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Eliminate Anxiety and Panic Attacks For Good

This is an article by Joe Barry, a well known coach and author on the subject of dealing with panic attacks. It gives a good overview of the symptoms of panic attacks and why some of the usual methods of dealing with them are ineffective. He also deals with the underlying general anxiety that leads to panic attacks. I highly recommend visiting his website for some more great insights on the subject.

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Eliminate Anxiety and Panic Attacks For Good

If you suffer from…

* Palpitations

* a pounding heart, or an accelerated heart rate

* Sweating

* Trembling or shaking

* Shortness of breath

* A choking sensation

* Chest pain or discomfort

* Nausea or stomach cramps

* Derealization (a feeling of unreality)

* Fear of losing control or going crazy

* Fear of dying Numbness or a tingling sensation

* Chills or hot flashes

(Source: American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) 2000 Washington, DC.)

…then you’ve experienced firsthand some of the possible symptoms of a panic or anxiety attack. If you are reading this page because a loved one suffers from these symptoms and you are trying to understand or help, it’s hard to appreciate what they go through.

Just try to imagine what it feels like to experience one, if you can.

Here is a typical example:

Standing in a supermarket queue, it’s been a long wait but only one customer to go before you make it to the cashier. Wait, what was that sensation? An unpleasant feeling forms in your throat, your chest feels tighter, now a sudden shortness of breath, and what do you know—your heart skips a beat. “Please, God, not here.”

A quick scan of the territory—is it threatening? Four unfriendly faces queue behind, one person in front. Pins and needles seem to prick you through your left arm, you feel slightly dizzy, and then the explosion of fear as you dread the worst. You are about to have a panic attack.

There is no doubt in your mind now that this is going to be a big one. Okay, focus: Remember what you have been taught, and it is time now to apply the coping techniques. Begin the deep breathing exercise your doctor recommended. In through the nose, out through the mouth.

Think relaxing thoughts, and again, while breathing in, think “Relax,” and then breathe out. But it doesn’t seem to be having any positive effect; in fact, just concentrating on breathing is making you feel self-conscious and more uptight.

Okay, coping technique 2:

Gradual muscle relaxation. Tense both shoulders, hold for 10 seconds, then release. Try it again. No; still no difference. The anxiety is getting worse and the very fact that you are out of coping techniques worsens your panic. If only you were surrounded by your family, or a close friend were beside you so you could feel more confident in dealing with this situation.

Now, the adrenaline is really pumping through your system, your body is tingling with uncomfortable sensations, and now the dreaded feeling of losing complete control engulfs your emotions. No one around you has any idea of the sheer terror you are experiencing. For them, it’s just a regular day and another frustratingly slow queue in the supermarket.

You are out of options. Time for Plan C.

The most basic coping skill of all is “fleeing.” Excuse yourself from the queue; you are slightly embarrassed as it is now that it is your turn to pay. The cashier is looking bewildered as you leave your shopping behind and stroll towards the door. There is no time for excuses—you need to be alone. You leave the supermarket and get into your car to ride it out alone. Could this be the big one? The one you fear will push you over the edge mentally and physically. Ten minutes later the panic subsides.

It’s 10:30 a.m. How are you going to make it through the rest of the day?

If you suffer from panic or anxiety attacks, the above scenario probably sounds very familiar. It may have even induced feelings of anxiety and panic just reading it. The particular situations that trigger your panic and anxiety may differ; maybe the bodily sensations are a little different. Or maybe it happened to you for the first time on a plane, in the dentist chair, or even at home, while doing nothing in particular.

If you have ever had what has become known as a “panic attack,” take comfort in the fact that you are by no means alone.

A panic attack always comes with the acute sense of impending doom. You feel you are either about to lose your mind or one of your vital bodily functions is about to cease functioning and you will end your days right there among the canned goods and frozen food.

You are by no means alone; you’re not even one in a million. In America, it is estimated that almost 5% of the population suffer from some form of anxiety disorder. For some, it may be the infrequent panic attacks that only crop up in particular situations-like when having to speak in front of others, while, for other people, it can be so frequent and recurring that it inhibits them from leaving their home. Frequent panic attacks often develop into what medical physicians refer to as an “anxiety disorder.”

