Putting an end to panic attacks is actually simple. The problem is that it is not easy. If you suffer from them, you know first hand just how impossible it can seem. The main problem is that the very nature of a panic attack is illogical. How can you solve a problem when nothing makes any sense?
Well, the first thing you need to do is realize that you are the source of the attack. Your brain is causing it, even though it feels very much like it is being thrust upon you against your will.
Here is the first bit of info that lacks logic. How can you be causing something that you are fighting so hard to ward off? That would be like sticking your hand on a hot stove because you didn't want to get burned.
The issue here is that since that first panic attack, you've feared having another one. This fear is at the heart of all subsequent attacks. Since the attack is essentially just the fear of fear, it's self perpetuating. The more scared you get, the more scared you get.
This is why you have such a hard time stopping the thought process that happens during a panic attack. The anxiety you have is the trigger to making you more anxious. Since you dread having another episode, you begin to fight it. You worry about your feelings, which just makes things worse.
As I stated earlier, it doesn't really involve logic. You may know, intellectually, that you aren't in any danger, or that it's all just your body over-reacting, but we all know that trying to talk your body out of a panic attack rarely works. In fact sometimes it can make it worse because you know there is no reason to feel that way...so why are you feeling it?
The key to ending panic attacks is to turn the tables on your feelings. If you fight your body's reactions, you just reinforce the feeling that you are not in control. The trick is to actually invite the attack. This, of course, is counter-intuitive, but it works.
You can't be scared of something you invite, even demand to happen. Give your panic a set time to do it's worst. For instance, you could say "O.K. We've been through this plenty of times before and I'm sick of it. Bring it on! You've got twenty seconds to do your thing!" Then just let it do it's thing. It hasn't killed you yet and I never will.
Of course, this is more easily said than done and takes some practice, but it is at the core of a program used by thousands to end panic attacks and anxiety.
Well, the first thing you need to do is realize that you are the source of the attack. Your brain is causing it, even though it feels very much like it is being thrust upon you against your will.
Here is the first bit of info that lacks logic. How can you be causing something that you are fighting so hard to ward off? That would be like sticking your hand on a hot stove because you didn't want to get burned.
The issue here is that since that first panic attack, you've feared having another one. This fear is at the heart of all subsequent attacks. Since the attack is essentially just the fear of fear, it's self perpetuating. The more scared you get, the more scared you get.
This is why you have such a hard time stopping the thought process that happens during a panic attack. The anxiety you have is the trigger to making you more anxious. Since you dread having another episode, you begin to fight it. You worry about your feelings, which just makes things worse.
As I stated earlier, it doesn't really involve logic. You may know, intellectually, that you aren't in any danger, or that it's all just your body over-reacting, but we all know that trying to talk your body out of a panic attack rarely works. In fact sometimes it can make it worse because you know there is no reason to feel that way...so why are you feeling it?
The key to ending panic attacks is to turn the tables on your feelings. If you fight your body's reactions, you just reinforce the feeling that you are not in control. The trick is to actually invite the attack. This, of course, is counter-intuitive, but it works.
You can't be scared of something you invite, even demand to happen. Give your panic a set time to do it's worst. For instance, you could say "O.K. We've been through this plenty of times before and I'm sick of it. Bring it on! You've got twenty seconds to do your thing!" Then just let it do it's thing. It hasn't killed you yet and I never will.
Of course, this is more easily said than done and takes some practice, but it is at the core of a program used by thousands to end panic attacks and anxiety.