Panic attacks are distressing. The symptoms feel very physical. So much so, that it is common for people to rush to hospital thinking they are having a heart attack or similar serious emergency. Many years ago I had a number of panic attacks. I can understand and empathise with what you might be experiencing. If you are looking for help to reduce or eliminate panic attacks, hypnotherapy can help. Click here for details.
If you are wondering how to overcome a panic attack. It is first important to remember that a panic attack, though distressing, is simply heightened anxiety and is not dangerous and can’t kill you. I found hypnotherapy really helped me to reduce my panic attacks. However, important also is to reduce your overall level of anxiety too. It is extremely important to address the causes of your panicky feelings.
Are there areas of your life, at present, that feel unstable, stressful or anxiety inducing? During London hypnotherapy for panic attacks sessions, I look at these too. Hypnotherapy will help you feel calmer. However time must be given to address the issues or challenges that are prompting your anxiety as well.
If you would like to discover how to overcome a panic attack, take a look at this short video. You will find a transcript of the video below. For information about how I help people reduce anxiety and panic attacks in North West London, click here.
How to overcome a panic attack video transcript
Welcome to this video in which we will talk about how to overcome a panic attack. Before we get to that, let’s discuss exactly what is a panic attack.
So often a panic attack or high levels of anxiety will feel very physical in their symptoms. You may have a racing heartbeat, you might find you’re sweating, you’re palpitating. It can feel sometimes like you’re having a bit of a heart attack. And in fact it’s quite common that people when they are having a panic attack, will go to A&E and think that they’ve got a heart attack or something like that.
So the real reason that panic attacks come on is because of anxious thoughts that we have. We find ourselves in a situation and we get that fight or flight response. Something has triggered or anxiety levels, but those anxiety levels are higher than they really need to be. And that’s how a panic attack comes on.
I myself, a few years ago, had some panic attacks and it’s not a very pleasant experience. I think that if you’ve ever had high anxiety, you will agree that on the outside you might look to other people like you’re doing really well. You go to work, you follow your daily business, but on the inside you might feel quite fearful and you might feel that you’re really only just holding things together.
So why is it that we have panic attacks? It’s because the body’s response gets heightened and it gets exaggerated, larger than the actual thing that is going on. In the olden days, years ago, when we lived really according to our fears, back in the jungle, back in the forest, when there was something that was a bit scary, it really was about survival. If you think about that bear that was chasing you, you really needed that fight or flight response. If you didn’t move out of the way, if you didn’t fight the bear or you didn’t disappear and run away, you really would be in trouble. However, that part of our brain still operates today and we find that when we’re in a situation that is a little scary, that part of the brain can click in and our level of anxiety can be very high, so high that you can get a panic attack.
Some Helpful Tips to overcome a panic attack
So let me give you a couple of tips and a couple of helpful hints that you can use. I have used these with clients in London. If you ever feel high anxiety or a panic attack, the first thing to remember is that nobody’s ever died of a panic attack. It’s totally harmless. It’s really just those anxious thoughts that are going around your head.
The second tip to help you overcome a panic attack is to find some way to ground yourself and believe that, I mean find a way to feel more present in the present moment. So that might be moving your attention away from those thoughts in your head and moving your attention to just feeling your feet. You might even want to practice that right now. Just moving your attention to feeling your feet or just noticing breathing in and breathing. Perhaps you can have a go at doing that now, as a practice. Just notice breathing in and breathing out. That might be noticing the rise and fall of your tummy or as the air comes in and out of your nostrils. Just being more aware and present of something happening right now. For some people it’s concentrating on a spot that they find in the room, might be a spot on the wall or on the ceiling. Simply just move your attention to something constant in the present moment. That’s why breathing is often used for meditation because it’s something that’s happening right now.
My third tip to overcome a panic attack is to find a way in general, on a daily basis, to increase that relaxation. So look into meditation and look into things like Mindfulness. London has many meditation or Mindfulness classes. Maybe consider exercise that you’re doing that can also be helpful, or going for a walk or spending time in nature.
Try this also – get a piece of paper and write down some of those thoughts that are causing the anxiety. Some of those thoughts or situations, it might be something in your daily life or at work. It might be a thought that you’re having quite repetitively in your mind. As soon as you write it out, you can already feel and notice that you’re feeling less anxiety and concern. By writing it out, this will mean that you can start to think about if there’s something you can practically do to change the situation.
Fourth tip is to just notice some of those thoughts which are a little exaggerated. Those thoughts about the worst case scenario. And if you think about the worst case scenario, think about, well, what would be my plan if that was to actually happen? Probably realistically it won’t happen, but if that was to happen, what would be my plan? What would be my plan for that situation? Great.
So of course I help people reduce anxiety and panic attacks using hypnotherapy, in North West London. My belief is that really you don’t need to have panic attacks. Anybody can be helped with hypnotherapy to reduce their panic attacks. It worked for me a few years ago when I had panic attacks and I’ve used hypnotherapy really successfully with a lot of people. The idea is that you’re actually tuning in and reprogramming your mind to no longer have such a heightened anxiety response. Training the mind to lower that response and increase that feeling of relaxation and calm.
If you would like to find out more about how I help people reduce anxiety and panic attacks, in London, please get in touch today. Send me an email, call, or you can also text me and I’ll call you back. And today could be the day that you begin to reduce that anxiety. Feeling more confident and feeling more empowered about your daily life would using anxiety and feeling calmer. I look forward to speaking to you very soon. Have a great day.
For more information about how to overcome a panic attack and my London hypnotherapy services visit:
London Stress and Anxiety help
