subject: Stop Panic Attacks: A 3 Step Process You Must Follow To Stop Panic Attacks Effectively! [print this page] To stop panic attacks effectively, you have to follow a 3 step process. Otherwise you are just fighting an uphill battle that will leave you exhausted, and still panicked. These episodes, happen very quickly and take about 10 minutes to reach their climax. They can last up to 30-45 minutes depending on the person. Panic attacks are a result of the sympathetic nervous invoking our fight or flight response at inappropriate times. So what are the three steps?
Step #1: Recognize the Symptoms:
Before you can stop panic attacks you have to recognize the symptoms. They will usually include one or more of the following:
- Chest Pains
- Hyperventilation
- Severe nausea
- Heavy sweating
-Feeling that you are going crazy
The symptoms vary from person to person but most will experience one of these. If you know you are having an anxiety attack, then it is important to recognize which symptoms you are having and to realize that they are not life threatening.
An important point to make is that if you have never had a panic attack, and you feel these symptoms, then you should seek medical attention in order to ensure that you are not having any life threatening problems.
Step#2 What are the Causes
To stop panic attacks you have to understand what caused them. There are many reasons why people may have this condition:
- Heredity
- Phobias
- Traumatic events
- Drugs
One of the causes of these attacks is a phobia or a past traumatic event. In either case, being exposed to the object of the phobia, or being placed in situations that resemble past traumatic experiences will trigger panic attacks. Again, your thinking brain is automatically shoved aside and your "survival" brain takes over. This survival brain, aka SNS or sympathetic nervous system is in charge of the body process that keep us alive without us thinking about it. We are talking about breathing, heart beat, digestion etc... When the panic is triggered, this part of your brain takes over and does its best to ensure your survival. It increases your breathing (more oxygen), swells your large muscles with blood ( ready to either flee or fight), dilates your pupils, increases sweat to hand and feet (improve grip). All these are natural responses the body takes in order to deal with what it considers to be a life threatening condition. The problem is that being in a crowded metro, or at an office party is not a dangerous situation (depending on who you ask:). So these reactions are inappropriate.
Your body needs to be re-trained in order to be able to recognize that there are situations that do not need to be treated as extreme threats. That leads us to the third step.
Step #3 Control your fear and Anxiety.
The only way you will be able to lead a normal life again is to re-teach your body what the appropriate response to situations. in order to do this, there are several methods available. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find one that does more than calm the symptoms. While these techniques are important, they are not the whole solution. Her are some helpful tips:
- Learn to use relaxation techniques that will keep your anxiety at manageable levels
- Use effective breathing techniques to force your body to calm down even in the middle of a panic attack.
- Desensitize- Learn how to remove the association between an event and phobia. As an example learn to disassociate crowded places with panic attacks.
