A new(ish) study that was covered in the Wall Street Journal today hypothesizes that symptoms of a panic attack begin to show as far as 47 minutes preceding the panic attack itself.  The study was conducted by recording physiological symptoms of forty-three patients of varying ages who were having their physiological changes recorded every minute.  In total over 1960 hours were monitored which captured 13 panic attacks as described by those suffering them.

A copy of the study itself can be purchased here from Science Direct for $31 for those interested in learning more about this study.

A recent study published in the Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences claims that recent experiments in mice showed that when given probiotics, mice have their anxiety level reduced when placed in stressful situations.

One of the primary conclusions of the study shows the connection between the gut and the brain. The vagus nerve is what connects the two, and when mice had it cut they didn’t respond any differently than the mice that didn’t receive any pro-biotics.

Of course nobody knows how this will relate to humans, but it’s worth trying if you constantly suffer panic attacks. Heck, even if you think it’s working, that’s good enough as anything, real or not, that helps you reduce your panic attacks is a positive.

Hat Tip to The Examiner for the story

According to new research conducted at Southern Methodist University (SMU), people who exhibit out of the blue panic attacks started showing physiological symptoms up to one hour before the panic attack struck.

This could have a significant impact on how panic attacks are treated going forward as if it’s possible to treat the underlying symptoms that happen before the panic attack.

How To Control Panic Attacks – Tips to Help Keep Them From Ruining Your Life

You suddenly feel like you’re having a heart attack or a nervous breakdown. .You wake up dizzy and disoriented and your body feels numb and you have trouble breathing. The feeling might pass in as little as 15 seconds, or it can last as long as half an hour. You have just suffered a panic attack, what some experts have called the most intensely frightening and upsetting experience in most peoples’ lives. You might experience such an episode only once or twice in your lifetime. In some cases, this sudden episode of intense fear that springs up for no apparent reason, can develop into a chronic condition called panic disorder.

Once dismissed as merely nerves or stress, panic attacks are now recognized by the medical profession as legitimate medical conditions that can be effectively treated.

Left untreated, panic attacks can cause significant disruption in your social life and can lead to serious physical or psychological consequences. If you’ve had four or more episodes, or have a constant sense of fear or impending doom, it is wise to seek the diagnosis of a physician.

There are, however, things you can do yourself to control panic attacks or mitigate some of the negative effects.

Learn to Relax: Deep breathing, yoga, progressive muscle relaxation, and meditation have been shown by studies to be effective in treating panic disorder or even preventing panic attacks. The muscle relaxation exercise, which is a procedure of tensing one muscle at a time, then relaxing the tension until every muscle in the body is relaxed, when combined with meditation, can not only improve your mental and emotional state, but helps to improve your physical condition as well.

Limit or Avoid Caffeine or Alcohol: Caffeine and alcohol have been shown not only to be triggers for panic attacks, but they can cause even more severe reactions. Significantly reducing or totally eliminating caffeine or alcohol from you diet will reduce your risk of panic attacks. It goes without saying, in addition, that illicit drugs should be avoided.

Stay Physically Active and Fit: Aerobic exercise not only improves your cardio-vascular health, but regular exercise and keeping fit helps you to maintain a calm and balanced mood. Even a brisk walk of 20-30 minutes each day can significantly improve your condition and reduce your levels of anxiety and stress.

Get Enough Sleep: Six to eight hours sleep each night is a basic level of sleep to allow the body and mind sufficient time to rejuvenate. Avoid eating during the three hours before going to sleep, as this will interfere with truly restful sleep and can cause such conditions as acid reflux. It is also a good idea to avoid heavy exercise just before going to bed, so the body and mind will be in a relaxed state and you can fall asleep faster.

Join a Support Group: Merely knowing that you are not alone in your suffering can help ease some of the anxiety. Support groups allow you to connect with and share information with people who face the same problems.There’s no one hundred percent effective way to prevent panic attacks. Understanding the underlying causes, however, can help to mitigate some of the more negative effects, and keep panic attacks from completely disrupting your life.

To learn more about how to overcome panic attacks please review the Panic Puzzle Program, available for $70.

