How to Stop an Impending Panic Attack
The panic attack is a truly beastly thing. It is characterized by shortness of breath, chest pains, and a feeling of overwhelming fear or dread. Once a panic attack takes hold, the only option is to find a quiet place and wait until the symptoms subside. Yet, what happens if you are in the supermarket, at the cinema, or doing the school run? What if ‘waiting it out’ isn’t good enough? Better yet, can you ever learn how to stop a panic attack in its tracks?
The majority of behavioral experts claim that panic attacks can be dealt with in two ways. A person can learn how to control their fear and manage the symptoms. Or, they can alleviate the symptoms with prescription medications. However, there is also a third option. You can learn how to stop panic attacks using self-hypnosis. This method is quick, effective, and involves no drugs.
You may be skeptical right now. After all, panic attacks are extremely intense episodes. Can hypnosis really be used not to just to alleviate symptoms, but to stop attacks altogether? This in depth guide to stopping a panic attack with NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) or hypnosis techniques will explain everything.
Understanding Your Panic Attacks
To learn how to stop a panic attack, you first need to recognize the signs of an oncoming episode. It is important to understand that there are lots of different kinds of anxiety. Not all of these feelings will lead to panic attacks. These episodes are more than just feelings of unease, nervousness, or discomfort. They involve extreme sensations of fear and fright.
The heart rate rapidly increases. You might even feel like your heart is beating irregularly. You will struggle to breathe and your chest will feel tight. You are likely to start sweating and shaking. In some cases, you might feel nauseous or even vomit. While panic attacks are not physically harmful, they can be very traumatic. It is certainly not difficult to see how chronic panic attacks could disrupt a life.
The biggest problem is that a panic attack can strike anywhere, at any time. They are usually a response to a stressful or frightening situation. So, if you are scared of flying, you might have a panic attack on the plane. If public speaking makes you nervous, you may have an episode in the run up to a big presentation. If your attacks are frequent and interrupt your daily life, you may be suffering from an anxiety disorder.
Panic Attacks Vs Extreme Phobias
A big part of learning how to stop a panic attack is understanding what it means and why it might be happening. If you can determine whether your anxiety is related to a phobia, it will be easier to pick the right kind of hypnosis therapy. Ultimately, phobias and panic attacks are different. They produce very similar symptoms, but they are distinct conditions.
A phobia is a feeling of intense fear which is connected to a specific trigger. For example, fear of flying, spiders, water, or small spaces. The fear is predictable. It only occurs in the presence or in response to talk of the trigger. For most sufferers, phobias do not disrupt everyday life. This is because the trigger can usually be avoided without too much inconvenience.
The panic attack is different. It can occur unexpectedly in stressful situations. However, these situations are usually everyday scenarios. They might be traveling on a busy train or going for a job interview. They might be taking an important test or navigating the high street. Unlike phobias, panic attacks can strike at any time. They tend to be brief, but can lead to an unwillingness to live a normal life.
The Conventional Treatments
It is common for doctors to prescribe medication to stop panic attacks. Yet, this only masks the symptoms. If a person stops taking the drugs, the disorder will return. This is why it is important to learn how to stop a panic attack naturally. With self-hypnosis, there are no nasty side effects. The results are long lasting, easy to achieve, and suitable for everybody.
The drugs used to treat panic attacks are called selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. They include Praxil, Prozac, Zoloft, and Xanax. In some serious cases, Valium may be prescribed. While these drugs are effective, they come with major side effects. They can cause drowsiness, slurred speech, confusion, and even depression. Thus, th ey are not always the best way to learn how to stop a panic attack.
Clearly, a better solution is needed. And self-hypnosis can be that solution. If you want to learn how to stop a panic attack, Ericksonian hypnosis and NLP techniques are very valuable. They work with the subconscious mind to find the root of the problem. Then, using mental imagery, they reframe or reshape that problem.
