Any person who’s ever suffered a panic attack or a severe anxiety disorder knows the suffering it causes, both physical and psychological. The panic can seem overpowering while the physical sensations that go with it make many people think that they’re going to die. For many sufferers, the physical symptoms of panic attacks are the worst part of it
they’re convinced they’re trapped and would give anything to find release from their fear. Perhaps worse is living with the fear that another attack might suddenly come suddenly, anytime,anywhere.
That fear can lead people suffering from panic attacks to into isolation. they’re afraid another attack could happen at any time. If this continues their their fear gains increasing control over their life. Obviously people in this situation want relief.
When they try to find this relief from a medical professional that help often comes in the form of a pill. There’s no doubt that medications are helpful, especially in the short term. However, ideally they are only temporary measure, something to ease the symptoms while the underlying cause is addressed.
Since anxiety episodes feel so overwhelming, people almost automatically assume that they need to fight against these feelings and the experience they’re having.
This is very understandable. The bodily reaction that drives a panic attack is the fight or flight response – the response we learned about in high school that prepares us to respond to a physical threat by either fighting for our life or running like crazy.
The physiology is getting us ready us for to defend our very existence, so understandably we feel like we should fight.
However with panic attacks, that’s exactly the wrong way to react. By resisting them, we’re giving them more power that they really have.
The clever response that allows you to over come panic attacks is to go with their flow, even challenge them to do their worst.
That may seem too easy. Or perhaps it seems too scary.
The key is that with a panic attack, nothing bad happens.
If you’re about to be run over by a bus and just sit there, you’ll die.
On the other hand, if you do nothing when a panic attack strikes, you’ll still be alive at the end of it. The sense of danger isn’t based on anything real. It’s a paper tiger.
As counterintuitive as it seems an effective response to anxiety to accept the the panic attack and all the sensations that go with it and even welcome them. Dare them to do whatever they can. It may be frightening at first, but less so with time.
What many people find is that this actually reduces the symptoms of fear, sometimes almost immediately. As the saying goes “What we resist persists”. Accept it and it loses its power.
Although this approach is simple and effective, it is a learned skill. Practice and coaching help to become proficient at it. But the start is just knowing that the risk from a panic attack is more illusion than real.
If you want to find out more about panic attacks Panic Attack Release is a great site.
And there’s a good review of a product that teaches this type approach at Panic Away Review
As Dorthy found out when she got to Oz, illusions can seem more powerful than they really are.
