Panic Attacks – Are You Having One and What Do You Do?

Panic Attacks are quickly becoming one of the most common ailments around. We feel them in a lot of different ways, hot flashes, tightness in the throat or chest, the feeling that everything is going very quickly around you, and even simple nervousness. If this sounds familiar to you, read on.

Panic is just another word for an intense state of Fear. Suddenly we let all of our fears and worries pile up and come crashing down on us in one big breakdown. There are a lot of ways to deal with this sudden onslaught of fear.

Breath. Often when we’re panicking we get lost in reaction. We react to anything without thinking it through because we start to speed up. Our thoughts, our heart rate, and our breathing all start to become much more rapid because we are not consciously keeping track of them. Concentrate on your breath and remember that it is always easier to breath when you do it slowly, this is also true for life. It is always easier when you take it slow. Take responsibility. The problem with Panic Attacks is that we very rarely look at the cause, just the symptoms. We look at our reasons for panicking, our worries, our fears, and never once do we take responsibility for thinking of these things to begin with. Remember, there was nothing to worry about until you started thinking of things to worry about. Do not fear your Fear. As hard as it might be to believe, most of your panic attacks start hours before you actually feel them. The biggest problem with having Panic Attacks is that they are not fun and we often do not want to have one again. We Fear having a Panic Attack, and that fear makes us panic.

FDR once said that “There is nothing to fear but fear itself”. This is unfortunately untrue. There is nothing to fear including fear itself. Remember who, if anyone, calls the shots in your head. You do. It may seem hard at first, but remind yourself that these fears, worries, and troublesome thoughts are YOUR creation. You could just as easily think of a walk on the beach or driving through the countryside. There is nothing that says you must think about things to Fear, except you.