Control Anxiety Attacks – How to Keep Yourself Calm?

 

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Control Anxiety Attacks – How to Overcome Travel Fears?

“I travelled to Washington” – A Panic Away Success Story

A Panic Away member describes how she overcame her fear of travelling on a three-hour drive to Washington. Christine used Panic Away techniques to control her anxiety on this journey. 

“Getting ready to leave Friday evening, I started to get really nervous about our three -hour drive to D.C. to visit my fiance’s sister and her fiance. I even started to shake and sweat a little towards the beginning.

But this time, I was able to use Panic Away’s techniques and not let it escalate. I sat in the car and took note of my sensations, and tried to embrace them as best I could. Then I told the panic to do its worst. And I trusted my body to take care of itself. And it did! The panic symptoms faded about 45 minutes into the car ride.

Now that I understand my panic symptoms I am able to ride them out better. Before, the panic would only escalate, until the point where I’d be paralyzed in the car, crying from the panic. And getting to my destination didn’t usually make it better, I’d have general anxiety throughout the whole trip.

But this weekend I was able to enjoy everything we did! We saw the monuments, went out to dinner, went to a busy food expo among hundreds of other people, and took the metro (which used to make me feel claustrophobic). And it felt so liberating! It was SUCH a confidence booster.

I was afraid I’d never be able to have a normal trip again but I am! And next weekend I am flying to Florida and after this weekend I am starting to really look forward to the trip….whoo!”

Christine used the 21 second countdown four simple steps to control her anxiety by observing, embracing, demanding more, and trusting.  Congratulations Christine!  There is no stopping you now, we are all rooting for you on your next journey.

Control Anxiety Attacks – How to Overcome College Freshmen Fears?

Feel Your College Fear and Do It Anyway!

Many people have preconceived notions of what college will be like. They have seen it in movies. It’s where you meet your best friends, have great sex and an amazing social life.

When this doesn’t happen many people can feel down about it. Maybe they didn’t click with a group in their class or don’t have the right people to socialize with.

They go home in the evening and wonder why they are not having a great ‘college experience’.

Maybe you feel something similar?

What many people don’t tell you is that the first year in college is actually quite an anxious year. You are no longer in the safety net of your old school where you knew everyone; this is all new and scary. It is an extremely nerve-wrecking time for almost everyone (even if they do a good job of hiding it).

The anxiety start before you even begin college.

Will I know anyone? Will anyone talk to me? Will they like me?
What if they all know each other already? What if I am late?
What if I say something really dumb?

Even once you have established a group of friends, classes can still be a cause of anxiety. You are learning new topics and may feel out of your depth. Many are afraid to ask questions for a fear of ‘sounding stupid’

What if it is way too hard for me? What if I don’t understand the topic?

If you haven’t made friends yet, then a cause of anxiety may be who to sit next to and where will you go on your break in between classes? No one wants to be seen as a loner.

The freedom of college is great but its damn stressful too!

To help ease college anxiety here are a few tips

 7 things to help make college life less stressful.

1.  Remembering everyone is in the same boat- they are all out of their comfort zone even though they hide it well.

2.  If you see that someone is alone, talk to them.  You will be amazed at how well people respond.

3.  Don’t wait to be chosen -choose yourself. If you don’t think your class is social enough or you aren’t getting to know them then organize a night out, or a trip or even set up a Facebook page where you can all chat.

4.  Branch out. Don’t just try to make friends in your class. Joining societies is by far the best way to meet people who share your interests. That’s where you will meet the people you have most in common with.

5.  You are paying them. Remember that lecturers are being paid to help you. Take advantage of that and approach them. 95% of other student won’t. You can email them and ask to meet for a coffee to get extra help or insight with a part of your course that you struggle with. (Might help with the grades too as they then know you are interested)

6. Ask for help.  Most universities have free doctors and counselling services, use them if you need to.

7. It is going to fly by. College years are some the best years of your life but they zip by so enjoy them and do as much as you can. You will spend years later wishing you were back there so try and make the most of it even if you find it stressful at times.

