxing of the mind. This is easy in concept but take practice to achieve. Managing your worry is a process of redirecting your nervous thoughts to more realistic, situation oriented thoughts and releasing the tension from the body.

Dealing with the aftermath of a panic attack is not easy. After this incredibly disturbing episode, it´s difficult to concentrate on anything but avoiding a repeat episode. The fear of being stricken again is enough to cause avoidance of a range of different activities, even activities you once enjoyed. Regaining your confidence is an important first step in dealing with anxiety and its consequences. 

The beginning stages of a panic attack are unmistakable. Your muscles start to tighten up with tension, your heart starts to race, your brow begins to sweat and you have trouble breathing.

At the very first sign of any of these symptoms you need to act quickly to counteract the effects that will soon lead you to find any means of escape, no matter how embarrassing. When these symptoms crop up you need to take the negative, fear based thoughts that are suddenly flooding your mind and direct them in a more positive direction. 

Negative thoughts have power because they seem so frightening but most of us go through life without too many insurmountable obstacles being thrown in our path. Yes, bad things happen, they happen to everyone, but you can overcome them.

Besides, chances are, your panic attacks will come at seemingly the most innocent of times anyway, so you should be able to easily rationalize those thoughts. If a panic attack strikes in the nail salon, take a moment and think about what you are really afraid of. 

Are you worried a customer is going to go berserk over the cost of polish? Are you worried that you won´t like the color being applied? Are you upset that you don´t get to gossip with the other ladies because they don´t like you? None of these things deserve a moment of your anxiety and hopefully once you think through the dangers of the nail salon, you´ll realize a panic attack is unwarranted. 

Many people who deal with this problem find that an outlet for their worry and stress is extremely helpful in managing the rigors of life. Meditation, yoga or progressive muscle relaxation are all helpful in soothing the mind and the body. If you are able to counteract the effects of the body during times of great distress, the mind will usually follow suit, enabling you to achieve at least some equilibrium.  

Yoga is the best pursuit for those people seeking to combine physical exertion with emotional relief. Yoga usually incorporates a period of relaxation and meditation into the practice that enables the mind to release the worries and cumulative stress from the day.

Yoga is a wonderful tool to manage anxiety. It can be done by anyone, regardless of age or sex. Many men and some women are reluctant to engage in this practice because they think it´s for hippies and older women. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

Yoga is increasingly practiced by a wide variety of people because of its amazing health benefits. You can join a yoga studio, take a class at your local gym or even get a video tape to learn the basics of this amazing relaxation technique.

If you are really suffering, isn´t anything worth a try? There´s no reason to let a panic attack ruin your life or allow fear and avoidance to take up permanent residence in your head.  There are ways to release your anxiety. Start with yoga, meditation or even a regular exercise program and feel and experience the effects on your body and mind.

Article Tags: Panic Attacks, Panic Attack

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