PreviewCloseStop Panic Attacks Immedaitely With Th
Friday, July 23rd, 2010It 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.”
I recommend having paper bags with you wherever you are, and to also leave them lying around anywhere you might happen to be, such as your home or your place of work. When you feel an attack is on the way, you’re just going to alternate your breathing between the paper bag and your normal breathing – about 30 seconds of each.
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 3 tips I’d like to show you today is all about having noise distractions during a panic attack.
So during all panic attacks from this point on, make sure to turn on the TV or radio anytime that’s possible. Or perhaps even try listening to something via headphones or earphones.
Having noise destractions like this will help you to feel grounded during attacks, because it’s very easy to feel detached and like you’re losing your mind anytime you’re experiencing severe anxiety.
And if you happen to experience depersonalization as part of your anxiety you’ll find that this tip helps to ease that too, which is a great bonus.
#3. Reassure Yourself Out Loud:
I made the mistake of only reassuring myself “in my head” when I wanted to stop panic attacks, which is completely ineffective. Something very different happens when you hear your own voice. The reassurance is much more “real.”
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.
Thoughts that you turn into out loud statements have more power and you’ll find that your natural instinct to panic is greatly reduced when you hear yourself being reassuring.
So from now on, when you have a panic attack, talk to yourself out loud. Calmly tell yourself that you’re ok, you’ve seen all this before, and that you know the attack will quickly pass and leave you fine again.
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.
The next time you have a panic attack, wait for it to pass then take a few moments to write down all you can remember about it – what you thought during the attack, how you felt, and so on. You might find it simpler to use a voice recorder for this.
Once you’ve written or spoke about your attacks a few times you’ll see that your anxiety has very noticable patterns, and all progress the same way.
Once you have your written notes or your voice recordings you can have them with you so that you can refer to them during future panic attacks. You’ll know where your mind and your panic are going before they even go there.
You might be asking why this is so important. Well, it’s because you take the mystery away from your anxiety. The mystery is what causes a lot of the fear, and by taking it away you rob your attacks of a lot of the power they have over you.
During future panic attacks, when you’ll have your notes or your voice recording with you, you’ll see that by getting rid of the mysteries your attacks are gone much sooner than before.
The technique of writing or recording “panic notes” like this is one of the most effective I’ve ever discovered, and I hope you’ll try it, along with the other tips I’ve shared with you.
tips for panic attacks