Stress Management

Common Sense Techniques to Control Panic Attacks

1. Avoid Caffeine, Alcohol and other Stimulants. People who get panic attacks are often highly sensitive to caffeine and alcohol.

2. Eat more whole grains, rice and millet. These foods are good sources of B vitamins, which have an overall calming effect and keep the nervous system healthy. Stay away from foods with artificial colorings, additives and sugar, because they can make panic attacks worse. Sensitivity to certain foods can trigger a panic attack. Food allergy testing is strongly recommended.

3. Learn and Practice Deep Breathing. People often hyperventilate during a panic attack. So, it is important that you learn how to learn deep breathing to counteract the shallow breathing. Take long, deep diaphragmatic breaths. You can learn about proper breathing techniques in Holisticonline.com Pranayama infocenter. Pranayama is the yoga breathing technique and has been shown to be very effective.

4. Alleviate stress, take time to eat, relax and sleep. There are many techniques available for relaxation. They are described in full in holisticonline.com Stress management infocenter. One especially useful method is the progressive relaxation technique.

5. Move Around, Stay active, Exercise. Take a walk; move around; do some gentle yoga or Tai Chi stretching exercises, etc. Exercise helps you to burn off the excess adrenaline produced during stress initiation. It helps you to bounce back faster in anxious situations.

6. Keep perfumed kerchiefs. Keep a kerchief with a few drops of lavender or rose essential oil. They are excellent relaxants.

7. Talk to yourself. Talk to yourself rationalizing the fear of Panic Attack. Your conversation may be like this:

'Okay, I'm having a panic attack. I know it will pass and I will soon be out of it. I'm not having a heart attack or any other disease that is fatal. This won't last long. It will pass. I'll get through it."

This self-talk should take the edge off the anxiety, and your symptoms should start to fade.

8. Keep your attention diverted. Keeping your attention helps. There are many ways of accomplishing this like counting backward from 1000 at an increment of 3. This takes your mind off your panic attack by refocusing your thinking.

9. Be interested in your own health and find out what works best for you.

10. A traumatic experience can be the root cause of panic attacks. Professional counseling can help the individual.

Related Topic: Common Sense Care for Anxiety Disorders

Next Topic: Prevention of Panic Attacks