Menopause, that period of a woman’s life when her reproductive systems are shutting down, can be traumatic under the best of circumstances. What with the hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, and drying up of normally moist tissues which can make sexual intercourse painful, the hormonal imbalances taking place can unsettle even the calmest personality. As if all these aren’t enough, these hormonal imbalances can also trigger sudden panic attacks which can really throw life out of kilter.

Menopause and Panic Attacks

Because the onset of menopause affects the serotonin levels in your brain, which controls moods and feelings, anxiety is not an uncommon symptom. While these feelings of anxiety are not pleasant, they are a part of the process and can usually be dealt with because they are clearly understood. Symptoms of anxiety include:

• diarrhea and stomach problems
• rapid heartbeat
• nervousness
• dizziness

Menopausal panic attacks, however, are a problem of a total different scale, and can be extremely disruptive. Some of the more common symptoms of such panic attacks are:

• A feeling of losing control
• Extreme fear of dying, or a feeling of dying
• Fear of embarrassing yourself
• Feeling of losing your mind

According to some who have suffered such attacks, they often happen at night. The sufferer wakes up feeling dizzy and disoriented; totally out of control. The shifts in estrogen levels that take place during menopause mean that such feelings are commonly experienced. When they persist, however, or escalate to the level of panic, and are also accompanied by depression, negativism, loss of self esteem, weight loss, and/or disrupted sleep patterns, a doctor should be consulted.

Talking to someone about these feelings, even a medical profession, can be extremely difficult. Because the panic attacks are related to a person’s mental or emotional condition, and the perceived stigma attached to needing psychiatric help, all too often women whose menopausal anxiety has escalated to full blown panic attacks, don’t seek the medical advice that could bring them relief.

How To Deal With Panic Attacks During Menopause

While professional help is needed in the more severe cases, there are also things you can do yourself to deal with the changes taking in place in your body, and lower the level of anxiety associated with the onset of menopause.

Knowing is Half the Battle: Merely recognizing that what is taking place inside your body is physical as well as mental, and knowing the signs and symptoms of panic attack, can help mitigate some of the more severe reactions. Know the symptoms, and admit that you’re experiencing them. Then, try to determine specifically what triggered your anxiety in the first place. Knowing what is happening and why can help move you a long way toward easing the turmoil and stress.

Learn to Take it Easy: Develop the ability to let things go. If you can’t determine what triggered your anxiety, try to forget about it. If you know what it was, and it is within your power to do something; then by all means do it. Follow the old advice: if you can fix it, don’t worry about it, just fix it; if you can’t fix it, just don’t worry about it. Meditation or yoga are excellent ways to relieve stress and lower levels of worry and anxiety. Listening to relaxing music whenever you get the chance also helps lower stress levels. Getting away from work; taking a few days vacation, or just hanging out at home reading some of those books you’ve been meaning to read, can help you bleed away tension and rejuvenate yourself.

Don’t Play the Blame Game: One of the worse things you can do when you feel anxious is to blame other people. This gives away the power to do something about your situation. In most cases, the cause of the anxiety is internal to you, and if you recognize and accept this, you can also develop the power to suppress the feelings of fear. Don’t get hung up over things that you should have or could have done in the past. The past is gone and cannot be changed. Try to develop a future-oriented, self-reliant attitude.

Watch Your Diet: Ensure you have a diet containing all the nutrients your body needs for effective maintenance and health. Consider adding vitamin and mineral supplements; especially iron and calcium; the former to ensure adequate red blood cell levels which help you relax, and also carry nutrients to the other systems of the body; and the latter for a strong, healthy skeletal structure. Go easy on the alcohol and high-caffeine drinks, which can cause significant spikes in stress levels and, themselves, trigger panic attacks. This includes some of the energy drinks which contain high levels of caffeine and sugar.

A Healthy Body Can Help Ensure a Healthy Mind: Panic attacks can be triggered by mental or emotional stimuli, or by physical or medicinal/chemical elements. Maintaining a healthy body; including regular exercise as well as a healthy diet, can greatly reduce your risk of experiencing panic attacks during menopause. Regular exercise helps one maintain a healthy mental and emotional outlook, which is essential for you to be able to recognize and deal with panic attacks.

