Help for Panic Attacks - Continued
Breathe! Yes, of course, we breathe as a matter of being alive, but breathing
properly during times of stress is an enormous help for panic attacks,
decreasing their likelihood and intensity.
Breathing exercises can also slow down the aging process and increase energy
levels. Yoga, Zen, and Tai Chi
all incorporate different forms of breathing exercises into their practices. The simplest breathing exercise is one used by many long-distance
runners: breathe in through your
mouth while counting to four, hold it for a moment, and then slowly let the
breath out while counting to eight. While you are exhaling, visualize all the negative energy leaving
your body, and when you take the next breath in, visualize only positive,
cleansing energy coming in to your lungs.
Meditate. Meditation may sound like new-age psycho-babble to some, but it is
rather difficult to argue with a practice that has existed since ancient
times, with some reports indicating that it started over 5,000 years ago. Meditation can be done anytime, anywhere, and doesn’t require a bit
of experience or money to do.
(And, who can argue with all those Buddhist monks?) The goal of meditation is to take your thoughts beyond the here and
now, and into a state of tranquility and peacefulness. Many religions have their own techniques for meditating, including
Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Taoism. There are techniques that call for certain postures or positions, but
really, how you meditate is up to you. The goal is to clear your mind and focus on one thing only. Anyone who has lain in bed at night and tried to push away a rush of
thoughts in order to fall asleep can tell you that meditating may not be so
easy to do in the beginning. Research to find the most comfortable form of meditation for you, then set
aside some time to do it every day. Once you have become adept at focusing, you can start to incorporate
a “safe place” into your meditations, so that when a panic attack threatens,
you can go to that place in your mind, and lessen the severity of the
attack, or stop the attack all together.
Click Here to Never Fear Another Panic Attack!
Keep a journal. Logging the frequency and intensity of each panic attack you
experience can help you to pinpoint the triggers that you may never even
have known affect you. Writing
can also be quite cathartic, and the act of getting it all on paper (or
stored in your computer) can help you to come closer to the reasons you have
panic attacks to start with.
Professional Help
It is always a good idea to seek professional help when you first start experiencing panic attacks. This is because there are many organic or medical conditions that can cause panic attacks. People who have post traumatic stress syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder, Wilson’s disease, or hypoglycemia are all prone to panic attacks; and once the illness is treated, the panic attacks will subside as well. A lack of Vitamin B can be the culprit, too, and you need to know if there is a physical reason for the attacks before you start treating the panic attacks themselves.
