Medical News

Are you worried that panic attacks or the fear of them will completely derail your life? Are there signs that the fear is already starting to interfere with your ambition, self confidence, or sense of well being? If so, the following four tips should help you put the fear in its place. It may want to control your life, but you can fight to overcome it!

#1: Understand your attacks, but don’t fear them.

What is so ironic about panic disorder is that the fear of a future attack often creates future attacks and the fear of an oncoming attack often intensifies the attack. Panic attack sufferers essentially end up with a fear of fear!

In order to overcome all of that fear, you need to learn all about panic attacks. You want to understand why they may be coming, what may be triggering them, and acknowledge the fact that they will never last forever. Once you realize that panic attacks are irrational and know that they are just something that passes by every now and then, you can focus on not fearing the fear.

When you feel the start of a panic attack, sit back and relax instead of getting upset or fearing the attack to come. If you can remain calm and tell yourself it is just a passing feeling and there is nothing to be afraid of, you will avoid intensifying the irrational fear which will help the attack pass faster.

#2: Make yourself calmer at all times.

Rather than just struggling to make it through your panic attacks when they come on, you can go a long way toward making them less likely to happen by leading a calmer life every single day. Start looking for every way possible to cut stress out of your life and physically relax your body.

To physically relax your body you can use yoga, Pilates, or other forms of exercise such as walking or jogging. Cutting sources of stress out of your life can be more difficult, especially since some of those sources may be friends or relatives.

Just remember the less stress and anxiety you feel the less likely you are to have some varieties of panic attacks. A mind and body that is at ease is harder to work up into frenzy.

#3: Don’t let it defeat you.

The first time you give up doing something you really would enjoy because you are fearful of having a panic attack, you have allowed the condition to defeat you. It is important to recognize that many people with panic attacks become so fearful of future attacks that they start holing up in their home where they feel the safest. They essentially let go of an active, fulfilling life because the fear is consuming them.

They are defeated, but you can make up your mind never to get to that point! Reason with yourself that there is nothing to fear and make a point to do what you are afraid to do.

#4: Focus on living.

Your primary focus throughout every day should be on living your life to the fullest. Set goals for yourself and work toward them. Have something much larger and more important than the attacks going on at all times. This way your focus is off of potential attacks and on your life.