During menopause your body is going through some radical changes; changes that affect your physical well-being and mental/emotional outlook. Some anxiety is common and to be expected as your body resets itself to the new condition. When the regular anxiety that comes with menopause becomes intense fear and leads to panic attacks, the first line of defense is your own attitude. Don’t, however, hesitate to seek professional medical advice and assistance if you believe you are experiencing panic attacks.

To learn more about how to overcome panic attacks please review the Panic Puzzle Program, available for $70.

How to Deal With Panic Attacks While Sleeping

It’s the middle of the night; you wake up in a darkened bedroom, and you are gasping for breath. Your chest feels tight, perhaps there’s even a little pain. You fear you’re having a heart attack and that you’re about to die. Or maybe, you wake up late at night with an urgent need to urinate. Just as you finish relieving yourself, your legs turn into limp noodles, you feel woozy, and you collapse on the bathroom floor. You haven’t a clue what’s wrong, but it scares the daylights out of you. You’re conscious, but you can’t make your lower body function.

These are by no means trivial situations. You are experiencing a physical as well as a psychological reaction that could be the sign of some serious medical emergency. If, though, you’re a relatively healthy person, you could be experiencing what some 16 million Americans each year experience: a panic attack. Panic attacks are sudden episodes of intense fear or anxiety, and they have both a biological and a psychological aspect to them.

While panic attacks can occur at any place, any time, nocturnal panic attacks are perhaps the most frightening. You are most likely alone and in the dark, a set of circumstances that can amplify feelings of anxiety geometrically. Nocturnal attacks strike with no apparent trigger and can wake you up from a sound sleep Half of the people who experience panic attacks also have nocturnal attacks, but only ten percent of all panic attacks take place at night. The symptoms are essentially the same as those of daytime panic attacks, but it is difficult to calm down and go back to sleep afterwards. Being deprived of sufficient sleep can lead to other medical conditions.

It’s not known exactly what causes nocturnal panic attacks, but some of the basic causative factors might be genetics, stress, or changes in the way your brain functions. Sleep-related conditions such as apnea can also trigger a panic reaction if they wake you. In the second situation mentioned above, becoming faint after urination, it’s often lack of understanding of what’s happening that triggers a panic attack. This condition, a form of syncope or fainting, occurs usually when you are sitting or standing. Too rapid urination can scramble the brain’s signals to the lower extremities, causing them not to function. Knowing this, and knowing that simply lying down for a while will cause it to go away can mitigate the fear that something really dreadful is happening to you. You can also become dizzy or faint if you move to a sitting or standing position from a lying position too rapidly, caused by the sudden flow of blood from the brain. Again, maintaining calm and breathing slowly and deeply will help ease the physical symptoms until things return to normal.

Another causative factor in nocturnal panic attacks is, in fact, probably the anxiety over having one. Sleep studies have shown that nocturnal panic attacks are not caused by dreams or nightmares. The majority take place during the early phase of sleep rather than the REM phases which are associated with dreaming. This supports the hypothesis that these attacks are probably triggered by anxieties we take to sleep with us.

Preventing Nocturnal Panic Attacks

There are a number of ways you can reduce the risk of or even prevent nocturnal panic attacks.

Exercise before sleep: Light exercise a couple of hours before bedtime helps to relax both body and mind and relieves you of many of the day’s stresses which could act as triggers for panic attacks. While routine physical exercise can have you keyed up and unable to sleep if done just before retiring, the exception is sexual intercourse. This is one exercise that upon completion, leaves your body and mind in a completely relaxed condition and can help you fall asleep quickly.

Relax your mind before sleep: Reading a good book or listening to soft music before bedtime can help relax your mind in preparation for a good, uninterrupted night’s sleep. If you must watch TV just before going to bed, avoid programs that raise anxiety levels, like horror movies and the like.

Don’t eat bedtime snacks: Eating just before going to bed, in addition to increasing the risk of gastric ailments like acid reflux, makes it harder for the body and mind to achieve the relaxed state necessary for sound sleep.

Limit or avoid alcohol or caffeine intake before bedtime: Any substance that causes hyperactivity or depression should be avoided just before retiring for the evening. A nice mild herbal tea should be substituted for that cocktail or cup of coffee instead.

