How to Prevent Panic Attacks

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How to stop panic attacks and prevent them?

January 5th, 2010 · 9 Comments · How to Prevent Panic Attacks

any tips?
when i say stop them i mean how to stop them when you are actually having one.

Hey… Victoria here, maybe my personal story can give you some solace…

a lil about me- about a year after my husband left me and my daughter died about 5 years ago.. I was at a very difficult point in my life, and was ultimately diagnosed with depression, severe anxiety, and panic disorder. I would say that i’ve always for the most part been a little depressed and had some degree of anxiety, but this just completely tipped the scale. I remember there were days on end I would just lie in bed, and whenever I would be in a social environment my anxiety would go through the roof and I would often have panic attacks . Therapy never seemed to be effective for me, and my psych put me on damn near every med out there. I’ve been on everything from wellbutrin to paxil, zoloft, prozac, lexapro, celexa, buspar, valium, klonopin, xanax.. etc. Sometimes 2-3 different ones in combo at the same time. Nothing really seemed to work for me. With the exception of some of the benzos (klono./xanax) .. these worked well for a little while, but I grew tolerance quickly, and became highly addicted.

Then one day while researching online i came across this reputable looking website http://www.anxiety.pcti-system.com .. which talked about this program to eliminate your anxiety for good, all naturally. Long story short, I wound up signing up to try it and the program worked amazing.. Not only do I no longer have panic attacks and anxiety gone, but my depression has also seemed to dissipate a little. And I’m currently starting to slowly ween off the meds I’m on. >>>>

I would personally say that possibly the biggest driving factor in all this is OCD. I think obsessing and constantly having your thoughts focused on your own condition and constantly analyzing your own thoughts/actions plays a very significant role in the persistence of our ails. Almost like the condition is a small lit fire, and OCD is the fuel that keeps it consistently burning… Also, I’ve come to the conclusion that meds are generally a unhealthy short term cure that only semi-treats the symptoms, and never the cause. Hope I was of some help!


Here are some other panic attack related sites that I thought would be of interest to you. Thanks for checking out my blog!

Anxiety - Topic Overview - MSN Health & Fitness - Mental Health
Tape 407: More Terrifying than Surviving a Plane Crash is What ...
Steve Martin - Born Standing Up - Book Review - New York Times
Panic attack on weed? - Yahoo! Answers
Yahoo! Groups : Directory : Panic Disorder


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Comments

9 Comments so far ↓

  • ~GЯACE~

    not sure of your age, but talk with your doctor, there are medications to help prevent them and medicines for when you’re having one (xanax, etc). Good luck!
    References :

  • Tin-God

    by understanding what is happening, what triggered it and that you can Control it
    i had them i found out what i could about them, i spotted the signs that one was on the way and i just calmed my self down
    at first it was hard but after a bit i mastered it and have not had one in about 8-9 years
    References :
    my head

  • Rhianna Returns

    Basically you need to reason with yourself and notice the pattern that emerges each time you have an episode. Try distracting your mind when you feel panicky too.

    Each time you have a panic attack, write it down, make a note of your thoughts and feelings and how long it lasted. Keep that note pad with you and when you have an episode again read it, recognise that your symptoms are the same and that you got through it last time and you will get through it again.

    If you are hyperventilating, try counting to 4 before taking each breath. People who suffer from panic attacks actually re-set their breathing ‘thermostat’. When you are not getting enough air, your brain sends out a message to get more air, but what this system responds to is not oxygen but CO2. When the level gets too low the alarm goes off, but if you constantly keep the level down by hyperventilating, this breathing thermostat resets itself. When this happens, levels of CO2 that should be regarded as normal seem too low and your brain sends out a message to ‘breathe more.’ A physiotherapist can actually help with this if you are having problems.CBT also has a high success rate.
    References :
    Cardiac Nurse

  • creamfeather

    your cant stop one when it is actually happening, you just have to wait till the adrenoline that has flooding into your body drains away. Just wait and let it pass. It does, it has to.
    A panic attack is caused by a sudden fear, if a car was coming towards you, your body would instantly releases adrenoline into you blood stream giving you the instant power to run away. Or ‘fight or flight’ as the old saying goes.
    A panic attack is when you have a fear, for example, being in a room with others and no means of escape. You are not in danger, but feel uneasy. The body then releases the adrenolin and because you are not fleeing, it causes the heart thumping, shaking, wobbly legs etc.
    You start to feel better when the adrenolin drains away, but you will still feel very shaky and drained.
    You cannot physically have another attack until you body replenishes its supply of adrenoline.
    The fear is caused by your mind not wanting to do something, or being somewhere, but the physical symptoms are just caused by adrenoline being released.
    I used to have panic attacks, when I read what caused them, I made myself go out. If one happened in the street or supermarket i just pretended to be looking at the products, or in a shop window. If I was on a bus, I just let it happen until it passed. Id sit on a bench or something. No one ever seemed to notice.
    Once I understood the cause and the fact that they were physically harmless, they gradually faded away. I took control, I wouldnt let them control me.
    There a lot of books available, the one that helped me was called ‘Peace from nervous suffering’ by a doctor claire weekes, they are old books, written about 30 years ago, but very very helpful. Probably available on amazon, but im sure there are plenty of others.
    References :

