Panic Attacks: One Sure Way to Eliminate them

In this article I offer you a beautifully simple insight into your panic attacks that will change your reaction to them. It’s only by changing your reaction to your panic attacks that you’ll ever be free of them. The insight is this:

“Accept your panic symptoms and ….they’ll go. Fight them, tense up against them, and they’ll intensify.”

Look at that word ‘intensify’. It’s about tensing up. Becoming worried and even more panicky about your symptoms of panic. In an episode of panic you’re having uncomfortable, unwelcome and downright terrifying feelings. You know by now that those feelings can’t harm you. Once the episode has passed, you’re OK. A bit shaken and annoyed with yourself but you’re fine.

Answer this question honestly:

“In the past, has tensing up and worrying even more about having a panic attack helped those feelings to go away?”

Your honest answer? I know it’s NO.

One person selling his e-book on the Internet claims that this ‘float with your panic’ insight is his unique discovery to send panic away. Through the work of Dr Claire Weekes and others, we’ve known for decades that instead of tensing up, you must just accept those feelings, welcome them like an old friend who can’t harm them.

I know you know there’s nothing to fear – no real and present danger. That’s at a rational not an emotional level.

At an emotional level, you still feel overwhelmed. For many of you, the fact that you can’t explain why you feel so terrified is often the most upsetting. Especially when those panic attacks come out of the blue when you’re enjoying a day out with friends at the Mall, or at the movies. For no reason, your pulse starts racing, your mouth goes dry, you feel faint. You also feel terrified that people around you will notice your panic attack and think you’re weird.

The Panic Cycle is Fear of Fear Itself
Once you accept that there’s no real danger, you’ll see that your real and lingering fear is the fear of the panicky feelings – fear of losing control, of your heart racing, your hands shaking. Then there’s your related fear: that other people will notice and they’ll think you’re stupid or crazy or at the very least, nervous. In our world of over-confident people, no one wants to look nervous.

Your feelings – strong and upsetting – are your body’s very efficient response to the signal from your mind (thought) that you’re in danger. Right response: wrong signal or message. When your pulse races, your heart pounds, your hands shake, do the opposite of what you normally do.

Stop.

Smile… even though you mightn’t want to

B r e a t h e… d e e p l y… and slowly

O b s e r v e… almost as if you’re a Scientist observing an interesting experiment. Let time pass, even a few seconds. Count them with me…one, two, three. See? Your panic is subsiding. Observe your fear floating away.

Mimic Mother Nature – Flow With the Hurricane
Just as the grass and the trees sway with the cyclones, rather than rigidly resist, let your fear feelings come and float with them.

You might want to practise that simple approach. At home, bring back those memories of your last panic episode. Right now. Recall every detail. Feel those fear symptoms and now…. just accept them. And you’ll see them vanish.

That’s right. I’m not saying try to relax. I’m not saying try to divert yourself. I’m saying – do absolutely nothing. Just accept your fear-filled feelings for what they are: they’re only feelings that can’t hurt you. When you lose your fear of having a panic attack, you’ll eliminate panic attacks from your life.

Next time you feel the first fluttering of panic follow those simple steps. It’s your fear of the fear-filled symptoms that feed your panic. You’ve become a major part of your problem. But remember this: you’re also the total solution to your panic.
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