Dealing with Anxiety and Panic Attacks - theory versus practice

Some of the strategies you should try to adopt when you are becoming or have become anxious and panicky;

STOP!

BREATHE-in-pause- out slowly through the mouth, breathing lower down from the abdomen rather than the upper chest if possible

POSITIVE SELF TALK - telling yourself it is just a lowered threshold to events causing your primitive brain to release chemicals into to your body, and LET IT ALL GO, I AM OK, YOU ARE OK

YOU ARE OK - you just need to teach your primitive brain to stand down by letting all the feelings and sensations flow over and past you without dwelling on any of it, despite how much your primitive brain wants you to dwell on it, Your primitive brain is not in charge, you are in charge!

IT'S ALL OK - 'there is nothing to get freaked out about primitive brain so just LET IT ALL GO, I AM OK, YOU ARE OK'

IT WILL PASS - I have felt good before and I WILL feel good again.

FOCUS - not on the feelings and sensations, but on something constructive even if it is just a maths problem in your head or maybe trying to think of a funny poem about what you are going through, exercise, reading, crossword, Sudoku, something that can fully occupy your mind in a constructive way. Don't give yourself permission to dwell on the feelings and sensations of anxiety, its just your primitive brain having a tantrum, freaking out about things LET IT GO. By focusing on other things we can, in time teach our primitive brain that it really is OK and you are OK and over time, through practice, which means facings fears rather than avoiding them, but facing them to deal with anxiety  such as those mentioned above.

If the anxiety seems to come on randomly and without a trigger then you just deal with it in the same way, LET IT GO, YOU ARE OK

DON'T FIGHT IT, you would be just fighting with yourself, just LET IT GO, try to be almost bored with the anxious feeling and sensations. and focus on other things.

Remember that you are normal, it is just your primitive brain has got into the bad habit of being in control. All bad habits can be broken, and replaced with good habits. it takes time and practice and patience but by not giving your anxiety and panic permission to take over, by letting it go, flowing past you with disinterest, you will be giving your primitive brain signals that it can be calm and it's all OK.