Don’t try to force yourself to go to sleep: Worrying about being able to fall asleep is the best way to ensure you lie awake, or when you do fall asleep, it will be uncomfortable sleep interrupted with frequent waking. Lie back and let your mind wander to a place that you associate with pleasant memories. Try to think of anything but sleep, and let sleep come naturally. The best, most restful sleep is when you don’t remember falling asleep. You lie down, relax, and the next thing you know, it’s morning and you’re waking up.

Know your body’s signals: Our body is constantly sending signals informing us of ongoing or impending conditions. We just have to learn to heed them. If you’re having evening cocktails, for instance, pay close attention; your body will tell you when you’re approaching the limit. If you want to have a good night’s sleep, listen and obey.

Panic attacks, sudden feelings of intense fear that strike often without warning, affect nearly 16 million Americans each year. Clinical studies have shown that panic attacks are psychobiological, which means they have both physical and mental causes.

Panic attacks can throw your life into turmoil if not properly treated. Often, proper treatment includes medication to alleviate and control the symptoms, and psychological therapy to get at the root cause or causes of the attacks. While it is always advisable to consult a doctor to get an accurate diagnosis of your condition, in terms of treatment, often natural remedies offer more effective relief than medications.

The advantages that natural remedies have over medications are:

• Less expensive than medications
• fewer negative side effects
• Far less likely to develop dependency on a natural remedy

Medications often provide one-time-only relief, where natural remedies for panic attacks offer long term benefits.

Here are some of the natural remedies that you can apply yourself to help curb or even prevent life-disrupting panic attacks:

Learn to relax: Panic attacks are not only triggered by stress, but the presence of stress can exacerbate the symptoms. Teaching yourself to take life less seriously is an outstanding first step toward a life free of debilitating anxiety and panic attacks. Using techniques such as meditation, muscle relaxation, and positive visualization can replace the negative emotions that trouble you with relaxing, stress-free imagery. Regular meditation is a good way to help restore a proper mind-body balance. A recommended practice is to start each day with a few minutes of meditation. Contrary to the media’s portrayal of meditation as an activity requiring special equipment and an almost Buddha-like way of dressing, this is something you can do anywhere at almost any time. One excellent exercise, for instance, is to meditate right after you shower. After you’ve rinsed off, stand in a relaxed posture and allow the warm water to massage your neck and shoulders. While you stand, look – but don’t stare – at the shower wall, and slowly tense and then relax the muscles in your arms, legs, shoulders, and abdomen. Two to five minutes of this and you will feel your body begin to relax all over. More importantly, you feel more at ease and self confident.

Visualization is a technique that many professional athletes use to mentally prepare themselves for competition. Forming an image in your mind of the positive outcome you desire, helps to gear the mind and body to achieve that outcome. Visualizing positive, calming situations can have the same effect. Having soothing music playing in the background while you work can also help the mind and body achieve a relaxed state.

Learn to breathe properly: “In with the good air, out with the bad.” An imbalance in the oxygen and carbon dioxide in your lungs and blood stream can trigger anxiety or panic attacks. Avoid taking quick, shallow breaths, or doing too much mouth breathing. This will pull too much CO2 into your system. Another thing to avoid is breathing into a paper bag to calm yourself. When you do this, you’re only rebreathing the CO2 you’ve exhaled, and worsening the situation. Take slow, deep breaths through the nose, and this will help relax your body and ease your mind immensely.

Herbal remedies: There are a number of herbs and herbal teas that can help you achieve a more relaxed state. The class of herbs called ‘nervines,’ which act to enhance the parasympathetic nervous system which calms us during ‘flight-or-fight’ situations, are highly recommended. Chamomille and lemon balm are examples of good ‘nervine’ herbs which can be made into a tea. Before taking herbs, however, it is wise to consult a competent herbalist to determine how various herbs act together. It’s also a good idea to try them when you’re not having anxiety problems to get an idea how you react to them.

Get support: Often, people suffering panic attacks feel they are ‘losing it,’ and they’re reluctant to talk to anyone else about it. This is a big mistake. Withdrawing into yourself only makes the situation worse. Having a significant other, family member, or close friend who understands and stands by you when panic strikes, can help ease your mind and make it easier for you to fight your way back to reality.