Feel your college fear and do it anyway!

To learn how to control anxiety attacks, watch these 2 videos below –

Panic Attack Treatment: 2 Proven Techniques + 5 Must-Know Facts (New Research)

Rethinking anxiety: Learning to face fear | Dawn Huebner | TEDxAmoskeagMillyardWomen

By Barry McDonagh, who is an international panic disorder coach. He created the Panic Away program to help people around the world deal with their anxiety and avoid panic attacks – a subject that he is personally attuned to because he himself found that he was prone to these issues since he was young. His hatred of his powerless lead him down the path of finding natural ways to treat himself without having to depend on expensive medications.

His informative site on all issues related to panic and anxiety attacks can be found here: Control Anxiety Attacks – How to Keep Yourself Calm?

Anxiety Coping Tips – Comparing Your Anxiety to an Unwelcome Visitor

 

CLICK HERE to Get Immediate Relief from Anxiety & Panic Attack

Anxiety is Your Guard Dog

My family used to have this great dog called Shadow.

He was a cross between a collie and black Labrador. (See him above)

He used to sit all day long in the front room of our house waiting for anyone to come to the front door. When someone would finally arrive, he would go absolutely bonkers!

Until…we invited the person in.

If we kept the person at the door, (for example the Fed-ex guy), he would bounce off the walls barking loudly with all the hair standing on his back.

No matter how hard you tried to tell him to lie down and stop barking, he would not listen.

His reasoning was: “I am the guard of this house and if my owner does not invite a person in, then that person is unwanted and therefore a threat.”

I sometimes used to keep friends standing at the door for a few minutes and then let them in (if they were brave enough), just to see the change in Shadow’s reaction.

It was the same every time. Once they passed the front door, he would immediately stop barking and sit back down on his seat.

Anxiety is just like a guard dog. It is your protector.

It is your fight or flight response activated by the emotional part of your brain designed to keep you from harm.

It needs you the owner (your rational brain) to reassure it that the unusual bodily sensations, that pay you a visit, are not a real threat and that all is well.

But just saying ‘everything is OK, calm down now’ does not work.

Just like Shadow, it responds much better to your actions. You need to mentally invite the anxiety in.

If you keep the door on anxiety closed, your emotional brain thinks that the threat is real and there is something to be afraid of.

When you invite your anxious sensations in with total acceptance of them, your emotional brain (your guard dog) backs off and calms down.

So don’t keep all your anxious bodily sensations knocking on the door upsetting your guard dog.

Open the door and let them in.

Accept them fully and watch as your guard dog settles back down into a calm state.

Barry

“How I learnt to Accept + Let Go’ A Panic Away Success Story

The central theme in the panic away program is ACCEPTANCE. The key to recovery is to allow the anxiety to come back. Complete 100% acceptance of all that you feel is crucial for the anxiety symptoms to lessen and eventually fade away.

It sounds simple, but it is far from it. True acceptance of your anxiety and sensations is extremely difficult and challenging and takes time. Panic Away member Ella describes her journey to full acceptance and how a simple re-phrasing of the word ‘acceptance’ to ‘letting go’ helped her overcome her anxiety.

Acceptance was the hardest thing for me to do. I didn’t understand how I was supposed to “accept” all these symptoms, condition etc. It felt so awful that it made no sense to me. I did think about it long and hard and tried to turn “acceptance” in something I was able to do.

I turned “acceptance” into “letting go”. I let go of the life I use to live without anxiety. I stopped thinking I want my life back, I want to be the old me. I let go of the twisted attachment I had to feeling horrible cause that’s all I knew. I accepted that I had anxiety and panic and I accepted that it was going to take a lot of work to get better.

Once you learn to keep your symptoms at bay it will be a lot easier for you to accept.  I never really accepted my symptoms but I did stop caring for them. I paid them no attention. I didn’t love them nor care for them. This is how I treated my symptoms at first:

Have you ever had to hang out with someone all day that drove you crazy, you wanted to pull out your hair because of them, they got on your nerves, they made you angry and simply irritated? Hopefully you have! I think we all have!

