Retraining Your Brain Is Key To Overcoming Panic Attacks
Panic attacks are scary. No doubt about it. Your anxiety shoots up, your chest tightens, heart pounds and escape seems like the only option. To make matters worse, panic attacks seem to pop out of thin air. You do not have to suffer with panic attacks. They are very responsive to treatment.
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).
Part one is changing the way you think. Cognitive behavioral therapy will teach you exactly how to turn off the panic attack. Think of the panic attack as an alarm that has sounded. The thing is, it is a false alarm.
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.
So one of the first things you should do is challenge the thoughts that feed the panic attack. Get a piece of paper and a pen. Divide it into three columns. Label the first column “body sensation, ” the second column as “misinterpreted thought, ” and the third column “alternative explanation.”
In the first column you will list each feeling you have during an attack on a separate line. In the next column you will write out exactly what thoughts are going through your head at the time of the feeling. Next, come up with another explanation that will explain the feelings.
Misinterpreted thoughts will end and, in turn, your anxiety will decrease over time. Each challenged false thought that is replaced with the reality of the situation will retrain your brain to see that there is nothing to fear from the feelings you feel.
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.
Studies have show that the cognitive behavioral therapy modality is one of the best ways to overcoming panic attacks. Seek out a trained professional to help you perfect the nuances of this therapy.
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Posted on December 14, 2009 by Admin
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