Stop panic attacks without meds

[jeckston]

Most people think that to overcome panic and phobias, you are supposed
to 'face your fears' Well that's a load of crap. The reason you feel
panic is that a young part of you is terrified and doesn't trust the
older parts of you to look after it. Forcing that young part to do
something it clearly doesn't want to do will make the panic worse.

Try this: Next time you panic, remove yourself from whatever it is
that's causing it. I panic on buses and trains, I don't force myself
to take trains, if I take a bus, I say to that part, "If you want to
get off, we will get off". When I go to the cinema/theatre, I pre-book
an aisle seat, I find out where the exit is and I say to myself "If
you want to leave, we'll leave" I have been doing this for several
years now and it really works. I can sit in waiting rooms now,
something I could never do before, because that young part of me knows
that if it wants to get up and go, we will, without hesitation. It has
learned to trust me. In turn, I can reason with it sometimes when I
really want to stay and I can be really kind to it and even ask it to
try and be OK (this mostly works, but I still have work to do on
this). I never take medication for panic, I think that this is really
disrespectful to the parts of you that are trying to communicate, you
just have to listen to them and eventually they will be less
terrified, learn to trust you and panic attacks do get much less. I
know that one day, I wont need to have them at all any more.

Good Luck!

[WakingNomad]

Interesting. I think fears come in a wide variety, and we all have different ways of coping and overcoming our fears. I have a fear of heights. I have went skydiving, cliff jumping, and climbed a 300 foot antenna tower. I still have a fear of heights, but it's a lot weaker than it previously was.

I used to have anxiety and panic attacks. What I did to help me overcome was to actually induce the the panic attack in a place I felt safe, then make it go away. After awhile, I was able to make it go away when it was really happening.

This is similar to visualizing what you want to do in a lucid dream in waking life.

Thanks for sharing.

[Luanne]

I never take medication for panic, I think that this is really
disrespectful to the parts of you that are trying to communicate, you
just have to listen to them and eventually they will be less
terrified, learn to trust you and panic attacks do get much less.


This is really well said. We should always listen to our body and acknowledge the symptoms, cause through them the body communicates and indicates a mental issue. And it really doesn't have to be hard to understand the cause, once you start listening the body, our subconscious does the rest.

[Specialis Sapientia]

Hmm, in a Star Trek The Next Generation episode I saw a month ago or so a man was very anxious and always panicked. The counsellor told him to tap himself at the side of his neck to relieve the stress and panic, because there was a pressure point. So maybe pressure points can do something?

Of course getting rid and overcoming the fear itself would be better.

[Universal Mind]

That sounds like a recipe for agoraphobia. People with major panic issues will avoid all of those situations if they are not trying to fight the temptation to stay away from them. For the people I know who have panic attacks, if they say, "We can leave if we need to," they will just get up and leave. With that outlook, they will end up never even leaving the house. Maybe that doesn't apply to everybody with panic problems, though.

[grasshoppa]

I get social anxiety, but I've never had a panic attack spring up because of it. The only times Ive had panic attacks was when I'm seriously worried about my health or worried something terrible is going to happen (Heart attack or stroke). For instance, I was panic attack free for over 4 months (out of 8 months of having anxiety) and I decided to try smoking pot again to see how it would work out. Unfortunately the goddess doesn't like me anymore, and I had to endure a panic attack for the rest of the day...on and off. It was because my heart started beating faster and faster, then the anxiety kicks in am I'm at 150bpm+ and all I can think about is that I'm going to die. And it is so much harder to stop an attack when your high because your mind wanders so easily.

So I don't plan on smoking weed again, because it's obviously a catalyst for Anxiety attacks (for me). As long as I don't smoke, I'll be fine.

[Licity]

I was in a pretty poor state a couple years ago, panic attacks almost daily. I can say with complete and total certainty that the OP's advice is the single worst thing you can do. Panic attacks are a DISorder for a reason. Meds can help, but they never have lasting effects. I got over my issues by preparing myself to face the cause of the panic best I could before actually doing it. No reason to rush in headfirst when a little prep goes a long way... except on the pot thing. That sounds like a side effect of the pot.

[Flashdance]

You need to face your fears in order to overcome them.

Avoiding your fears means you will be limited by them.

I'll also mention that this exact same article has appeared in other forums at around the same time. Based on my experience with similar styles of posts, I would dare say that this is a spam bot.

[Majestic]

I had gotten a panic attack only once, when I was 16. This was around when I first started really smoking weed. I was at a friends house and we were smoking, around this time I was socially anxious or whatever the word is called. Man I was so damn paranoid, high and scared, I threw up right in front of this girl and she had to walk me home..I thought my weed was laced or something :shock:

That shit was so embarrassing, but I'm pretty sure no one even remembers that night

The key with panic attacks/anxiety attacks, is to breathe deeply..it causes you to relax.

[Dannon Oneironaut]

Wow, I never knew all of you cool people also had panic attacks. Me too. The same story. It started when I smoked pot. I used to smoke pot fine. But a few years ago I started thinking I was having a heart attack every time I smoked. I was relieved when I figured out it was panic attack and not heart attack. But it started happening when I didn't smoke. It happened when I lifted something up, when I did anything that made my heart pump. I got dizzy and light headed. I was tired and worn out all the time. Anxiety and panic really tires you out. One time I went to the hospital because I passed out.

But I dealt with it. I think your advice is good. Get yourself to trust yourself. The subconscious is like a child. I dealt with it by first learning to breathe with it and relax. Once I knew I could stop a panic attck by relaxing and breathing, I learned to kind of enjoy the euphoric light headed feeling. The heart attack feelings stopped. I haven't had a single panic attack in years.

It never occurred to me to take medecine. Good thing to because I don't believe in it.

Actually the last panic attack was just a little one while I ws doing the WILD technique. Instead of panicing or getting tense I just let it flow through me and I instantly entered a dream. I think the panic for me was a fear of dying which wasn't allowing me to expand my consciousness or enter another realm.

[grasshoppa]

Make sure to breath through your nose. Breathing rapidly and deeply through the mouth can make your anxiety worse. I wish I could find the video of this guy...He's a fitness guy, he talks about chemicals in your brain, and how breathing through your nose while in a stretched out pose helps...Has something to do with the air and your nose hairs creating a pleasant effect, whereas breathing through the mouth makes the body more anxious.