How to Stop a Panic Attack in 5 Minutes
by: Jason Ellis
Most often a Panic Attack will hit you at the most inconvenient moment possible. It’s just the nature of the beast. Maybe the Panic Attack will creep up on you slowly through a stressful day or maybe it will come out of nowhere and hit you like a ton of bricks.
No matter what the scenario, it’s rarely going to happen when you’re in a calm and soothing environment.
This article is going to show you an effective 3 Step Strategy for ending the Panic Attack within 5 minutes naturally. The tactic you’re about to learn will work every time without fail, once you know exactly what to do.
I’m not just preaching these tips. I’ve had quite bit of history with panic and anxiety in the past.
In my experience with Panic Attacks, I’d usually be in the middle of some arbitrary, moderately stressful activity. Phone calls at work became huge anxiety triggers for me.
There were times when I would have the attacks in the middle of work while I was on hold with a vendor or a client and I would just immediately have to hang up.
Sometimes I would be sound asleep and wake in the night with a pounding chest and numbness of the extremities. That’s called a Nocturnal Panic Attack.
On other occasions I would venture out of my apartment and in those few hours an attack would strike in the middle of a grocery store or while I was crossing the street.
Also, as you probably already know, the embarrassment from having the Panic Attack in front of others can heighten the symptoms of the attack.
Panic Attacks, especially for those who are new to them, are EXTREMELY frightening. To put it simply, it can feel like you’re going to die. Of course that’s not what’s really happening to your body, but many first time Panic Attack sufferers will describe the event saying:
“It felt like I was dying…”
You literally feel that you don’t have control over your body. Your extremities go numb, your adrenaline is racing, your head spins — Really there’s a whole host of symptoms that you begin to experience.
Let’s just quickly go over some of them below. What I’m about to teach you will make a whole lot more sense when you see the symptoms laid out.
The symptoms of a panic attack include…
• Hyperventilation
• Dizziness
• An uncontrollable, rising sense of panic
• Light Headiness
• Heart Palpitations
• Chest Pains
• Dry Mouth
• Clammy Hands
• Numbness of the extremities
• Difficulty Swallowing
• Tremors
• Sweating
• Weakness
• Fatigue
• Urgent need to go to the bathroom
Now what I want to address right away is how closely many of these symptoms correspond to the symptoms of a heart attack. When you’re having a panic attack, your chest is POUNDING. It feels like it’s just going to pop out of your sternum.
So immediately, for most panic attack sufferers, they assume they’re having some kind of heart attack and that leads to the ultimate terror that they’re dying.
This downward spiral of fear is what feeds the attack and leads the symptoms to escalate further.
So up until now I’ve just told you about the chaos of an attack. It’ll happen when you don’t expect it at an inconvenient moment. You won’t understand immediately what’s happening to your body. It’s extremely frightening and there’s a whole bunch of other uncomfortable stuff you’ll be experiencing after the panic sets it. Sound like fun so far?
Yeah, I’m not too satisfied with that scenario either…So let’s fight back with techniques that WORK!
For all the reasons listed above, you’ll need to know the Panic Attack self defense techniques I’m about to show you. They’re easy to apply during an attack and they work like a charm in ANY Panic Attack situation.
Step 1 : Recognizing the Attack
The first trick is the hardest for some. You must recognize the attack. Sounds easy enough, but when your anxiety was as bad as mine was, I was telling myself:
“Oh no, not this one. This one is for real. My heart is finally going to pop from all these attacks. My body can’t take anymore. I feel myself dying” and so on.
It was devastating. And it’s that negative thought process and depressive attitude that feeds and escalates the attack.
So step 1 is recognize the attack. Know that it IS a panic attack and people don’t die from panic attacks. It’s that simple. Believe it. The utmost belief of this fact is where the power lies.
It may take you a minute or two to convince yourself. However, if it’s not your first Panic Attack, then you should be confident in identifying what’s happening to your body and mind.
Step 2 : Breath and Count
Next your going to start counting. Ignore everything around you. Nothing else matters. Get through this. That’s ALL that matters.
After you’ve recognized the attack, begin to count in your head. Count 1,2,3,4 — 1,2,3,4 — 1,2,3,4 pausing on the dashes and so on. Now you might be thinking:
“Hey, that’s easier said than done. When I’m having an attack I can’t even think.”
That’s why you’re not going to say or even think the numbers. You’re going to breath the numbers.
Take a deep breath in through your nose for the 1 and 2. Then take a deep breath out through your mouth for the 3 and 4.
Practice this routine for a few minutes a day until it becomes an automated exercise for you.
Practicing really helps a lot. If you practice in a controlled environment, when a Panic Attack hits, this self-defense mechanism will seem routine.
Important:
If you are truly hyperventilating out of control when the Panic Attack hits, breathing into a paper bag will help you get to the point where you can begin this exercise. Once you have regained some control of your breathing, remove the paper bag and begin the Counting Technique.
When you go into these breathing exercises you immediately shift your brain’s focus from fear to action. You take control of your body and all the symptoms with this one important step.
Here’s why this Step is so important…
Remember before when I said it was important to list out the Panic Attack symptoms?
Well by now I’m sure you’re familiar with many of the symptoms. That’s not why I laid them out above.
I listed the symptoms above to illustrate a very important point. Panic Attack symptoms occur as a chain reaction to the offset of breathing that happens in the body.
When a Panic Attack hits, shortness of breath or hyperventilation kicks in. The change in oxygen intake is what causes the dizziness and light headiness.
When those symptoms kick in, your fear escalates. Your body goes into “emergency mode” and begins conserving blood flow and the circulation of oxygen. This leads to the numbness in your extremities.
All this time, further panic has been setting in and your heart beats have become stronger as your brain reaches a higher sense of urgency.
The symptoms go on and on but my main point here is that it all starts with controlled breathing.
Do NOT overlook your breathing in the fight against Panic Attacks. It is an absolutely essential tool.
Step 3 : Finding the Root Cause
The calming down step is perhaps just as important as Step 2. Panic Attacks are traumatic. Soon after an attack, your mind catches up to what has just happened and a real emotional rollercoaster sets in.
You begin to question your stability and how capable you are of handling the world around you.
If you’ve had an attack, it’s important to contact a therapist or doctor shortly after.
Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not telling you to commit yourself to years of therapy for one panic attack.
However, let’s be honest with eachother…
Panic Attacks don’t happen without reason. Something triggered the attack. It could be stress at work. It could be stress in a relationship. It could be a General Anxiety Disorder. Whatever the cause is…don’t ignore it.
Find a therapist or doctor you are comfortable with and begin exploring why your attack occurred. Don’t be afraid of the answers you might find.
Life is far too precious to spend worrying and panicking. Take the time and make the effort to resolve your Panic Attacks. Don’t put it off. Do it today.
You can start right now at http://ift.tt/1l0Wy1B
The post How To Stop A Panic Attack appeared first on Robert JR Graham.
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