Stay grounded in reality: While there is a physical component to panic attacks, which will probably need to be treated with either doctor-prescribed medication, or one of the natural remedies previously mentioned, if the psychological components of your panic attack are not addressed, you will be merely putting a Bandaid™ on a serious wound. Taking aggressive and positive action to push your thoughts into the universe of reality and out of the murky mental state it can get in is a step on the road to healing. Learn to tell yourself that “If there’s nothing here to be afraid of, it’s illogical for me to be feeling afraid. My mind’s trying to play tricks on me, and I’m not falling for it.” When the feelings of imminent disaster start, ask yourself what’s really going on. Force your mind to concentrate on the objective reality so that you can divorce it from the fantasy images created by chemical imbalances and emotional bogey men.

In serious cases, or if you have a chronic condition, by all means consult and follow the advice of your physician. If, however, you follow these natural remedies for panic attacks on a regular basis, it’s very likely your condition will not reach that stage and you will develop a calm, anxiety-free life.

To learn more about how to overcome panic attacks please review the Panic Puzzle Program, available for $70.

Panic attacks, sudden episodes of incredibly intense fear that occur for no apparent reason and last from a few seconds to cyclic series lasting hours, afflict millions of Americans. Panic attacks can happen to anyone at any time, and the effects will vary from individual to individual.

It is not known precisely what the cause or causes of panic attacks are. Some of the factors, though, that are thought to be underlying causes are:

• A family history of panic attacks (genetics)
• Parents who model or teach negative or pessimistic behavior (learned)
• Changes in the way the brain functions (physical)
• Reaction to certain chemicals or medications (medical)
• Significant change in personal life, loss of loved one, extreme stress (environmental)

Most people will have only one or two such episodes in their life. Some, however, will experience frequent or chronic episodes, or panic disorder. Women and people with high levels of intelligence are more at risk. Panic attacks or disorder usually start during early childhood.

Nature and Nurture both play a role

Studies have shown that panic disorder runs in families, which means that genetic inheritance could play a significant role in determining who does or does not suffer panic attacks. While people with no family history of panic disorder can also suffer, studies of identical twins where one reports panic disorder also show that from 31 to 88 percent of the other twins are also afflicted.

Evidence also indicates that children whose parents have an overly cautious view of the world or who model a negative or pessimistic view tend to be more at risk of having panic attacks, particularly when additional stress is present.

Physical causes

Children suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), hypoglycemia, or other diseases that affect the way the brain functions are believed to be at greater risk of developing panic disorder or having panic attacks. In fact, almost any chronic disease can subject the sufferer to panic attacks.

Children with phobias often have panic attacks in conjunction with exposure to the source of the phobia.

Medical and chemical causes

Feelings of panic or anxiety are listed as side effects of certain medications such as Ritalin or some antibiotics. Alcohol, caffeine, and some illegal drugs are also known to trigger panic attacks.

Changes or stress in a child’s personal life

Whenever stress is introduced into a child’s environment, the risk of panic attacks or panic disorder is increased. Loss of a loved one, the introduction of a new child into the family, or a pending move, are all events that can induce panic attacks in children. Children who have been subjected to physical, mental, or sexual abuse also have a heightened risk of suffering panic attacks.

Often children get beyond panic attacks as soon as the anxiety-producing element is removed from the environment, or is explained. For instance, when a new sibling in the family causes anxiety for a child, allowing the child to get to know the new baby, or even helping take care of it, will alleviate the situation. In cases of severe trauma, such as abuse, professional therapy and medication might be required to affect a cure.

A starting point in helping a child get over a panic attack is to establish communication as soon as the child is calm again. Getting a child to verbalize what is causing fear is helpful in understand the reason for their fear and to help them get beyond it. Maintaining open and candid conversation with your child, in fact, is a way to help prevent most panic episodes. What you don’t want to do, however, is appear to be trivializing the child’s fears. Keep in mind that the ‘monster’ under your child’s bed is ‘real’ in his or her mind. Merely saying that there’s nothing there won’t help the situation, and can even make it worse. It can also damage your long-term relationship with the child. Patiently helping the child work through the fears and see reality is the best way to go.