Well in the morning look at your symptoms as the “un welcomed visitors” like you have to hang out with them you have no choice. So welcome the un welcomed visitors, let them know you don’t care for them, you won’t pay attention to them, but this is the situation and you are stuck with them and you are going to go on with your day not paying attention to them.

If you had person in your house that you couldn’t stand all day I’m sure you wouldn’t “check in” with them to make them feel at ease or ask if they wanted anything etc. You would probably ignore them. The more you do this the more that person you don’t like won’t want to hang out at your house, they eventually leave and don’t want to come back. It’s the same thing with symptoms.

Treat them as un welcomed visitors. This worked for me. I refused to check it. You have anxiety you don’t have serious deathly illness. Nothing will happen. You are safe, just uncomfortable.
Hopefully this makes sense to you cause explaining it is not the easiest! lol
Kim “

To get more anxiety coping tips, watch these 2 videos below–

Meditation Music for Anxiety & Panic Attacks: Depression & Stress Healing Music, Relax Mind Body

How to cope with anxiety | Olivia Remes | TEDxUHasselt

By Barry McDonagh, who is an international panic disorder coach. He created the Panic Away program to help people around the world deal with their anxiety and avoid panic attacks – a subject that he is personally attuned to because he himself found that he was prone to these issues since he was young. His hatred of his powerless lead him down the path of finding natural ways to treat himself without having to depend on expensive medications.

His informative site on all issues related to panic and anxiety attacks can be found here: Anxiety Coping Tips – Comparing Your Anxiety to an Unwelcome Visitor

Calm Anxiety Attack – How to Stop Worrying About Everything?

 

CLICK HERE to Get Immediate Relief from Anxiety & Panic Attack

Panic Away Has Changed My Life – A Panic Away Success Story

Today I received a Facebook message from Panic Away member, Stephanie. She wanted to share her story with everyone.  Stephanie started having Panic Attacks 5 years ago and it ruled her life. She missed days of work, she could not go on long journeys and she couldn’t even get into the car with her partner.  With thanks to Panic Away, Stephanie is back to her old self- relaxed, happy and loving life.

Approximately 5 years ago I started having panic attacks. At first, I wasn’t sure what was going on. I would            lose feeling in my hands and feet, feel incredibly dizzy and a bit ‘dreamlike’, my breathing gets shallow             and I felt like I needed the bathroom. All at once! I started to get really nervous and anxious about going         out. Scared that I would be stuck out in public and suffer a panic attack and not be able to escape or hide        from public eye. The thought of being stuck in a car, in traffic was the worst. Even going for a walk was a       scary thought, what would happen if I was halfway through my walk and it happened?

I started to feel nervous and anxious all the time, which resulted in some periods of ‘nervous belly’ and the urgency to use the bathroom. This was just another thing that scared me! In fact, I was now more concerned about this happening to me in public, than having a panic attack. I knew that not a lot of people would know from looking at me that I was suffering a panic attack. But what if I started running around begging for somebody to tell me where the bathroom is?

 I get the train 50 minutes one way to work in the city. At my worst, for a long time, the train trip was something I would dread all the time. From the minute I got off a train, I started worrying about the trip home in 9 hours. What if the train broke down and I was stuck in it and I needed to go to the bathroom because I was nervous? What if it broke down in between train stations and we were stuck there with no way for me to escape or get out?

 I missed work. There were days I just couldn’t do it.

 My self-planned treatment was to stop eating before I had to go anywhere, in the hopes that this would mean I couldn’t feel unwell. I have been Lexapro (10mg daily) for 4.5 years. I am not sure if it helps or not. But i take it, and I have never stopped. I have seen three different therapists in the hope of helping me deal with my panic and anxiety disorder, and what seemed to be my agorophobia.