The influence of NLP treatments on snake phobias was demonstrated in 1982, by Allen. This study suggested that hypnosis is actually more effective – and longer term – than many established desensitization regimes. This is a discovery which has been repeated in many different studies on the link between hypnotherapy and anxiety.
The Power of NLP Techniques
A humorous and very visual example of this is in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In one scene, a ‘boggart’ takes on the shape of the thing that Harry fears. This turns out to be the fearsome Professor Snape. He advances upon Harry. But, Harry imagines him in a dress and a feather boa and he stops being frightening.
Fundamentally, the same rules apply to learning how to stop a panic attack. If you can reframe the fear or mentally remove it, you can overcome it. You can realize that you are in control of the fear, not the other way around. There are lots of different ways to achieve this. It all depends on the type of person that you are.
For instance, you might respond best to absurd visual imagery. Like Harry Potter, it might be useful to visualize your fear (as a monster or creature). Then, you can make it as ludicrous as possible. Imagine that you are in a shop and start to feel a panic attack coming on. Automatically, you remember a mental image so absurd that you cannot help but smile.
Using Mental Imagery to Beat Anxiety
Alternatively, you could concentrate on having your ‘monster’ vanish or disappear in some way. He might get flushed down a giant sink or run over by a truck. The details are entirely up to you. Just remember that, the sillier and more vivid, the better. The easier it is to imagine beating the fear, the easier it will be to focus on those positive feelings.
With Ericksonian hypnotherapy techniques, the emphasis is on storytelling. To find out how to stop a panic attack with self-hypnosis, you first need to understand suggestion. Unlike Neuro-Linguistic Programming, suggestion speaks directly to the subconscious mind. It is similar to subliminal messaging. You are given partially concealed instructions, placed in audio recordings.
These messages are partially hidden so that the conscious mind is distracted. If it is not, you are likely to question the suggestions. You will overthink and over analyze. So, a story is told which contains symbolic imagery and suggestions. Or, music is played and suggestions are placed underneath the layers of sound. You are not actively listening, but you are hearing.
For example, you may be told a story about somebody overcoming a challenge. This challenge is representative of your fear. The story will contain suggestions as to how to beat it. The results of NLP and Ericksonian hypnosis are not instant, but they are fast. They are also organic. Unlike medication, they alter the client’s point of view and actual responses. This means that the symptoms are not just masked. They are corrected.
Making Hypnosis & NLP Your Secret Weapons
The great thing about self-hypnosis is that it is extremely convenient. With a CD or MP3 recording of NLP techniques, you can treat your anxiety almost anywhere. The cost is minimal. The results are fast and long lasting. If you want to learn how to stop a panic attack, self-hypnosis is one of the most successful methods. In 1988, Einspruch proved this by asking subjects to complete a questionnaire about their anxiety levels following treatment.
The One Session Phobia Cure
When a person is associated, he is seeing through his own eyes, regardless of whether he is visualizing or not. When a person is disassociated, it is as though the camera is outside of the body, and the person is seeing himself as though he is in a movie, from the same point of view as everyone else is seeing him.
The NLP V/K or Visual / Kinesthetic Disassociation is known as the one session phobia cure. In essence, it trains the client’s unconscious mind to trigger a very brief disassociation, whenever the client encounters a specific phobic trigger.
Purchasing CD’s or MP3’s
If you purchase a high quality professional recording, the results will be just as powerful as if you were attending an actual hypnotherapy session. The content of these products has been carefully designed and structured for maximum impact. They can be listened to as many times as you like. With certain NLP techniques like the Visual / Kinesthetic Disassociation, results can come as quickly as the first session. After two or three weeks of reinforcement, you should start to feel like an entirely new person.
It is important to listen to your hypnotherapy recordings in a quiet and relaxed atmosphere. If listening at home, make yourself comfy. Try to keep pets and young children out of the picture. The more attention that you give the session, the more effective it will be. It is time to take your life back and learn how to stop a panic attack in its tracks with self-hypnosis.
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Make Panic Attacks and Phobias a Thing of the Past
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