Whether you seek professional help, or decide your child’s panic attack symptoms are mild enough for natural treatment, don’t let this situation go unaddressed. Unresolved childhood phobias and anxieties can resurface later in adulthood in a much more serious form. Untreated panic attacks, or chronic panic disorder has a devastating effect on a child’s life; and later in adulthood, making relationships difficult and ruining the quality of life.

To learn more about how to overcome panic attacks please review the Panic Puzzle Program, available for $70.

Panic attacks, episodes of incredibly intense fear or anxiety that come on suddenly, often without warning, can occur anytime at any place. These episodes, characterized sometimes by feeling that one is having a heart attack or dying, or a feeling of impending doom, can last from a few seconds to as much as half an hour.

One of the most dangerous places to suffer a panic attack is when you’re behind the wheel of a car. Imagine, you’re driving your kid home from school, or driving the local office car pool, and suddenly, you find it hard to breathe, you experience chest pains, and you feel as if you’re about to die. Depending upon the road conditions, the speed of travel, and many other factors, this level of distraction could have disastrous consequences, not only for you, but for those in the vehicle with you, as well as others on the road.

Panic attacks can strike anyone, but certain people are more at risk than others. Persons with a family history of panic attacks or disorder, those who have suffered a traumatic incident or a significant change in their life, and people – especially adolescents – with parents prone to negativism or overly cautious or fearful behavior patterns. Panic attacks cannot really be predicted, nor really can they be prevented. Knowledge of the reasons for panic attacks, however, can help to mitigate the severe effect. If you suspect you suffer from chronic panic attacks, or panic disorder, it is advisable to seek medical diagnosis and treatment, as this can also be a sign of some other more serious physical disorder.

Understanding that you are having a panic attack and not a heart attack, as difficult as that might seem under such stressful circumstances, could spell the difference between getting home safely and being involved in a catastrophic accident. Analyzing your situation to determine if you’re at greater risk is the first step. Having regular physical checkups to ensure you have no other physical problems also helps. When the panic attack hits, its helpful to be able to tell yourself, “It’s not a heart attack, my doctor just gave me a clean bill of health.”

Whenever you suffer a panic attack, the first thing you should try to do is remain calm, but this is especially important if you happen to be behind the wheel of several tons of rapidly moving steel on the highway. Deep breathing, but avoid mouth breathing which can cause hyperventilation and exacerbate your feeling of panic; tensing and relaxing the main muscle groups; and visualizations of calm images can help to ease the feelings of anxiety, and some of the physical symptoms as well. The important thing is to continue to maintain control of the vehicle until you can safely exit the travel lanes and park. This might be difficult if you’re on a heavily traveled motorway such as an Interstate, or if you’re in the middle of rush hour traffic, but it is important that you not allow your symptoms to distract you from the safe operation of your car.

Once you’ve been able to safely stop and park the car, do a mental assessment to make sure you’re not really suffering some physical attack. A panic attack will normally peak within about ten minutes, and as the symptoms begin to fade, you should be able to resume normal driving. If symptoms last longer than 30 minutes, seek immediate emergency medical attention.

If you have another licensed driver with you in the vehicle, after safely stopping and parking, let that person take over behind the wheel. If you’re the only licensed driver, and particularly if you’re transporting children, it’s important that you try to avoid actions that might cause panic among your passengers. For children, an explanation that you suddenly didn’t feel well, so you pulled over until the ‘fainting spell’ passed will help. A little humor at this point will not only help ease your passengers’ concerns, but it might also help to ease your own anxiety.

Situations To Avoid

If you suspect you might be prone to panic attacks, there are a number of driving situations you should try to avoid.

High-speed roadways: Some of our expressways, Interstates, and other limited access roadways are crowded with all manner of vehicles moving at high speeds. The distraction of a panic attack on an Interstate highway surrounded by 18-wheelers moving at sixty-plus miles per hour could be fatal. If you can, take alternate routes with lower speed limits and less traffic to give yourself that extra margin of safety should a panic attack occur.

