Overcoming Panic Attacks - Strategies and Tips For Driving Anxiety

Panic attacks come in many shapes and sizes, symptoms can include breathlessness, a rapid heartbeat, pains in the chest, feeling faint or sick, tingling or hot and cold flushes and a sense of impending doom. Attacks can be as short as a few seconds but may last up to an hour or several days. Panic attacks and general anxiety can consume your life, robbing you of your confidence and joy. There are a number of strategies and tips that you can use for overcoming panic attacks.

The foods you eat can have a significant effect when it comes to curbing panic attacks.You have to take into consideration the effect of diet on your level of anxiety. There are certain foods that serve as trigger and make you more nervous and anxious. And there are foods that have calming effects and make you strong and stable.

Eat foods rich in the B vitamins because they have calming effects and can deliver nourishment for a healthy nervous system. Under the B vitamin group of nutrients, Vitamin B12, Thiamin, and Niacin have direct bearing to keep your nervous system from being susceptible to panic attacks. In more ways than one, these nutrients can make you more prepared in warding off or in handling nervous disorders.

There are three consumables that may aggravate anxiety disorders. Alcohol is one of these substances. It raises hyperactivity in the nervous system and raises alertness. Just like alcohol, withdrawal from caffeine might spur a secondary anxiety in the form of shaky, irritated, and exhausted feelings. For coffee drinkers, try the decaffeinated variety. Gradually reduce the strength and cut the frequency in which you consume coffee and other caffeine-rich drinks like cola, tea, and chocolate. The third substance to avoid is sugar. Sugar hardly contains any nutrients and is packed with calories. Sugar makes a person hyperactive, thereby bringing emotional disturbances that may ultimately lead to panic attacks. Sugar also causes mood swings.

All in all, maintaining a healthy eating habit is one of the prerequisites that contribute to overcoming panic attacks.

Exercise is a great stress reliever for your body. Regular exercise will get your heart rate up and your endorphins moving. Your body will be able to get rid of toxins faster and relax easier when you stick to a regular exercise program. You do not need to run a marathon, just try to get your heart rate up at least three times per week for 30 minutes or more.

Regular exercise can decrease your stress level and muscle tension which can help you overcome anxiety panic attacks. Along with regular exercise, breathing exercise makes you more stable, relax and less anxious.

Train yourself to think positively to overcome anxiety panic attacks. Do not give in to your negative thoughts. Anxious thoughts will trigger your disorder leading to panic attacks. Generalising about where attacks could occur is also negative and restricting. If you had an attack on a train, and then think all public transport is risky, you could end up being fearful of all forms of transport, and lead a very restricted and miserable life. Practice substituting positive thoughts for unhelpful negative ones. Consider your negative response to a common situation, such as public transport, and try substituting a positive thought about the situation. At first this may seem difficult but will become easier with practice. Practicing these techniques is essential to become effective. And don't forget to reward yourself for your successes.

Have you ever tried to get out of a panic attack by thinking of something else, by distracting yourself? Or, have you ever been starting to panic when you were interrupted by an unexpected visit from a good friend, or a child falling down and getting hurt, and later realized that the panic attack simply ended? If you've done any of these things (and most people with panic have), you've noticed that distraction from the thoughts can help you get out of a panic attack. If you are getting anxious, distracting yourself can help you divert your focus to the things around you and makes you more at ease and forget your anxiety.

If you find it hard to overcome anxiety panic attacks by yourself, there are experts who can help you. There are people trained to help you manage and deal with anxiety panic attacks. Although many people are anxious about seeking help from a support group, you can often be the best help for an anxiety disorder like panic attacks. Being able to talk with others who are going through the same things can be very helpful. The Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) has meetings in hundreds of cities across the country.