The previous posts were all about panic attacks or any stressful situation. You read how you can handle them, what positive thoughts you can think of and more. But now it is time for some advice that sums everything up. So read this carefully and remember it! This can help you in any situation.
Stop the fear
First thing you have to do when you are panicing is visualizing a stop sign to stop the fear-thought-process and then you have to look at the fear, write it down if you have to! You have to say to yourself is this a real fear, am I in any danger or is this an irrational thought that I am putting in my head? Once you decide what the fear is then you can do something to change it. If you are in danger, what can you do to protect yourself? If it is an irrational fear thought, what can you do to change how you are thinking and feel safe?
Distracting
We are the ones who are putting the fear thoughts in our head and we have two choices, to continue feeding them and let the anxiety grow or change how we are thinking. Or to change how you are thinking, you need to get distracted with other thoughts. Sometimes this takes doing something physical, we have to use the tools that work for us. And a tool is anything that will distract you mentally or physically. So start drawing or start saying the ABC back and forward. Just distract yourself!
Break it down
We have to learn how to break things down, once we can do that then we are not dealing with huge fears Then we can look at them for what they are: irrational thoughts, anticiapations,what if's and nothing more. Nothing that is going to hurt us in anyway. Here come some thoughts that might be holding you back:
- I am not in control. Quite the contrary you are in control. You are the one who knows more about controlling panic than anyone and you know how to help yourself.
- What if I panic and nobody is around? So what if you have that panic when nobody is around? What can anyone do for you that you cannot do for yourself? Can anyone else know what your panic feels like or can they abort the attack for you? No, but you can do that.
- Panic feels so bad and it might hurt me. The symptoms of panic feel bad but thats all and it wont last. The attack wont last and if you use the tools and good positive self talk you can abort it. Breathe deeply, no shallow breathing. The good oxygen alone will keep you from panic.
- I cant manage to do things alone. You can do anything alone that you can do with others. Think different about it, do not allow fear to stop you. You have the power over panic, nobody else. You have the power to abort it and breathe right thru it, relax and continue for you need nobody but yourself to achieve. Trust yourself to take care of you the way you take good care of others. You are safe with you!
- What if I'm trapped in a situation? You are never trapped in any situation so dont create that trapped feeling thru stinkin thinking. You can stop with what you are doing. You can think positively and abort any feelings of anxiety. You must just trust yourself enough to get out there and prove it. Whats the worst that could happen..a bit of panic and it can be aborted and brought down. Thats the worst and panic is not as big a deal as we have created it to be in our minds.
I really hope these things were helpful and will get you start doing things again! You shouldn't let fear run your life, you should run your life! Make bold decesions and start creating memories. If you have any further questions or if you just simply want to talk, you can always leave a comment or a message!