Treating panic attacks is about calming an overactive mind and doesn't always mean dealing with a "mental disorder". You can treat them with natural methods and within a few hours without the use of drugs or months of psychotherapy. Here we explain how to do it.
Steps
Step 1. Learn what a panic attack is
The scariest aspect is the feeling of loss of control. Symptoms are dizziness, feeling on the verge of fainting, heaviness, difficulty in breathing and a rapid heart rate. Some people even believe they are having a heart attack and, of course, this belief makes the situation worse.
Not being able to manage a panic attack triggers even more anxiety. When will it happen again? Where will I be when it happens? Will I be able to face it? These are the most frequent concerns that feed themselves and trigger the next crisis. Patients often believe that there is something wrong with them, others that they are going crazy
Step 2. Know that you are not alone
The truth is that one in twenty people suffer from panic attacks. And this statistic is certainly underestimated, because many people don't seek help and therefore a diagnosis has not been made.
Often, knowing that you are not the only one suffering from it is a great help and relief, but it is only the first step
Step 3. Understand the defense mechanism
Panic attacks are the body's response to a potentially dangerous stimulus. It is a simple survival instinct. The first time a person experiences a crisis, they are usually at a particularly stressful time in their life.
The problem is that the subconscious reacts disproportionately to the stimulus and triggers the survival instinct to protect us. At the dawn of humanity this allowed us to quickly escape from a saber-toothed tiger. Unfortunately, our mind is unable to distinguish between a particularly tiring and stressful day and a life or death situation
Step 4. Pay attention to stimuli
Once you have suffered from panic attacks, there is a high probability that your mind will react to "stimuli" that remind you of the first crisis. For example, the first time you suffered from it, you were driving. It is not necessary that driving was the real cause of the anxiety (probably it was the accumulation of stress). However, your mind develops this "driving-panic" association and now driving a car can trigger a crisis.
Step 5. Let the crisis happen rather than fight it
It might seem counterintuitive but it works!
Step 6. Remember that panic attack is a reaction to a "perceived" danger
The fact is that in reality there is no danger even if you think, act and feel as if it is imminent.
When you realize that there is no "real" pitfall, you can focus on what you are experiencing. Instead of being swept away by terror, try to become an objective and detached observer. Try to understand what feelings you are feeling. If you "observe" your feelings instead of "fighting" them, you can reduce the stress level and calm the conflict in your mind
Step 7. Observe
This phase is crucial because it forces you to make use of rationality. Usually, during a panic crisis, it is emotion that takes over, and trying to control it only makes things worse. Activate the rational part of your mind!
Step 8. By becoming a super partes observer you set reason in motion
It is very difficult for emotions to take over if you are thinking rationally, and in doing so the symptoms of panic attack slowly fade away.
