3 Essential Ways You Can Stop Panic Attacks
May 82010
It can be extremely difficult to stop panic attacks once they’ve started, but there are 3 quick tips that I’d like to share with you that work wonders at stopping a full blown panic attack.
The first tip is called “The Paper Bag Trick.”
Make sure to keep paper bags with you at all times, and place them around your home anywhere you might have an attack. When you sense an attack coming on, start alternating your breathing, 30 seconds into the bag, 30 seconds breathing normally.
The image of someone with anxiety disorder sucking in air from a paper bag has become a bit of a clich , but it’s a proven method to stop panic attacks, and that’s exactly what we want.
The second of the three tips I’d like to show you today is all about having noise distractions during a panic attack.
Next time you have a panic attack, turn on your stereo or TV, and make sure the sound is up pretty loud. You might also wnat to try listening to music via earphones or headphones.
It’s common to feel like you’re losing your mind or losing control when you’re in the middle of a panic attack, and a silent or quiet room can make this seem even worse. Putting some extra noise into the room will overcome this situation, and it will also help to “ground” you in reality.
If you also suffer with depersonalization, as I did, the sounds will also work wonders in eliminating it during attacks.
The third tip I’d like to share with you is all about self-assurance.
Back when my own anxiety was ruining my life, I made a big mistake, and that was trying to rerassure myself in my head whenever I had a panic attack. What I should have been doing, and what you should do, is start reassuring yourself aloud. Hearing your own voice aloud has a very different effect on you, and it can be very potent in stopping attacks.
I found that my internal thoughts didn’t help at all in calming me down, and in some cases the internal thoughts actually became negative thoughts.
But the thoughts that I said out loud worked wonderfully and I found that they were much more likely to fight off a panic attack.
So tell yourself, out loud and firmly, that you’re okay, you’ve experienced this before, you know what it is, and you know it will pass and leave you safe and well.
So those are 3 simple tips you can start using right away to stop panic attacks, but I also have a “bonus tip” for you, and this one is a little more advanced.
Following all future panic attacks, take a few moments to write down what happened during the attack: how you felt, what thoughts you experienced, etc. If you don’t like the idea of writing this down, why not do exactly the same thing but on a voice recorder instead?
After you’ve done this just a handful of times, you’ll discover that each and every attack you have adheres to a similar pattern.
So in the future when you’re having an attack, you can have your notes or voice recording with you and see or hear where your thoughts are going before they ever happen.
The reason this works so well is because it takes the mystery and the unknowns from your attacks. One of the worst things about having a panic attack is that feeling of losing control, and not knowing what’s gonna happen next.
And with your written or recorded “panic notes” with you, you’ll stop one of your anxiety’s most potent power sources dead in its tracks.
The method of writing or recording “panic notes” like this is one of the most powerful I’ve ever discovered, and I hope you’ll try it, along with the other tips I’ve shared with you.