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Panic Attacks Are Common. When I
first became certified as a Hypnotherapist in 1990, I was surprised
by the number of people who came to me with anxiety and panic
attacks. Many people experience panic attacks frequently and
live their lives avoiding situations that frighten them, in many
cases irrationally. This simple technique for ending a panic
attack was part of my hypnotherapy training and has been used
successfully by many of my clients since then. Using the four
easy steps below, you can learn to end a panic attack in as little
as three minutes.
What Is A Panic Attack?
A panic attack is a condition of
adrenaline being released into your bloodstream. A message of
fear sends a signal to the adrenal glands that there is an emergency.
The adrenal glands are pea-sized organs that sit on top of your
kidneys. They are filled with adrenaline that, when released
into your body, gives you heightened abilities to respond to
emergency situations. This emergency response causes physical
symptoms that many people misinterpret as a heart attack or other
serious physical conditions. Misinterpreting these symptoms can
cause the fear response to continue.
Here's How It Works
Adrenaline causes the heart to pump
extra blood. This extra blood gets pumped into your major muscles
to increase your ability to run fast and to increase the strength
in your arms. Extra blood also goes into your brain to give you
heightened abilities to respond to the emergency.
It takes three minutes from the
time that your brain sends the emergency signal until your body
is fully adrenalated with extra blood in your large arm and leg
muscles and in your brain. In that three minute period you experience
your heart pumping hard and extra blood flowing throughout your
body. As long as your adrenal glands keep getting an emergency
message, they continue to produce and release additional adrenaline.
Once your brain stops signaling an emergency, your adrenal glands
hold the adrenaline instead of releasing it.
It Only Takes Three Minutes To
Stop A Panic Attack
It takes three minutes for your
adrenal glands to fill your body with the adrenaline response.
It also only takes three minutes for your body to stop the adrenaline
reaction. If you stop a panic attack as soon as it starts, the
reaction only has to last for three minutes.
It's Very Simple
Stopping a panic attack is very
simple. All you have to do is stop the emergency message from
being sent to your adrenal glands. Learn these four simple steps
and your panic attack will only last for three minutes. Once
you understand how this works, you never have to have a panic
attack again.
Learn These Four
Simple Steps
If panic attacks have been a recurring
problem, write the four basic steps on a little card, with a
list of sample Coping Statements on the back. Mark the card with
bright stripes to make it easy to find in your wallet, and keep
it with you everywhere you go until you memorize the steps and
know them thoroughly. Study these steps and learn them in advance.
If you have a panic attack, get out your card immediately and
follow it exactly. Once you learn these steps you won't need
the card.
Full Resolution
If you experience panic attacks
more often than occasionally I strongly suggest that you work
with a practitioner to resolve the cause of your anxiety. You
owe it to yourself to be free of anxiety. Permanently resolving
issues of anxiety is one of my areas of specialty.
The Four Steps:
1. Relax.
2. Stop Negative Thinking.
3. Use Coping Statements.
4. Accept Your Feelings.
Here's How:
Step 1. Relax
Relax by taking slow, deep, complete
breaths. Calm yourself by remembering that you are only having
a panic attack and that nothing more serious is happening to
you. Continue to take slow, deep, complete breaths. Slow, deep,
complete breaths will relax your body, which is the first step
to reversing the release of adrenaline.
Step 2. Stop Negative
Thinking
Stop negative thinking by shouting
the word "STOP!!!" really loud inside your head. By
shouting the word "STOP" you are interrupting the emergency
message that your brain is sending to your adrenal glands. Often
people having a panic attack get into an endless loop repeating
the same catastrophic thoughts over and over in their head. Interrupting
this endless loop gives you the opportunity to replace the scary
message with a calming one.
Step 3. Use Coping
Statements
A coping statement is a positive
statement that is at least as strong as the catastrophic statement
that you have been scaring yourself with. Replace the negative
thought with a positive one. Choose a statement that addresses
the negative thought.
For example, if you think that you are having a heart attack
(a common fear during a panic attack) then you might be saying
something in your head like, "Oh my God, I'm having a heart
attack" or, "I'm gonna die, oh my God, I'm gonna die!"
After you shout the word "STOP!" immediately replace
the fear thought with a positive statement that helps you to
cope with the situation, such as "I'm only having a panic
attack and it will be over in three minutes if I relax"
or, "My fear is making my heart pound harder, my heart is
fine."
If you feel afraid hearing footsteps
behind you on the street you might say, "I've walked down
this street hundreds of times" or, "I walk alone on
the street every night when I come home from work; what I hear
behind me is someone else who is walking home from work."
Other coping statements might be,
"I've gotten through this situation many times before and
I can get through it again" or, "I am fine, everything
is fine."
Brainstorm the kinds of fearful
thoughts that bring on panic for you and then make a long list
of coping statements that you can look at when you need to rather
than trying to think of coping statements in the middle of a
panic attack.
Note: If your fear is in response
to a real danger I suggest that you consider making new choices
that address those fears. If you are concerned about your health
consult with your doctor.
Step 4. Accept Your
Feelings
Accepting your feelings is very
important. Minimizing this experience usually serves to perpetuate
it. Start by identifying what emotion you are feeling. Most panic
attacks are caused by the emotion of fear or some variation of
fear. Identify the emotion you are feeling and find the reason
that you feel it.
Validate that feeling and the reason
for it. If you are having a panic attack before giving a speech,
you are afraid because it's scary. Stage fright is a common cause
of fear and panic. If you're afraid that you're having a heart
attack, it's certainly valid to be afraid of that. If you are
afraid of footsteps behind you on the street it's reasonable
to be afraid that something bad might happen to you.
In all of these cases take the appropriate precautions. Have
a regular check up so that you know that your heart is healthy.
Walk in a well-lit area and be aware of your surroundings on
the street. Walk like a warrior and not like a victim. These
are all important precautions to ensure your safety. Then, when
you use a coping statement that reminds you that you had a check
up recently and that your heart is fine, you can reassure yourself
that it's okay to be afraid, knowing that you are safe.
Fear is a positive emotion that
reminds you to take care of yourself. Listen to your feelings,
take good care of yourself, and keep your emotions in proportion
to the situation by keeping an appropriate perspective.
Many people have stopped having
panic attacks after learning these steps. However, there is a
deeper solution to permanently resolving panic and anxiety responses,
fully giving you emotional freedom and happiness. Your mind has
the power to significantly influence your negative responses
in all situations. By working with hypnosis and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic
Programming, a powerful way of changing or enhancing your thinking
processes) we can achieve any goal, solve any problem and create
the excellence you desire in all areas of your life.
You can become the person that you
choose to be.
© 2004 by Pati McDermott
Pati McDermott, CHT is a Certified
Hypnotherapist Certified NLP Master Practitioner Certified NLP
Health Practitioner For more information visit http://www.nlpPati.com
Or call any time: 877-881-4348 toll free. Private sessions in
person and by telephone
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