Surviving Panic Attacks - Methods for Alleviating Emotional Distress

If you have ever had one, you know the two key elements. 1. They cannot kill you. 2. You have never felt closer to death. Panic disorder is an irrational reaction (most of the time) to a fairly harmless situation. I began having panic attacks when I was 19, and they lasted for a little longer than 1 year. They were perpetuated by a girl who I will not go into detail about. Every day I would wake up with a very high baseline anxiety, and every night I would have a panic attack. It would leave me so drained that I stopped talking to most of my friends entirely. I would just sit around every day waiting for the next panic attack. Friends tend to drop like flies during times like this, because unless you have experienced panic or depression yourself, it's almost impossible to understand. Although the medications prescribed for panic can be useful in ceasing and preventing attacks they can create a whole new world of problems if used often, and I needed relief every single day. I tried all the pharmaceutical treatments handed to me, but quickly realized that something in my thought process needed to change. So this is how I survived panic attacks.

The first ounce of relief I found was when I picked up a book on Buddhist Philosophy. The ideas and mindsets presented in the book changed the way I viewed things, not to mention simply having something to read and think about took my mind off anxiety. I realized that I was taking life and relationships way too seriously, and I needed to put an end to my emphasis on what others think of me. Soon enough simply reading these books was not enough, I began meditating and spending time alone just to think without distraction. This helped embed some of these ideas in my head, and cut of the never ending flow of conversation and media that usually pervades my day. I realized that although all of these positive thoughts were great, I needed to do something physical along with it. I began attending yoga and Pilates classes regularly at the gym, which both incorporate relaxation with exercise rather than simple strength and endurance training. All negative thoughts and actions were now abolished, but there was still a missing link. I needed a hobby or a passion, something to occupy my mind that was complicated but enjoyable. In my searching, I picked up one of the last hobbies I ever would have considered, website designing. I bought a few books on HTML and CSS code, and found myself unable to put them down.

The key to ridding yourself of panic is simple. Right now (if you are panicking) your mind is filled with something bad. Before you can fill it with anything good, you need to wipe the bad out (by meditation, relaxation, or getting rid of that negative person or element in your life). Next you need to find a set of positive thoughts (from a book, philosophy, or religion) to fill your mind with. You'll notice that although you feel much better, there will still be something drawing you towards the old negative patterns. The final step is to find a passion, something new you can learn and be creative with. Blogging was one of my great saviors. After toying around with my blog for a few days, I realized that I had lots to say, and was able to put creative spins on everything I wrote. This helped me organized my thoughts and gauge my progress.