Best Self Help

Toma:

Hi,

There are many ways to use self-help during panic attacks. Though the first step would be to consult a therapist/counselor on techniques, I can also give you some self-help tips I’ve learned from Mindfulness programs.

1. You can make fists with your hands to stop the thinking patterns that are escalating the attack. Clinical hypnotists recommend this technique in order to clear your mind.

2. Try Mindful Breathing. Many people who suffer panic attacks breath heavily, and thus focussing on the breath can make this worse, but if you think you can calm yourself down, by all means start focussing on taking deep, long breaths and observe your physical reactions. Say to yourself: what am I physically feeling right now? What parts of my body are facing tension? Is my heart beating too fast? Do I need to unclench my jaw, relax my shoulders? Then, one by one, relieve tension areas of your body and keep the focus on your breath. This will help your mind concentrate on your bodily experience and less on the thought process.

3. To prevent the frequency of panic attacks, I recommend daily meditation. This can be from 5-10 minutes each day if you have a busy schedule. Each morning, or whenever you have time, sit in a comfortable area with your back erect, mindfully drawing your attention to your breath. There are great resources online to find meditation music/helpful mp3s online. A great suggestion would be to have these mp3s on an ipod so you can have them wherever you go.

4. See a mental health professional. Therapy is a good resource to get your feelings out and pinpoint what makes you so vulnerable to panic attacks. Meditation and therapy can work hand in hand in order to create mental and physical balance in your life. Mental health professionals can also prescribe medication that could assist with your panic attacks and lessen the anxiety in your life. Zoloft, for example, is not only an antidepressent — it relieves anxiety and helps patients diagnosed with OCD.

5. Yoga is another great way to intersect body and mind. Go to your local library to find free resources. You can also find plenty of great videos on youtube for particular yoga poses that relieve anxiety.

6. Get plenty of sleep and sunlight – these are natural ways to increase serotonin in the brain. Serotonin can help your everyday reactions and lessen self-destructive thinking patterns.

7. When in a traumatizing state, do not leave it to yourself. GET HELP, whether it’s calling a friend, telling the nearest authority figure or calling emergency — you don’t want to be alone. It’s OK to need help from others, even if you practice the coping mechanisms listed above.

8. Go to Barnes and Nobles and browse through the self-help books in the Psychology section. There are great guides for self-help there. One I would personally recommend for people with overwhelming emotions is: The Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Skills Workbook. This can be used in group therapy or on your own. It has great mindfulness exercises and easy worksheets to fill out to pinpoint emotions, analyze emotional escalations and understand the source of panic attacks. You can also get it for a lower price on Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Dialectical-Behavior-Therapy-Skills-Workbook/dp/1572245131

Good luck and remember — mental health is important. Do whatever you need to do to eliminate (or at least lessen) the amount of panic attacks in your life.

peacelove:

Prayer can be helpful. God can help you live a better life if you want Him to help you. You can have a personal relationship with God by saying the prayer below. God is our Creator, all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal, holy, love. God loves us and sent us His Son, Jesus Christ, so we can go to heaven if we know and follow Him. Forever means without end — time on and on without death. Forever is what happens after we die. Either we go to heaven and be with God forever, or we go to hell which is very bad and painful forever. The good people who are saved believers in Jesus Christ go to heaven. The bad people go to hell. We need to know and follow God in this world to get to heaven in the next world. We follow God by loving and obeying Him and loving others for Him. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, is our bridge to God. Jesus died on the cross to cancel our sins. We need to accept Jesus into our life as our Lord and Savior forever to receive God’s blessing and forgiveness plus go to heaven to be with God forever after we die. This is about being a born-again Christian. Faith in God is a gift from God. You can pray for faith in God. Just speak out and ask God for the faith to believe in Him and to follow Him. Some people find faith in God when they realize the beauty in the world is made by God. Evolution can’t explain the world’s natural beauty, for example, the parks in the world, animals, flowers, peacocks, sunsets, butterflies, rainbows, etc. After you have your faith on, you can pray a sinner’s prayer to be a born-again Christian. This prayer is very important and should be said with a sincere heart and faith in God. This is the prayer: “Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and that Jesus Christ is the sacrifice for our sins. I have done the following sins (state these out) and I pray to discontinue these sins. I pray to receive Jesus Christ into my life as my Lord and Savior forever. In Jesus’ name, amen.” I’m Lutheran and I like the Baptist churches too. You could try out a Christian church and also see about their weekly Bible study group to learn about God’s will for your life. You can pray to God about your daily life and have a Christian church pray for you.

drewbert888:

Helping really starts from ourselves, and self help can really do more as compared to seeking others. and here is one book that might be of help to you. this will give you pointers and methods on how to deal, stop panic attacks. http://www.stoppingpanicattack.com, good luck and all the best. God Bless.