Retraining Your Brain Is Key To Overcoming Panic Attacks
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Your heartbeat increases (are you having a heart attack?), your chest tightens and you cannot breathe (will you suffocate?), you want to run (where is the danger?). You are having a panic attack. Again. Is there any help for overcoming panic attacks? Panic attacks do not have to run your life. You can get help. They are treatable.
The cure for panic attacks has two parts. The first part is to change your thinking. The second part is to be exposed to the thing that is feared. These two things are the crux of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
First you need to change your thinking. Simply put your panic attack is like an alarm that has been accidentally triggered. What you need to realize is that the panic attack (alarm) can be turned off by you. That’s what cognitive behavioral therapy is all about.
In a panic attack your body is reacting to the feelings you have and the thoughts you are thinking. All of the ways your body responds during a panic attack are perfectly sensible – if there really was a danger. But, since there is no real external danger, the danger is misinterpreted as the panic attack sensations themselves. Then your thoughts escalate the panicky feelings. It is a vicious circle.
Get a piece of blank paper. Make three columns. Label the columns “body sensations, ” “mistaken thought, ” and “alternate explanation.” You are now ready to challenge your thoughts that create the panicking feelings.
Next, list each individual body sensation you feel during a panic attack. Then, in the next column write down what you are thinking at that moment. What are you seeing or identifying as dangerous. Last, come up with an alternative explanation for what you are perceiving as dangerous. Your goal is to be able to do this during a panic attack (not necessarily write it down, but do it in your head).
The more you practice this, the better you will get at stopping the anxiety before it gets to the panic stage. You are taking false beliefs about the feelings and replacing them with accurate facts. You are learning that the feelings are nothing to fear.
Along with the cognitive behavioral therapy, you may want to learn how to meditate as a way to relax and refocus. Maybe a warm bath or a hot cup of tea would also be calming. Write down a list of six things you can do to comfort yourself as you are trying to get your anxiety under control. Put them where you can find them in a hurry.
You have just learned the basics of cognitive behavioral therapy. There is much more to it that a psychologist or other counselor can show you and help you learn to use it effectively. If you are struggling with overcoming panic attacks, investing some time learning CBT will definitely be beneficial to your long-term mental health.
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