Panic Attacks: How To Help Yourself

Panic Attacks: How To Help Yourself

© Andy Smith 2003

The symptoms we experience in a panic attack - heartbeat and breathing speeding up, sweating, muscles tightening, dizziness, etc - are the result of the body flooding with adrenaline. This is the natural 'fight or flight' reaction when we feel ourselves under threat, and the adrenaline and its effects are designed to help us run faster or fight harder.

Sometimes our bodies can make a mistake, so we get this response when there is no threat there. To make matters worse, once this has happened we may be anxious about it happening again, which in itself may trigger another attack. We may eventually become nervous about any change in the way we feel away from 'normal', so that even pleasant feelings like excitement may set off another 'attack'. This is the situation many 'panic attack sufferers' find themselves in.

So what can we do about it? There are a number of steps you can take to help yourself:

1. Reduce your 'normal' adrenaline levels so your body is  further from the panic state.

a. Cut down on caffeine and sugar . Caffeine (found in coffee, but also in smaller quantities in tea, cola, and chocolate) mimics the effects of adrenaline in speeding your body up. So do sugary 'trash energy' foods, because they raise your blood sugar levels unnaturally quickly, followed by an equally rapid energy dip as your body releases insulin to restore the balance. The less coffee you drink, the calmer you will feel, so gradually reduce your caffeine levels to zero.

b. Learn to breathe more calmly. You may have noticed that in an attack, your breathing is rapid and high in your chest. So when you are feeling OK, practice the opposite way of breathing - slowly and from your abdomen. It may feel strange at first, but with a bit of practice you can breathe without your chest moving at all, just your stomach. This has a naturally calming effect and means your breathing would have to make a big change to get to the 'panic attack mode'.

Many people make the mistake of waiting until they are actually having an attack to use breathing techniques - it's much more effective to practice when you are feeling good until abdominal breathing is second nature. Because you are naturally calmer, panic attacks will be less frequent and easier to get out of.

c. Learn to be more relaxed in your everyday life. Left to itself, adrenaline is reabsorbed by the body in about two minutes. So relaxing deeply every day allows the adrenalin to drain away and allows the whole rest of the day to flow more easily. Yoga is particularly good for relaxation, as is t'ai chi, and there are classes everywhere. Or you could listen to a relaxation CD which talks you through relaxing every part of your body with a background of relaxing music (I do a good one, available for £10.99 inc p&p!)

d. Calm your body by using peripheral vision. This is a new technique to most people, but some people find they have been doing it naturally. Just let your field of vision broaden out until you are aware of what you can see at the very edge of your vision, from the corners of your eyes. You don't have to move your eyes at all - just let them point straight ahead as you pay attention to the edges of your vision. At the same time let your jaw muscles relax and breathe easily. This activates the parasympathetic nervous system which calms your body down. Just notice what happens to your internal dialogue as your jaw relaxes.

e. Centre yourself. Just pay attention to a point a couple of inches below your navel, and half way between the front and back of your body. This is your body's centre. As you put your attention there, notice how calm and relaxed you feel. This technique originated in martial arts - samurai warriors used it to remain calm yet alert in any situation.

2. Find out how you have been 'doing' panic attacks

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) works from the principle that people aren't broken - they don't need fixing, and they already have all the resources they need. In fact they are excellent at getting the results they are currently getting - you have probably become expert at having panic attacks over the years, and have streamlined the process right down until you can do it really well!

So find out how you do it by asking yourself: what are the triggers? or, what happens immediately before you start 'doing' the panic attack? And what goes through your mind next? The chances are that you are having to run through the same sequence of thoughts, images, feelings and telling yourself things each time in order for the attack to happen. This is your 'strategy' for having the attack. (You may be doing parts of the strategy unconsciously, or it may happen so fast that you have not been aware of the sequence - until now.) If you change any step in the strategy, you will probably get a different result. Change what you tell yourself to something positive! Make positive mental pictures instead of scary ones!

3. Find out what the panic attacks mean

Everything we do, and everything our bodies do, has a positive intention behind it. So you could ask yourself: If the panic attacks are a message from your body to you, what are they trying to tell you? In what way is your life out of balance now? Or you could ask yourself: What is the one question you need to ask yourself in order to move beyond the panic attacks?

4. Get help

If you are based in the USA you can get help here.

In the UK you can find a Thought Field Therapy practitioner and some recommended NLP practitioners via my links page.

5. Remember, your problem is solvable!

Sometimes people think that they are stuck with panic attacks, or that because they have had them for a number of years, that means they will always have them. No! Panic attacks are something that your body and mind have learned to do - you can learn to do something different. All problems can in principle be resolved, and you are capable of much more than you realise.
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© Andy Smith 2003