Many people suffering panic attacks don’t know where to begin. They are lost looking for a solution for their panic attacks. There are actually many cures for panic attacks out there and one method you can start using immediately that will help tremendously in helping you not only deal with panic attacks but can serve as a stepping stone to really cure them for good is starting a journal.
Start a Journal
So you’re no Hemingway. Heck, you’re not even a Dr. Seuss. But if you want to begin to dissect your panic attack disorder so you can tackle your recovery step by step, you may have to develop some good journaling habits.
It’s true! One of the best ways to "beat panic attacks at their own game" is to better understand why and when you begin to even start to feel that first twinge of anxiety.
And that may mean sifting through your emotions, and figuring out exactly where they came from. And from there, you can then deflate the fear that accompanies it. Everything is less fearful once you understand it.
If, once you identify the problem, you can trace back why you feel the way you do, then you really have the disorder beat. The anxiety doesn’t have that grip over you anymore. But more than that, you can take the necessary steps to correct the problem.
The journal I’m proposing you write serves a dual purpose. The first part of the writing involves your anxiety level in general as you go about your day. So, be prepared to write in it every day — if you feel anxious on a daily basis.
The second component to this piece of writing is recording your feelings and thoughts specifically about any panic attacks that strike. Here you’ll record how you felt just prior to the attack . . . during the attack . . . and as it subsided. Ideally, you’ll be able to record these ideas while the attack is in progress. (Hey, don’t look at me like that. I know it’s tough. I said "ideally.")
Much of what frightens us during an attack isn’t so much the symptoms themselves, as the sudden and unexpected arrival of the symptoms.
You can compare a panic attack to the occasional self-proclaimed prophet who gets a group of people worried about the end of the world. He is certain that the world will come to an end on this specific date . . . usually a specific time of day as well.
Because of his predictions, individuals are running around, wringing their hands, worrying about what’s going to happen that day. The day finally arrives. The group of individuals who are following the prophet usually gather together with him to face the end together. And then the time comes and goes. And the end never happens.
All that worrying for nothing. A panic attack is like that. Your body sets you up for a momentous, impending stress-filled event. But when the attack is done and over with, no event actually occurred. And you’re left sitting there, trying to pick up the pieces.
What just happened to me, you ask following an attack. Your body was sure you were going to need all that adrenaline and other hormones it was shooting through your body. "Are you sure you don’t need this?" your body asks.
Your job is to get your body to quit predicting the end of the world. And that is what the following chapter is all about. It presents some very simple ways to keep your anxiety level down, your demeanor calm and those irritating panic attacks at bay.