Treat Panic Attacks by Understanding Them

Panic attacks have such a devastating impact on the sufferer, yet they are so often misunderstood by everyone. When we suffer from panic attacks, our instinct is to avoid thinking about our fearful thoughts at all costs.

Little do we know that this is in fact the least successful means of actually overcoming the anxiety that fuels panic attack episodes. What does that mean exactly?

It means that in order to begin to heal ourselves from panic disorder for good, we must deliberately think about the things that we fear the most. It sounds a little backwards and it is a very uncomfortable process in the beginning - but it works.

The key to this successful treatment is that once we have actually allowed ourselves to increase our fear levels about certain situations or events and we survive, our body and mind trains itself to recognize that these are not fearful events to be afraid of any longer.

This method of treatment can be frightening for some people in the beginning, but it is so effective that before you know it - you are cured. It is extremely IMPORTANT to remember that whatever horrifying symptoms your panic attacks cause you, it is virtually impossible for them to actually harm you physically in any way. It feels that way at the time, but it cannot happen.

The key to being able to treat panic attacks by this means is believing that you will not die from these anxiety symptoms that you are experiencing.

Helpful Tips to Treat Panic Attacks

Panic attacks are frightening experiences that are often misunderstood by our loved ones and as such, they are at a loss to know how to help us when we are experiencing one.

Here are a few tips to treat panic attacks in the moment:

1) Lie Down

If you feel that your anxiety level has peaked and you are about to experience a panic attack, the best thing to do is to lie down. This will immediately act to calm yourself and your racing heart down. Do this whenever it is physically possible at the point you feel that your anxiety has escalated to the point of no return.

2) Visualize

Visually put up a stop sign in your mind. Focus intently on this until you can actually see this in your minds eye. Once it is there you will have temporarily blocked out the negative self-talk. At this stage, it is important to create a vision in your mind of the very safest place you can think of. Try to imagine a place that you have felt calm and grounded or it can be an imaginary location that makes you smile when you think of it. It is best to form this image at a time prior to your panic attack so that you are able to easily bring it back in your time of need. This technique really helps calm you down and is highly effective

Breathing

Proper breathing is essential to help you get rid of panic attacks in the moment. The next time you feel a panic attack coming on and the shallow breathing commences, try this instead:

1. Inhale deeply and slowly through your nose.
2. Hold your breath and count to six slowly.
3. Breathe out through your lips while slowly counting to eight.
4. Repeat this kind of breathing five to ten times.

You will be amazed by how much calmer you feel after this simple breathing technique.

More helpful tips to treat panic attacks.