Panic

Sometimes people's fears or past experiences trigger panic. The first few times this happens might be pretty scary and people have often worried they are having a heart attack or "going crazy".
Sometimes people have had anxiety for years but haven't had panic attacks before and some people have been having panic attacks occasionally but not on a regular basis.
What happens is that once you have had a panic attack and find out it is not a heart attach or stroke, but a panic attack, you get scared that they'll keep coming and you have lost control of yourself.
The fear of having a panic attack creates more panic attacks and you begin spiraling down. It's as if you have been infected and can't fight off the virus.

There are several ways to deal with panic attacks:

Medication is a quick fix for most people and can be a good choice. It can help decrease the ruminating that causes a lot of anxiety and get you back on course, keeping you from making panic a bad habit. There are sometimes negative side effects and so you have to work with your doctor over time to find the right medication and dosage. Talk to friends who have been on medications and hear what they have to say about what it did or did not do for them. Talk to the doctor you like and trust most and see what they advise.

Hynotherapy can help your subconscious manage fears better and a good hypnotherapist can give you a copy of your own CD so you can keep up the effects over time on your own. Call your insurance company and see if it is covered and which providers are covered.

Relaxation techniques/breathing techniques/acupressure techniques can be great tools to have in your toolkit for handling anxiety, depression and the occasional panic attack. There are several good self help books with ideas on all of these available in the library or bookstore or internet.

And good talk therapy can help you figure out how you learned to be such an anxious person and develop some conscious skills for handling the anxiety/panic when it comes up. Learning more about how you are interpreting situations and creating fear, pain, anger for yourself can help you divert yourself from going down the road to anxiety in the first place.

Here is a list of some other things you can do on your own when you find yourself having a panic attack:

1. Breathe
2. Look around you and remember where you are and remind yourself that you are safe
3. Listen to a relaxation tape or calming music
4. Call a friend or family member who understands and can help talk you down
5. Find comfort in your pet/s
6. Take a hot bath or shower
7. Meditate
8. Distract yourself with something if you can, like a book, movie, cleaning project
9. Get some physical exercise, run around the block, dance, anything that helps change your breathing, heartrate and expend anxious energy
10. Write it all down. Sometimes it helps to get the scary or obsessive thoughts out of your head and onto paper and plan some solutions
11. Do some artwork that helps shift your focus on something fun and beautiful
12. Get out of the house and let in other stimuli to try to shift your mood and focus
13. Get in your car and close the windows and yell or shout into a pillow
14. Don't hurt yourself or anyone else, stay safe
15. Add your own ideas here
16. Keep repeating until you get calmed down, don't give up