One of the first steps to regaining control of your life is getting helpful information. This site will give you that, and more.

The beginning of your recovery starts here. What you will learn is that there is a very good chance you are about to end the cycle of panic attacks in your life. You will learn not only to regain the carefree life you remember once having, but will also gain new confidence in living. Your answer to living free from “panic” or “anxiety attacks” is at hand.

This site demonstrates that the panic and anxiety that you have experienced will be the very key to your courage and success.

Begin the road to recovery by browsing through the site. While many of you may have read almost everything you can possibly read relating to panic and anxiety I assure you this site offers something very effective.

Did you know…?

The key difference between someone who is cured of panic attacks and those who are not is really very simple. The people who are cured no longer fear panic attacks. I’ll try to show you how to be one of these people as well.

What if I told you the trick to ending panic and anxiety attacks is to want to have one. That sounds strange, even contradictory, but let me explain.

The trick to panic attacks is wanting to have one-the wanting pushes it away. Can you have a panic attack in this very second? No!

You know the saying that “what you resist, persists.” Well that saying applies perfectly to fear. If you resist a situation out of fear, the fear around that issue will persist. How do you stop resisting–you move directly into it, into the path of the anxiety, and by doing so it cannot persist.

In essence what this means is that if you daily voluntarily seek to have a panic attack, you cannot have one. Try in this very moment to have a panic attack and I will guarantee you cannot. You may not realize it but you have always decided to panic. You make the choice by saying this is beyond my control.

Another way to appreciate this is to imagine having a panic attack as like standing on a cliff’s edge. The anxiety seemingly pushes you closer to falling over the edge.

To be rid of the fear you must metaphorically jump. You must jump off the cliff edge and into the anxiety and fear and all the things that you fear most.

How do you jump? You jump by wanting to have a panic attack. You go about your day asking for anxiety and panic attacks to appear.

Your real safety is the fact that a panic attack will never harm you. That is medical fact. You are safe, the sensations are wild but no harm will come to you. Your heart is racing but no harm will come to you. The jump becomes nothing more than a two foot drop! Perfectly safe.

Learn more

http://www.panicportal.com

Joe Barry is an international panic disorder coach. His informative site on all issues related to panic and anxiety attacks can be found here: http://www.panicportal.com

This article is copywritten material

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I hope you enjoyed this article. Joe Barry provides lots more information and resources at his website, including a free newsletter.

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The Frightening Symptoms of Panic Attacks

Fortunately, I have never experienced a panic attack myself, but my wife has and it is a very frightening and unpleasant thing to see. It is sometimes dismissed by medical professionals as ‘just a panic attack’. They know that it is not life threatening and that sooner or later, the sufferer will return to normal, with no physical effects.

That may be true, but it doesn’t change the fact that when you are in the grip of an attack, it feels very real, and you can well believe that you are in danger. The symptoms of panic attacks may be triggered by your anxious thoughts, and they may be just the result of natural processes in your body. But they are no less real for all that.

The fight or flight response is designed to protect you in times of danger. It floods your bloodstream with adrenalin. It increases your pulse rate and quickens your breathing. Your muscles are being suffused with oxygen in preparation for intense physical activity. If you were suddenly confronted by a lion, you might understand that you are now in a resourceful state to deal with the situation.

But what if this happens when you are relaxing at home, even in bed? Your heart is pounding, your breathing is rapid, your skin is cold and clammy. Muscles are tense or trembling. And all this is happening for no apparent reason. What is the cause? Are you having a heart attack? It can certainly feel like it.

There can be other symptoms such as tingling sensations in various parts of the body. Hot flushes and nausea. You may feel dizzy or light headed, or have a feeling of detachment from reality, as if in a dream. Or you may experience extreme fear, loss of control or even fear of death.

It is not surprising that many people end up in the emergency room, only to be told that it is just a panic attack’. This is not necessarily a bad thing though. It can be the beginning of your recovery. You might have been convinced that you were having a heart attack. At least you can set your mind at rest, that it is not that or some other life threatening condition.