At my worst, I couldn’t pop down the shops, just a two-minute drive away. I never went in the car with anybody, not even my partner. He would drive separately to thinks just so I could avoid being caught out in public.

 In April 2013, my partner proposed to me. In May 2013, my close friend asked me to be her bridesmaid. How was I going to go in a car to the weddings? How was I going to walk slowly down an aisle and not want to run away and be on my own somewhere comfortable? It was time to bust my butt and do something! I tried meditation, I tried a prescription of Valium, I tried drinking champagne a lot before we had to go out! I was getting frustrated with my therapists who would teach me how to deal with an episode once it started, not how to stop having them in the first place.

Being assured that if it ever happened in public, people would help me and not judge me was helpful, but it didn’t stop me from having a panic attack, or getting so anxious I felt the need to escape.

A few months ago I signed up for the Panic Away newsletters. I decided to purchase the treatment once I realised all the self-help books I was reading and the relaxation exercises were not working.

For the last three months, I have not stopped myself from doing anything. I walk my dog every night. I go in the car with family and friends. I look forward to my friends’ wedding and my wedding, instead of dreading them! I am not going to pretend that I do all these things without any sign of anxiousness. Sometimes on walks I can feel my hands start to tingle and I know it’s time to start counting down. Sometimes I have anxious thoughts about whether or now I should eat before I go out, or if perhaps I should drive myself to dinner… but I don’t let them stop me.

 Panic Away has literally changed my life. I am happy, relaxed and excited for things for the first time in a long time. My partner, family and friends don’t have to do everything the way I plan to make myself feel better, we can be spontaneous! I cannot recommend and thank Panic Away enough. I don’t have the words.

To learn how to calm anxiety attack, watch these 2 videos –

The First Tasks in Overcoming Anxiety, Panic, Worry, and OCD

How To Calm Down During A Panic Attack

By Barry McDonagh, who is an international panic disorder coach. He created the Panic Away program to help people around the world deal with their anxiety and avoid panic attacks – a subject that he is personally attuned to because he himself found that he was prone to these issues since he was young. His hatred of his powerless lead him down the path of finding natural ways to treat himself without having to depend on expensive medications.

His informative site on all issues related to panic and anxiety attacks can be found here: Calm Anxiety Attack – How to Stop Worrying About Everything?

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Treatment – How to Manage Your Excessive Worries?

 

CLICK HERE to Get Immediate Relief from Anxiety & Panic Attack

‘Panic Away taught me Strength, Courage, Security and Self-Reliance in ONE WEEK!’

Carly was in a bad place and suffering from anxiety and panic attacks. She thanks God that she found Panic Away.  Read on to see how Carly’s progress after only one week with the Panic Away program.

Hi everyone,

If you’ve been following my posts up until now, you would know that just 2 weeks ago, I was a wreck of myself. GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) had me by my throat and mercilessly had me bended at my knees. I was about to reach the point of falling off the edge of the earth.

Two weeks ago, I asked Akua (God) to please!… please help me!, I’m alone, I’m afraid, I’m physically exhausted, I’m broken down mentally and emotionally, I’m frantic, I’m fragile, I can’t cry , I can’t breathe. And nobody understands what this feels like. I don’t wanna die, but I don’t wanna live like this. Please help me find a way to “hold-on”. Insanity was my world, two weeks ago today.

One week ago today, it was DESTINY that I happened to come across a weblink that lead me to PANIC AWAY’s video ad that described my life, and offered me the opportunity to end it. To end the insanity.

Thank Akua (God), I found you! (Panic Away and this forum). The same day, within one hour of viewing the video online, I got a good understanding of what was being asked of me and whole-heartedly opened myself up to all the possibilities, to dare myself to challenge my fear. I looked at my fear in the face, and though I trembled I did not move.

In the calmness of my insanity I called its bluff, and I found my STRENGTH!!! I dared to challenge my phobias of wide and small spaces, I found COURAGE. Crowds in a restaurant, driving a car to my destination, running on a treadmill, I found SECURITY. Harnessing my panic attacks w/my newly armed techniques, I found SELF RELIANCE. Giving up my medications I found TRUST.

