Panic Attacks Anxiety

How To Overcome It

Learn about panic attacks anxiety, It’s one thing trying to improve your ability. To control your own stress response. So that you can combat anxiety and improve your health. But it’s quite another when you experience serious panic attacks that leave you crippled. Which prevent you from engaging in normal activities.

 

But in fact the tools you will use to achieve both ends are similar. The difference is just that panic attacks might require a more intense and a more focused approach.

And in either case, understanding the biology behind the experience can be a fantastic tool to help you take control more effectively.

Let’s look at what panic attacks are and how you can take them on head-to-head.

 

The Basics of Panic Attacks

When you experience any kind of stress, it’s because of your sympathetic nervous system. It is releasing specific hormones and neurotransmitters into your system. Specifically, these are:

Adrenaline (epinephrine)
Noradrenaline (norepinephrine)
Cortisol
Testosterone
Estrogen
Dopamine
Serotonin

When these occur together, your experience of pain is dulled. You become more attuned to your senses, your thoughts are focused. Your heart rate accelerates significantly and more blood and oxygen are sent to your muscles.

But the thing is that this increases your overall strength your reflexes and your ability to fight or run. This is a useful response in the right context.

The problem is when you misinterpret these signals and cause a panic attack. What happens in this case is that you notice yourself get anxious and you become worried. That this is going to cause you embarrassment or make you faint.

You begin to hyperventilate and this combined with the elevated heart rate causes chest pain. And some people mistake that chest pain for the signs of a heart attack.

All this makes you more anxious and that in turn means you ramp up the response even more. Your heart rate increases more, you get more anxious. Eventually you might even start to get dizzy from all that oxygen.

Panic Attacks Anxiety The Solution

The solution then is to recognize that you’re having a panic attack but not to give it any power over you. The way you do this is to try and detach yourself from it. Essentially continue to go about your normal business. Of course this is easier said than done, but as soon as you stop. Letting it control you and as soon as you aren’t afraid of panic attacks. You will find they end a lot more quickly and eventually they can stop happening entirely.

 

Using CBT To Stop

Panic Attacks Anxiety

Cognitive behavioural therapy can help with this, as can using the technique known as AWARE. Which is simply a set of steps to remove yourself from the experience. To avoid being afraid of the stress.

Most people will have a panic attack at some point in their lives. But if you can understand what is happening and control your emotions. You’ll find it can disappear as quickly as it arrived.

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