That is a good first step on the road to recovery. One insidious aspect of panic attacks is that the fear of another attack actually makes it more likely. At least you now know that the symptoms, even though they are very real and upsetting, don’t represent any physical danger. This in itself can help to reduce the fear factor.

The best methods of permanently ending panic attacks are based on addressing the underlying anxiety state that tends to lead to the attacks. Though the symptoms are physical, the cause is usually in the way we think about certain aspects of life. The problem is not the situation but how we feel about it, and that is something that we can change.

Anxiety Disorders In children

It is natural that children will suffer from anxiety or fear at some stage of their development. Taking a test or the first day at a new school are occasions that most of us will have memories of. But in most cases, these perfectly natural anxious moments do not turn into irrational fears or anxiety disorders. Sometimes however, signs of this may begin to develop.

It is not always possible, or even desirable, to protect children from everything that life might throw at them, much as we might like to. And this means that they may be susceptible to similar kinds of anxiety disorders that afflict adults. Generalized anxiety may show itself in many ways.

Exhibiting an excessive degree of worry about normal events like going to school or completing homework. They may feel the need for things to be perfect and tend to redo tasks, beating themselves up if they don’t seem right. They might also constantly seek approval or reassurance.

Even very young children can show symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). This is characterized by ritualistic behavior, needing to repeatedly carry out certain routines in order to alleviate anxiety. This may involve hand washing, counting objects or needing to recheck what has already been completed.

Full blown panic attacks are unusual in young children but may be seen in adolescents. If a child experiences at least two episodes of unexpected panic, followed by at least a month of anxiety that another one may occur, an anxiety disorder is a possibility and further investigation is recommended.

There are many fears that are common in childhood, such as fear of the dark or of thunder etc. These of usually not some thing to be concerned about and tend to fade away with time. But if such a fear persists over a long period and causes disruption to normal activities, it may be classed as a phobia. This may lead to symptoms like headache, nausea, or tantrums when exposed to trigger situations.

Children are not immune from post traumatic stress disorder, when exposed to tragic events like the death of a parent or family member, a serious accident or physical assault or a natural disaster. They can display similar reactions to an adult in the same situation. Poor appetite, difficulty sleeping, nightmares, constantly reliving the events or becoming detached and seemingly emotionless.

As well as the normal reactions you might see in an adult, children can show the signs of trauma in other ways. What might normally be thought of as a tantrum could be a reaction to events. They might act out the event in play as a way of coming to terms with it. They may cry excessively or or become clingy and demanding of attention.

Parents who have a strong relationship with their children are normally very good at spotting changes in behavior and knowing the difference between just the normal testing of the boundaries and something more serious. If any possible signs of anxiety persist, it never hurts to get them checked out.

What Are The Causes Of Panic Attacks?

Panic attack is characterized by sudden, intense anxiety accompanied by a range of symptoms including, heart palpitations, sweating, rapid breathing and muscle tension. Some people come to associate them with certain situations, while for others, they can occur in an apparently relaxed environment. There are several theories as to what causes panic attacks, some of them seeming more realistic than others.

There has been research into genetics as a factor. It has been shown that several members of a family may be affected by panic disorder, but personally I would think that it is more likely a learned behavior than a genetic link. If a family member has has suffered from anxiety or depression, isn’t it reasonable to assume that a child would be influenced by this?

There are those who talk about chemical imbalances in the brain and want to resort to drug treatments. This is theoretical as this so called imbalance is difficult if not impossible to measure. And of course, some doctors want to treat everything with medication. This is a theory and an approach that I wouldn’t subscribe to. It doesn’t explain why someone can cope in a real life or death situation, but panics at the idea of getting a haircut.

The actual symptoms experienced during a panic attack are the result of the body’s natural fight or flight response. It is an automatic system designed to prepare us, physically and psychologically, to deal with danger. This danger can be real or imagined.What has not been explained is why this response is triggered when there is no apparent danger.

