How To Stop Panic Attacks :
Deal with panic attacks effectively

How to stop panic attacks? That is the one question that all people suffering from panic attacks ask. If you or someone close to you suffers from panic attacks, you will know just how severe panic attacks can be and how it can drastically affect a person’s life.

Note : If you are suffering from panic attacks, please note that health deficiencies or chemical imbalances may be the cause of it. As such, in addition to trying out the tips contained in this website, you should also pay a visit to a M.D for further examination. The information on this page is only intended for minor cases of panic attacks.

What are panic attacks like?

Panic attacks can seemingly come from out of nowhere. You may be doing something very common that you do all the time, such as buying groceries, driving or just taking a walk.

Then suddenly you are hit by a panic attack. Your hands start to shake uncontrollably, your breathing becomes shallow and quickens and you feel your heart beating faster and faster.

Thoughts of paranoia will come over you. You will start to feel that other people are talking about you, observing you and judging you negatively. Thoughts of worst possible scenarios will start to engulf your mind. You’ll start to believe that the worst things will happen, such as the ceiling collapsing, the elevator breaking down or the plane crashing etc.

With panic attacks seemingly appearing out of nowhere and nothing specific that triggers it, panic attack sufferers live in fear as they dread that it might strike anytime, no matter where they are.

What are the causes of panic attack?

Panic attacks solely originate from the mind. There is nothing physically wrong with someone suffering from panic attacks. Many doctors try to treat it as chemical imbalances in the brain however this theory has yet to be proven.

Nobody just ‘gets’ panic attacks just like that. There is usually some form of catalyst that will trigger and plant the seed. Some of the common catalysts of panic attacks are having years of repressed emotions, past experience of traumatic situations or most likely due to physical and mental exhaustion.

Panic attack starts off slowly and unnoticed in the form of mental chatter. Everyone has mental chatter – which is the constant flow of thoughts and internal dialogues within us. We will have at least some mental chatter going throughout the day, even when we are busy with an activity.

How people with panic attacks differ is that their mental chatter is frequently negative. It may not start out negative but the dialogue would invariably take a negative turn.

Usually it starts with the mind making observations and asking questions that are harmless and normal. But as the mental chatter continues, it turns negative and the person will start imagining worst possible scenarios to happen. He or she will believe it to happen no matter how unlikely it is.

Here’s an example of the mental chatter of a person suffering a panic attack in a train.
‘Hmm…This train looks pretty clean and nice – but it’s too small, especially for rush hour – the train must be pretty heavy with so many people onboard – with this weight it must be quite hard to control or stop the train – there’s so many people, are we over the capacity of the train? – Why is the train shaking? Is that normal? – The wheels are screeching on the rail – Is that normal? Are the wheels about to come off – If the train keeps shaking like this, the wheels are gonna come off – Oh no we’re gonna crash!”

The symptoms displayed when having panic attacks (adrenaline rush, fast heart rate, sweating etc) are the natural reaction of the human body to prepare itself to face and deal with imminent danger. Such as preparing to fight, run or take quick action.

So in essence the body’s response is designed to help us survive. It will help increase our awareness, energy and concentration. However, this can turn into a negative thing if it happens too frequently and unnecessarily. Such as when we repeatedly perceive danger even when the situation is safe. This is basically what panic attacks are.

How To Stop Panic Attacks?

The most effective way to stop panic attacks is to face it head on. Don’t fight against the panic attack, instead let it come, befriend it and allow it to run it’s course. In other words, weather the storm of the panic attack.

There are 2 reasons why doing this is a good thing.

First, it is because fear feeds on fear. The more you fight against or try to avoid a panic attack, the more fear you are letting out. And as you do that you are feeding it and making the attack even stronger. However if you face it head on, the attack has nothing to feed on and slowly it’s energy will be drained.

It is just like a roller coaster ride. You’ll notice that when you resist against the movement of the roller coaster, you will be more fearful and anxious. However when you go along with it, it will feel exhilarating. Remember, what you resist persists.

Second, every time you avoid or try to run away from a panic attack, you are only escaping from it until the next time it happens. However if you face the attack head on, accept it and go through it, you will experience the realization that there actually was no real danger at all. You will realize that you have not been harmed in any way whatsoever.

Through coming out of the panic attack unscathed and unharmed you will understand that these panic attacks are just the product of your illusions of danger. This will give you a sense of relief and the experience will give you confidence to face subsequent panic attacks.

This is just a brief guide on how to stop panic attacks. If you suffer from severe panic attacks and need serious help in overcoming this problem, I suggest that you get additional resources to help deal with it.