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I knew I needed professional help with my anxiety, however I knew there was no private counselling near me. Where I live is miles from anywhere, and this was part of my anxiety. So even if I did find somebody, how would I get to them? Fortunately today I’ve discovered that anxiety specialist can work for the phone or the Internet. I’ve learned that finding a good specialist should be your #1 priority.
A couple of weeks ago I began having symptoms of panic attack. I began feeling light headed, or dizzy, or lightheaded, For the life of me I could not put a finger on it. Then, out of nowhere, out of nothing, something happened that was exactly like a panic attack. I had the sensation of getting lightheaded, or maybe nauseated, or just experiencing a sense of being in an extremely uncomfortable moment, that kind of experience. Then I remembered – I had a good anxiety specialist over a year ago. Of course I remembered everything.
So I said to myself, I’ll just go over to his place and he’ll show me how to deal with panic attacks. Of course this was just fantasy. Of course this was just wishful thinking. However, I did experience this. I thought about my anxiety specialist, and I wanted to see if I could get some help from a practitioner who was not a psychologist or psychiatrist. That turned out to be a really good decision. He actually gave me some techniques that I use to overcome panic attacks, things that he uses to overcome panic attacks. I do it not just because I want to, but because I need to. And these techniques are the exact opposite of the ones that psychotherapists use to treat anxiety and panic attacks.
- The first technique is the “habit Loop”. This is just what it says – a loop that has a practice function. If you get an anxiety attack, you are supposed to think about your anxiety specialist, and you are supposed to perform that pattern of behavior over and over, five times a day, until it becomes a habit. It’s a very simple loop, and if you apply it daily you will get rid of your anxiety symptoms and develop better anxiety control.
- The second technique is to “think ahead”. This means that you go in a day and imagine that you have two hours to do the things that you need to do. Then you make a schedule out of the things that you need to get done, and the things that you want to get done. The schedule should give you two hours of free time every day. If you take a day off, or extend your day by an hour, then you will not be able to get the things that you need to get done during the two hours. So the schedule should give you free time every day. And you should ask yourself, what things that you have to get done during the two hours will be a hassle? And things that you have to let go? This will help you to prioritize the things that you need to get done during your free time, and the things that you want to let go.
- The third technique is that you should change your attitude. The more you try to avoid pain, the more you will feel pain. Pain has this beautiful thing that it brings you face to face with your own limits. Your own anxiety, or panic, or panic attacks. So the more you fight your anxiety or panic, the more you will feel it, the more you will exaggerate the feeling. And you will find yourself trying to avoid, to avoid feeling it. It becomes a vicious circle. So the more you change your attitude to feeling the anxiety or panic, the less you will feel it, and the less you will avoid it.
- The fourth technique is that you should try to make yourself feel safe. So the first thing you should do is to make yourself feel safe – by avoiding traumatic situations and by practicing relaxation breathing, or by making eye contact with people that you dislike, or by talking to your parents. Make yourself feel safe by making yourself more safe. So the next time you feel an anxiety or panic attack coming on, don’t resist, don’t struggle, don’t try to stop it. Accept it and just allow it to happen. Don’t try to fight it, don’t avoid it. Just let it happen, let yourself get panicked, and then you can get back to your normal life again.