Why, for instance, would someone react with these panic symptoms at the idea of going to a party? Because they have experienced the threat of physical danger at a party before? Probably not. Driving is another common trigger for these attacks. Although there is danger on the roads, most of don’t think about it each time we get into a car.

Another theory that has been put forward is that the root cause is exhaustion, whether physical, mental or emotional. When in this state of exhaustion, we are more sensitized and more susceptible to anxiety disorders. In this sensitized state, we can easily begin to imagine that any unusual sensation that we feel is a sign that something is seriously wrong.

This can be the start of a downward spiral. We feel the sensation. We imagine something terrible. Now the sensation feels worse. We become more worried about it. And so it goes on. You can easily appreciate that when we are already feeling that we are running on empty, small things can be blown up out of all proportion.

I am not trivializing the situation. I know how bad it can be. The perceived danger may not be real, but the feelings you experience as a result of it certainly are. But it is also true that those feelings can be turned off in a second, if what seemed to be the cause of them is removed. The key is how you are thinking about the situation and not the situation itself.

Life is becoming ever more stressful and it has been shown that prolonged exposure to stress, at higher levels than we can handle, can lead to us feeling emotionally drained. In fact, we can end up suffering from a background level of general anxiety that can make panic attacks more likely.

It has been shown that the most successful treatments for panic attacks involve changing the way we think about situations that cause stress and the feelings we get when stressed. It seems reasonable to consider our thinking as a possible cause of panic attacks. For some great, free information and resources on panic attacks, visit PanicPortal.com.

Panic Attacks, What Can Help?

Those who suffer from panic attacks know only too well, the difficulty in breathing, heart palpitations, light headedness, and strange abdominal sensations that are associated with their anxiety. What a non sufferer wouldn’t understand is that panic attacks are a very personal thing. They may be triggered by a worry that is quite irrational.

Logically, they are perfectly aware of this, but that doesn’t stop the fear from engulfing them. They typically feel embarrassed about how much their fear affects their life. This embarrassment can even contribute to them not seeking help. This is a pity because the condition can be effectively dealt with.

There are still conflicting theories over what causes panic attacks, and the best way to treat them. But it is largely agreed that some form of cognitive behavioral therapy is the best approach. They say that knowledge is power and a good first step is to get to know what is happening when you experience a panic attack.

After all, one of the worst aspects of the condition is the feeling of powerlessness when an attack strikes. When you are gripped by it, it is easy to imagine that you are having a heart attack or a stroke or some other life threatening event. And having these feelings can lead you to begin to question your sanity. Over time, you develop a fear of further attacks, which in itself can be enough to keep the cycle going.

It can be very reassuring to learn about the processes that are going on in the body during an attack. Once other possibilities have been ruled out, each of the symptoms, no matter how strange and frightening, can be explained as part of a natural bodily process. And more importantly, no matter how bad it feels at the time, no physical harm will come to you.

Armed with this knowledge, for some people, the fear of another attack is already reduced. You can then begin the process of dealing with the attacks when they arise. Knowing that you are not in any actual danger, you can approach the sensations you are feeling in a different way. Attempting to fight the feelings usually makes them worse.

They can’t continue to increase in intensity. At some point, your body’s natural regulatory system will kick in and begin to restore things to normal. As strange as it might sound, your suffering doesn’t come from the feelings themselves, but from your reaction to them. If you can now observe them with interest and even welcome them, your suffering will be greatly reduced.

Similarly, some people associate panic attacks with certain situations. But it is not the situation itself that causes the attack, but your fear of having an attack in that situation. For example, social situations or driving are a problem for some people. One approach to treatment is to allow the person to experience gentle exposure to the problem situation.

In this way, they can begin to learn that being in that situation needn’t necessarily lead to a panic attack. And even if they do experience some of the symptoms, with their new found method of dealing with their feelings, a full blown attack isn’t inevitable. In this way, over time, the connection can be broken between the situation and the feelings.

There are also many useful techniques for dealing with the underlying general anxiety that can lead to panic attacks. These range from simple breathing techniques to full blown meditation practices. I believe that there is something out there to fit in with even the busiest of lifestyles, without the need to resort to medication.