  • Peyton

    Well,I have the same thing,except whenever I go to places new…I start to freak and I usually feel like my surroundings are’nt real or you could say a "Dreaming" sensation….I hate it…my doctor said a good way to stop it is to put a hand on something lean on it and stare at sumthing and focius on it don’t move your eyes just FOUCUS…..then look up and continue and you should be fine……but if you want a theripist’s point of view…..you shpuld imagine ourself on a (beach,beautiful farm,criuse etc.) and picture the feeling of the sand in your toes or the sound of the animals on the farm etc. GOOD LCUK AND GOD BLESS!
    References :
    Anxiety,panic attacks,In my head

  • K

    Hi,
    There are already some good answers on here, but I thought I’d add my comments anyway seeing as I too have experienced panic attacks.
    I totally agree with the others that the key to reducing the amount of times you have a panic attack is to learn the triggers and deal with the root of the problem. This can be a painful process of delving back in to your past to discover your issues and deal with them, but it does have long term effects (speaking from experience). For me cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) worked, it’s success can largely depend on the training and skills of the counsellor, so research the appropriate qualifications and if in doubt ask your GP to recommend a good therapist in your area.

    As for stopping an attack once you are in the midst of one, I think the others are right, the physical sensations are caused by a rush on adrenalin because you have gone in to ‘flight or fight’ mode, and until your body uses up that adrenalin you will feel shaky. However I learnt a few practical things when I did CBT that worked for me:

    1 – Try to take control of the situation. Keep reminding yourself that you are not actually in any ‘real’ danger – you are not under any physical threat, as unpleasant as you symptoms are, you are not dying. Also keep reminding yourself that time passes and this too shall pass.

    2- Breathing correctly is also very important as it will slow your heart rate, use up the excess adrenalin and stop you from hyperventilating and passing out. Focus on your breathing, and breath slowly and purposefully, taking longer to breath out than to breath in. Around 5 or 6 seconds on the in breath and 7 to 9 on the out breath is about right if you can manage it.

    3 – Move your body. When we go in to flight or fight mode the body is prepared to run away or stay and fight – either way it is ready for action, to move and use up the adrenalin. So go for a walk, do some stretching, fidget, pick up your phone and send a text – do SOMETHING. If you are around other people excuse yourself and go to the toilet.

    4 – Distract yourself. When you are panicking don’t focus on your symptoms or the situation you are in, try to distract your mind and engross yourself in doing something else, this sends different messages to the brain and stops the rush of adrenalin.

    Oh and one final thing, I would avoid taking medication as your panic attacks are being triggered by a mental stimulus, there is probably nothing physically wrong with you. The drugs can have horrible side effects and don’t actually treat the cause of the problem, just mask the symptoms until you come off them. They also can be addictive as every time you try to come off them you start getting panic attacks again so you go back on them – it’s a vicious circle.

    I hope this helps, and I’m sorry for the long message. Good luck!
    References :

  • tracy t

    the best way would be to know the causes, the signs so that when it happens you can know right away what to do
    Laughter helps in so many ways with disease
    http://she-health-living.com/Panic-Heart-Attack-Symptoms.html
    References :

  • Rylee

    Try to learn to avoid the triggers for a panic attack and. Breathe out slowly, concentrating on stopping the feeling of fear. Tell yourself it’s just a panic attack you can not hurt. Sit down or lay down, close your eyes. Breat in, 1,2,3, exhale, 1,2,3. Listen to soothing music when you find it useful. Read, watch TV, do something to distract.
    References :

  • Chrona

    Hey… Victoria here, maybe my personal story can give you some solace…

    a lil about me- about a year after my husband left me and my daughter died about 5 years ago.. I was at a very difficult point in my life, and was ultimately diagnosed with depression, severe anxiety, and panic disorder. I would say that i’ve always for the most part been a little depressed and had some degree of anxiety, but this just completely tipped the scale. I remember there were days on end I would just lie in bed, and whenever I would be in a social environment my anxiety would go through the roof and I would often have panic attacks. Therapy never seemed to be effective for me, and my psych put me on damn near every med out there. I’ve been on everything from wellbutrin to paxil, zoloft, prozac, lexapro, celexa, buspar, valium, klonopin, xanax.. etc. Sometimes 2-3 different ones in combo at the same time. Nothing really seemed to work for me. With the exception of some of the benzos (klono./xanax) .. these worked well for a little while, but I grew tolerance quickly, and became highly addicted.

    Then one day while researching online i came across this reputable looking website http://www.anxiety.pcti-system.com .. which talked about this program to eliminate your anxiety for good, all naturally. Long story short, I wound up signing up to try it and the program worked amazing.. Not only do I no longer have panic attacks and anxiety gone, but my depression has also seemed to dissipate a little. And I’m currently starting to slowly ween off the meds I’m on. >>>>

    I would personally say that possibly the biggest driving factor in all this is OCD. I think obsessing and constantly having your thoughts focused on your own condition and constantly analyzing your own thoughts/actions plays a very significant role in the persistence of our ails. Almost like the condition is a small lit fire, and OCD is the fuel that keeps it consistently burning… Also, I’ve come to the conclusion that meds are generally a unhealthy short term cure that only semi-treats the symptoms, and never the cause. Hope I was of some help!
    References :

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