By Bertil Hjert
Learn more about the Panic Away system here.
Dealing with panic attacks can be exhausting, humiliating and depressing. The fear you feel about having a recurrence, being embarrassed in front of others, or being unable to get the assistance you need during an attack are real. These feelings are powerful and can severely hamper your ability to enjoy your life.
Before you decide to become a hermit or recluse, there are a couple of things you can do to give yourself a reality check on your anxiety condition.
Start with the Truth! This is a simple concept but hard to implement. Panic attack sufferers are worry warts. They worry about everything! They imagine every possible, horrible scenario in any given situation.
You could be driving to pick up your kid in a landlocked area and somehow imagine that you could drive off a cliff into the ocean. It´s important not to exaggerate your fears. The fear behind the cliff scenario is that you could get into a car accident. Car accidents happen all the time and most of them are hardly as spectacular or deadly as driving off a cliff into the ocean.
You have a real fear; it should be a small fear, not a full blown, visual horror show playing through your mind. Take a moment when you start to feel that fear creeping up on you and analyze that fear. How real is that fear? How likely is the terror you imagine?
It´s important that your fears be connected to probabilities or the likelihood of it coming true. A creative mind is generally a good thing but in anxiety sufferers, it can spell disaster!
Take a moment and make sure that there is truth in what you fear and that you are not over exaggerating the problem. Sometimes, just this simple check, is enough to stop the adrenaline surge of panic. Common sense can overpower your feelings. Give it a try...
Another important factual piece of information to use when experiencing anxiety problems is to remind yourself that a panic attack or anxiety symptoms aren´t going to kill you. The racing heart, the shallow breathing, the tingling in your hands and feet are certainly uncomfortable and disquieting but they are not going to cause your death.
Sometimes in the midst of a panic attack, it´s hard to remember that these feelings are fleeting and that you will recover without damage to your body. You may feel like you are coming apart at the seams and that your body has gone into overload but your body is much stronger than you think and it will recover and so will you without lasting physical effects.
In fact, your body was designed to be able to deal with these symptoms; these physical manifestations are the natural reaction of your body in an adrenaline surge. So next time you feel the anxiety rising, remind yourself that death is definitely not imminent.
Anxiety and panic attack sufferers often fear they are losing their mind and that being institutionalized is the next step. This is obviously a terrifying and debilitating thought for many people.
While your condition may have caused you to start acting a little strange, avoiding crowded places, only driving within 5 miles of your house, or always retracing your steps at least once, there are so many millions of Americans suffering with similar problems that have not been institutionalized and are certainly not going crazy.
You are not crazy; you need to reassure yourself about this if you ever feel that way. You have a problem, like so many other Americans and your daily struggles are probably not even observable to most people.
Our society is a secretive one, we don´t talk about money and we certainly don´t talk about health problems. As a result, you probably know countless people who have anxiety problems but you don´t even realize it and they are too ashamed and embarrassed to tell you.
They probably don´t realize that you have a problem either. While our actions and reactions may strike ourselves as crazy or bizarre, most people will never realize that you are avoiding the produce aisle in the supermarket or can´t sit in the middle rows of a theater.
Strangers, acquaintances, colleagues, even family are quite often just not that tuned in to what´s going on around them. Remind yourself that you are not crazy and no one else thinks you are either!
Take a moment next time you feel that anxiousness creeping up on you and take a reality check on your fears. Are they real, are they based on probabilities? If the fear does come, remember the feelings are transient, they will pass and you are not going crazy. You will recover, you always do and life will continue on, it always does.
Learn more about the Panic Away system here.
Dealing with panic attacks can be exhausting, humiliating and depressing. The fear you feel about having a recurrence, being embarrassed in front of others, or being unable to get the assistance you need during an attack are real. These feelings are powerful and can severely hamper your ability to enjoy your life.
Before you decide to become a hermit or recluse, there are a couple of things you can do to give yourself a reality check on your anxiety condition.
Start with the Truth! This is a simple concept but hard to implement. Panic attack sufferers are worry warts. They worry about everything! They imagine every possible, horrible scenario in any given situation.
You could be driving to pick up your kid in a landlocked area and somehow imagine that you could drive off a cliff into the ocean. It´s important not to exaggerate your fears. The fear behind the cliff scenario is that you could get into a car accident. Car accidents happen all the time and most of them are hardly as spectacular or deadly as driving off a cliff into the ocean.
You have a real fear; it should be a small fear, not a full blown, visual horror show playing through your mind. Take a moment when you start to feel that fear creeping up on you and analyze that fear. How real is that fear? How likely is the terror you imagine?
It´s important that your fears be connected to probabilities or the likelihood of it coming true. A creative mind is generally a good thing but in anxiety sufferers, it can spell disaster!
Take a moment and make sure that there is truth in what you fear and that you are not over exaggerating the problem. Sometimes, just this simple check, is enough to stop the adrenaline surge of panic. Common sense can overpower your feelings. Give it a try...
Another important factual piece of information to use when experiencing anxiety problems is to remind yourself that a panic attack or anxiety symptoms aren´t going to kill you. The racing heart, the shallow breathing, the tingling in your hands and feet are certainly uncomfortable and disquieting but they are not going to cause your death.
Sometimes in the midst of a panic attack, it´s hard to remember that these feelings are fleeting and that you will recover without damage to your body. You may feel like you are coming apart at the seams and that your body has gone into overload but your body is much stronger than you think and it will recover and so will you without lasting physical effects.
In fact, your body was designed to be able to deal with these symptoms; these physical manifestations are the natural reaction of your body in an adrenaline surge. So next time you feel the anxiety rising, remind yourself that death is definitely not imminent.
Anxiety and panic attack sufferers often fear they are losing their mind and that being institutionalized is the next step. This is obviously a terrifying and debilitating thought for many people.
While your condition may have caused you to start acting a little strange, avoiding crowded places, only driving within 5 miles of your house, or always retracing your steps at least once, there are so many millions of Americans suffering with similar problems that have not been institutionalized and are certainly not going crazy.
You are not crazy; you need to reassure yourself about this if you ever feel that way. You have a problem, like so many other Americans and your daily struggles are probably not even observable to most people.
Our society is a secretive one, we don´t talk about money and we certainly don´t talk about health problems. As a result, you probably know countless people who have anxiety problems but you don´t even realize it and they are too ashamed and embarrassed to tell you.
They probably don´t realize that you have a problem either. While our actions and reactions may strike ourselves as crazy or bizarre, most people will never realize that you are avoiding the produce aisle in the supermarket or can´t sit in the middle rows of a theater.
Strangers, acquaintances, colleagues, even family are quite often just not that tuned in to what´s going on around them. Remind yourself that you are not crazy and no one else thinks you are either!
Take a moment next time you feel that anxiousness creeping up on you and take a reality check on your fears. Are they real, are they based on probabilities? If the fear does come, remember the feelings are transient, they will pass and you are not going crazy. You will recover, you always do and life will continue on, it always does.
| About The Author From Bertil Hjert – The author of the Panic Goodbye Program. Read more about my brand new eBook at: http://www.PanicGoodbye.com or visit my blog: http://www.PanicGoodbye.com/blog Download your free eBook "Stop Panic Attacks and Deal with Your Anxious Thoughts" here: http://www.PanicGoodbye.com/freereport.html |
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