Surviving that in a “days” work, I found my sense of SELF again. But most importantly I found HOPE.

Perhaps my desperation, and the desperation in the face of my loved ones pushed me and willed me to get better. I can think of a hundred reasons or more. But definitely sheer DETERMINATION and HOPE are the beacons that got me through.

So here I am, one week later to tell you there IS hope for everyone, doesn’t matter how long you’ve tried. DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED… the possibilities are “wide open”, theres no “expiration date”… when you’re ready, armed with your courage and an attitude of fearlessness, and the trusting knowledge of the program and those who have succeeded, take a deep breath and dive-in.

Think of it as a baptism, a right of passage to a better life. Freedom from fear. Freedom to start living again. Permission to leave the prison you’re in.

In a week, I am a testament to that.

Although I’m still a work in progress,

My phobias are gone.

My panic attacks seem to have dissipated.

I haven’t had an anxiety attack since.

I take no more medications.

I had one setback (but have since moved on)

I’m getting used to dealing with my bodies annoying sensations. Its boiled down to one general sensation that’s with me all the time. The sensation of a compressed chest. But that’s all it is… a sensation. It feels like I can’t breathe but I AM breathing.

So some nights I stay up and do my breathing exercises to relax until it tells me we’re ready to go back to sleep. Something tells me this is balled up energy of anxiousness/fear/nervousness but, I believe lifestyle changes, and a renewed and healthy attitude about life will get me pass this someday.

This is manageable FREEDOM. I’m already a success! But I am aiming for the prize. A new and improved me with a life free from GAD. Is that possible? Where I am now?… its already a miracle. Thank you Akua, I knew you were there!

To get more ideas about generalized anxiety disorder treatment, watch these 2 videos –

Generalized Anxiety Disorder: The CBT Approach

6 Tips To Treat Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

By Barry McDonagh, who is an international panic disorder coach. He created the Panic Away program to help people around the world deal with their anxiety and avoid panic attacks – a subject that he is personally attuned to because he himself found that he was prone to these issues since he was young. His hatred of his powerless lead him down the path of finding natural ways to treat himself without having to depend on expensive medications.

His informative site on all issues related to panic and anxiety attacks can be found here: Generalized Anxiety Disorder Treatment – How to Manage Your Excessive Worries?

Jane Shares Her 5 Tips for Reducing Anxiety

 

CLICK HERE to Get Immediate Relief from Anxiety & Panic Attack

When Jane found Panic Away she found great comfort in the realization that she was not alone. Jane had suffered from panic attacks since the age of 12 and knowing that others were going through the same thing helped her tremendously.  Jane used to have a fear of flying and would not get on a flight.

Now, she is married to a pilot and flies at least 12 times a year on both long and short flights.

Alongside the Panic Away program, Jane also discovered many tips and tricks that were valuable tools for her on her journey towards an anxiety free life.

Find out what her 5 tips for reducing anxiety are below:

“Once I discovered I wasn’t alone it helped tremendously and the Panic Away course was the only course I ever purchased. When I was at my panic peak I’d spend a lot of time on the forum and when I am ok, I don’t use it. It’s good to know it’s there should I need it.

Now I know it will pass and I’m not alone. I’ve also learned it helps:

1. To get good sleep,

2. To have achieved a level of fitness as hyperventilation starts when I’m unfit.

3. To maintain a good weight.

4. To eat regularly and to not skip meals. I keep biscuits or energy bars in my bag if I know I might miss a meal.

5. Writing down my blessings when I feel an uneasiness start. I’m more anxious when I’m unwell which, thank goodness, is rare.

Point 5 is of utmost importance because when you write down your gratitude, you fill your consciousness with positive thoughts and vibes. This immediately lifts your spirits and I feel the calmness seep into me. As a child I’d sing hymns or read psalms from the bible. Anything positive to distract from the attack.

