Great Tips to Control Panic and Not Let It Control You
OMG! The freeway just rose up and flipped upside down. What is happening to me, cried Susan? How am I going to get off this freeway? I think I am going to pass out at the wheel. My heart is beating out of my chest. As beads of sweat were dripping down her face, she managed to pull off of the freeway. A week later, she would find herself in a similar situation in an elevator. She entered the empty elevator and when the doors closed she felt an overwhelming sense of fear and doom. Again, her heart was beating outside her chest and she felt dizzy and very shaky. When the elevator doors opened, she walked away shaking with fear. A few days later, it happened at the bank, and then the grocery store. Eventually, she couldn’t leave her home at all. She was a prisoner in her own home, but the bars were invisible.
Franklin Roosevelt once said, “There is nothing to fear, but fear itself”. This is not comforting to the millions of people who suffer from incapacitating panic. The thing to know about panic attacks is that they seem to appear without any warning. One minute you are fine and then the next minute you experience the attack. For some the attacks began during a time in their life when they were experiencing some stress, such as job loss, a home move, a divorce. For others, it happened during a happy life event, such as a new marriage. Some people experience the attacks infrequently, while others experience them on a daily basis throughout their day. Some are even awakened by nocturnal panic attacks. Regardless of when or how frequent the attacks occur, the person experiencing them will tell you that they are very frightening. There are a few things that panic sufferers should know. You are not going crazy, losing control, or having a heart attack. The panic will die down. Once you have had an attack, your basic fear is having another one. It is ironically, fear of fear. You fear the symptoms of the attack coming back again. It is not the bank, the grocery store, the elevator, the freeway, or any other situation.
Here are a few important points to remember when panic starts:
- It is okay to feel frightened. Nothing worse can happen.
- Stop catastrophizing of where the panic might go.
- You will not lose control, go crazy, or do anything that is going to draw attention to yourself.
- Try not to escape the situation. Acknowledge the feelings and continue on. If you give the anxious feelings no importance. I promise you they will die down.
- Begin a daily meditation practice. This helps.
You no longer need to suffer with incapacitating panic. The key is to don’t fight the fear. Just acknowledge it and go on with your day. The above tips will be of enormous help in this regard.