Hazardous roadways: This should be a no-brainer. Mountainous roads or roads with many hairpin turns and blind curves are no place for a person at risk of a panic attack.

Places with heavy pedestrian traffic: Often pedestrians will step into the roadway, under the assumption that motorist are paying attention. This isn’t always true even under normal circumstances, but if you’re driving the car approaching the intersection, and a panic attack strikes, you’re going to have a lot on your mind. This is especially true in school zones that don’t have crossing guards. If you know that an area will have heavy pedestrian traffic at certain times, try and avoid it if you can.

In our mobile age, it is nearly impossible for anyone to get along without a car. Much of the foregoing advice will be extremely difficult for most of us to follow one hundred percent of the time. Having it in mind, however, will arm you with a better ability to deal with a panic attack and not end up in a worse situation.

To learn more about how to overcome panic attacks please review the Panic Puzzle Program, available for $70.

Approximately 19 million Americans suffer from at least one panic attack in their lifetimes. A panic attack is a sudden feeling of fear or anxiety that comes on without much or any warning, lasts from seconds to as much as half an hour, and is often described as one of the most intensely frightening and unsettling experiences a person can have.

Panic attacks were once dismissed as just stress or nerves, but doctors now acknowledge that it is a real medical condition. Moreover, it is a condition that, if not treated, can be thoroughly disruptive to one’s social life and emotional wellbeing, as well as posing significant physical risks.

Most people who suffer panic attacks will only have one or two in a lifetime, but some people suffer chronic panic attacks, or panic disorder. This is a medical condition that should be diagnosed and treated by a medical professional. Sometimes medication can alleviate symptoms, and at other times psychological therapy is needed.

It is also possible to help yourself through some of the distress of panic attacks. Following are some of the actions you can take to help yourself mitigate some of the anxiety and fear that comes with panic attacks.

Know the physical symptoms: List the symptoms you experience when you suffer a panic attack. A symptom diary is helpful here; in which you can record the time and duration of the attack, the symptoms, and the events surrounding the attack. This can help you determine what triggers your panic attacks, which can then enable you to avoid or deal with it.

Understand your body’s reaction to stress: Individuals respond to stressful situations in different ways. The flight-or-fight response, when triggered, will yield different results depending on the individual. Again, you can use your diary to record how your body responds to various stress or panic attack producing situations.

Change your attitude: Once you know how you react to various situations, work to change how you view them. A good rule of thumb here is, develop the attitude “If I can fix it, I fix it; If I can’t fix it, I don’t worry about it.” This might seem cold and callous, but it’s a very pragmatic approach to life that alleviates a lot of stress. Practice positive visualization to counteract negative emotions or thoughts which could help contribute to additional panic attacks.

Learn to breathe: Practice breathing slowly and deeply through your nose. Minimize rapid mouth breathing that can cause you to hyperventilate, which can increase discomfort and stress.

Learn to relax: Take up yoga or meditation as a way to cast off the day’s frustration. Tensing and then relaxing the muscles of the body is an effective way to ease physical stress and enhance mental and emotional wellbeing.

There are a number of websites that offer advice on relieving anxiety and stopping panic attacks, as well as a number of books that list stress reduction and fear mitigation techniques. There are literally thousands of sites devoted exclusively to offering advice on controlling, coping with, and overcoming panic attacks with self help and/or drug treatment. Some of the advice offered is complicated and has not been subject to clinical testing. Most, however, is common sense advice regarding knowing what causes panic attacks, and develop mental coping methods to alleviate anxiety. What will work for some won’t for others, so the best advice anyone can offer is, if you suffer panic attacks, learn as much as possible about how your body and mind responds to stress and develop techniques that suit your unique situation.

Left unaddressed, panic attacks, or worse, chronic panic attacks or panic disorder, can totally destroy your social life and make your personal life a living hell. The bottom line of most of the panic attack self help advice is that to overcome panic attacks you have to take control of your own life, rather than letting feelings of anxiety and fear take control. Knowing what triggers fear or anxiety in your mind, and how your body reacts to such triggers, is the first step in removing the burden of panic attacks from your life.

To learn more about how to overcome panic attacks please review the Panic Puzzle Program, available for $70.