It’s very hard to convince someone in the middle of an attack that it will pass. When you feel like you’re dying it’s hard to think logically. This is the key time to use what you’ve learned. I used to be terrified of flying, afraid an attack would start at 36000 feet.

Now I’m married to a pilot and fly at least 12 times a year mostly long haul flights of over 6 hours in length. The trick is to have many and varied distractions. I have my kindle, my knitting, my iPad, where I write affirmations if I feel uneasy.

I do not take any form of drugs to control my anxiety. The thought of a drug controlling my problem doesn’t sit well with me. Therefore, it’s important I learned to control the attacks naturally.

Thankfully over the years the attacks have lessened and I’ve not had a major attack in over 20 years. I raised my kids to speak of their problems and should they have an attack to call me. Thankfully they don’t have this affliction. I used the lessons of my fear-ridden childhood to raise my children differently and it’s paid off. I’m very grateful for that”

To get more tips for reducing anxiety, watch this video – 6 Simple Ways To Reduce Anxiety

“Trust me it gets better” – Louise’s Success Story

Louise’s anxiety got so bad that it prevented her from going to College or Work. She couldn’t go out in public, eat or even just enjoy a movie. After practising the Panic Away techniques and using the forum, Louise now describes herself as an incredibly happy person. She is enjoying work, and living her life.

” My anxiety started back in October, it was so bad, that I had to cancel my plans to go to college, and not go into work.

I thought I was doing good all through November and I got enough courage to fly into work in December. However, my anxiety got the best of me when I went up to work and I was sent home after 4 days because I had a panic attack.

It sent me right back to square one, I couldn’t go anywhere public, to eat or enjoy a movie. I thought I had been doing so well but I was back at the beginning. I tried going on long-term anti- anxiety meds two times and both times it made it worse and just didn’t help me one bit.

So I really started using Barry’s techniques, and learning to accept myself and my feelings. I started talking with a great counsellor and journaling really helped me too. I really prepared myself for when I had to return to work again. It had been a whole 4 months since I had done a rotation at camp.

But I just did my first week at work since October and it went AMAZING. I have so much more confidence in myself after getting through it. I was soooo nervous to go on the plane and so nervous to work, my thoughts were going full force a couple days before I went in, but I told myself that I’m safe and it will all be okay. And of course it was!

Just shows how bull sh*t these anxious thoughts are, trying to tell you that things are gonna go horrible but they really aren’t. I finally feel like I’m getting my life back on track, I was in a really bad place the past few months and thought things would never get better and I’d always be like this, but TRUST me it gets better. 

I know I’m still gonna have my challenges, this is only one week of work and I have tons of weeks ahead of me and trips I’d eventually like to take. It will take time I know, but I know I can do it and if I have the strength to do it, you do too.

This program has helped me tremendously. I met someone on here that helped me out so much, and got me through a lot of tough days without even knowing me, and I’m happy to now call him my friend.

There are truly amazing people on here that are brave enough to share their stories and it really helped me when I felt I was spiralling down into darkness, so i wanted to share my story. Trust me there’s a light at the end and it will only get better

Anxiety is one of the worst things I have ever experienced, it’s tough when people don’t understand and you feel alone, but know that you are not. I’m on a high from my success of flying into work, having no troubles there and flying back after I was done my week. I am so incredibly happy, and if you were to know how bad things were for me a couple months ago, you would not see the same person at all”

If you are reading this and are in the same place that Louise was, battling with panic and anxiety, know that you can get better and you can have your life back. You are not alone in this! 

Visit panicaway.com for more information on the program.

By Barry McDonagh, who is an international panic disorder coach. He created the Panic Away program to help people around the world deal with their anxiety and avoid panic attacks – a subject that he is personally attuned to because he himself found that he was prone to these issues since he was young. His hatred of his powerless lead him down the path of finding natural ways to treat himself without having to depend on expensive medications.His informative site on all issues related to panic and anxiety attacks can be found here: Anxiety Distraction Ideas – Tips for Reducing Anxiety