Anxiety can be a real drag, everyone else seems to be getting on with their lives and you’re stuck there with your anxious thoughts and feelings. Anxiety greets you in the morning and again before you go to bed and if you’re lucky it doesn’t disturb your sleep too much.

If this sounds in any way familiar to you and you are troubled in this way the following tips will help you.

1) Stop pushing it away

When we experience anything in life that is unpleasant it’s natural enough for us to want to push it away, but when it comes to anxiety this is to our detriment. The harder we push any emotion away the harder it pushes back towards us. So the key here is to simply stop pushing your fear away and let it in a for a while. This is a new practise and may take some time to achieve. Just practise with it and see what happens. (more…)

I’d like to discuss anger’s role in the generation and sustenance of panic attacks and anxiety. To give the matter its due, I’ve decided to present the information in two parts. In this edition, part one, we’ll review what anger is in the eyes of the psychoanalysts and cognitivists. And in part two we’ll have a closer look at how anger directly impacts panic and anxiety. Well, are you ready? Let’s get to work.

The French psychiatrist, Jacques Lacan, a 20th Century pioneer in psychoanalysis, believed aggression is generated as a psychological defense against the threat of something known as fragmentation; the mental and emotional sense of losing control over self-cohesion. Now, fragmentation may present in a feeling of low-grade distress, or it may manifest in all-out panic and terror, for fear of total annihilation. Lacan took the whole matter to infancy where a human is simply a mish-mash of biological functions well beyond internal management. And the only goal one could have is to at least make an effort to pull everything together into some semblance of cohesive identity. (more…)

The panic disorder is a sickness that is affecting mostly people that are in their early or middle maturity. It is distinguished by unprovoked brief episodes of panic. The feelings of intense fear are also experienced during the panic disorder episodes. The fear comes together with different types of physical discomfort as hand numbness, the feeling of smothering as well as the chest pain.

A panic disorder episode always starts very quickly and more often than not without any warning. It usually reaches its peak in about ten minutes. The medical treatment for the panic disorder is effective and has positive results for more than two thirds of the people who experience this kind of affection. (more…)

A panic attack might be a very frightening experience because it will take you by surprise most of the times. All of a sudden, you feel hit by numerous symptoms like losing control, suffocating or feel like having a heart attack. The panic attack is an experience that may be very traumatizing and you can even feel that you are dying at the very moment it happens.

A panic attack might strike any person at any time and basically everywhere. There is no reason it will hit a person, even though the excessive level of stress might be one of the causes of it. More often than not, a panic attack occurs randomly. (more…)

In my ongoing quest for knowledge pertaining to the contributors to panic attacks and anxiety, as well as treatment strategies and techniques, I came upon some very cool stuff several years ago. It’s called Somatic Experiencing (SE) and it’s the amazing work of Peter A. Levine, Ph.D. This will be the first in a series of two articles. Here we’ll have a look at SE within the context of a contributor to panic and anxiety. The article that follows will approach SE from a treatment perspective. Well, tune-in because I know you’re going to find the information fascinating, hopeful, and helpful.

SE came to life as Dr. Levine observed that though wild animals of prey are under constant threat and siege, they’re rarely traumatized. Well, I never really gave that much thought, but I suppose it’s true. So, just how in the heck do they pull that off? Well, credit is given to an innate regulating mechanism that very efficiently manages and discharges the energy that accumulates in their bodies as a result of self-preservation behaviors. Levine observed that when an animal of prey survives a potentially deadly chase, it actually takes time to physically shake-off unused energy before moving on with the herd. Well, Levine posits we humans are equipped with essentially the same mechanism; however, ours is greatly inhibited by our more advanced cognitive capabilities. Man, how many times does thinking mess things up for us? By the way, isn’t it interesting that we so often use the phrase, “Just shake it off,” when someone takes a relatively minor hit of some kind. (more…)

If you are searching for the details about how long a panic attack lasts then the first thing you ought to keep in mind is that there is no definitive response to this question. This is because there are to many variables involved. The answer to this question will vary depending on who you are speaking to. However, this article should give you sound advice that will aid you in knowing how long your particular case might last. When you figure out your panic attacks in more depth you are in a much stronger situation to overcome them once and for all.

An attack can last from a few seconds to a number of hours. The general duration of an attack in the average human being is thought to be only for few minutes. There are lots of things that can influence how long an attack is expected to persist. These factors include: The immediate environment, your managing strategies and your existing mood. If you are in a positive mood and have postive things happening in your life, you may face a shorter attack than the person who is going through a hard phase and has numerous worries on their mind.

Much is dependent on how you manage the way you are feeling. The crucial factor in all of this is the coping routine that you have in place to cope with the way your feel. If you have efficient techniques and strategies in place, then you are more likely to only have to endure short moments of feeling panicked.If you really desire to be efficient at taking your panic away, then the earlier you recognize the symptoms of unease within yourself and the build up to an attack, the better prepared you will be to deal with it. When you discover how to recognize the symptoms early then you are in a more advanced postion to be able to take prompt evasive action before it grows into a full-scale attack.

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In a previous article I discussed the importance of including balance issues in any discussion of the contributors to panic attacks and anxiety. Amazingly, this connection hasn’t received much attention, but it appears as though that’s changing. Yes, children with balance issues are being assessed for signs and symptoms of anxiety, and intervention strategies and techniques are being developed and implemented. This is great news, as it holds the potential to save millions from life-long suffering.

As you may know, in addition to our sense of hearing the inner ear is the headquarters of balance and equilibrium. Within the membranous labyrinth, a fluid-filled structure deep within the inner ear, is a relatively large area known as the vestibule. And it’s the “vestibular system” that monitors and manages balance and equilibrium by receiving and integrating input from the eyes, ears, and muscles of the trunk, neck, and limbs. Of course, the vestibular system gets a little help from its friends, one of which is the brain’s cerebellum. I guess it would make sense that the cerebellum is a major player in the integration of sensory perception, as well as motor control.

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The human brain is absolutely amazing. And as much as we’ve learned about it, it remains one incredibly mysterious three-pound mass of tissue and fluid. The brain’s functioning has certainly been a puzzle to me over the many years, as it’s facilitated a long bout with panic disorder, as well as dances with other distressing mental, emotional, and physical phenomena. Lately, I’ve become more and more fascinated with how a panic sufferer’s assorted pathological challenges present and interact. Here are just some of my thoughts.

I was nine-years-old when an episode of derealization struck me like a lightening bolt while I was sitting at a kitchen table with my parents and their friends. I panicked and ran from the scene. During that same timeframe it was often written on my report cards that I was seemingly unable to sit still and would occasionally wander around the classroom. As a junior in college intrusive thoughts entered my airspace. I was walking down the sidewalk in downtown East Lansing, MI. and saw a woman coming toward me pushing a stroller. Out of nowhere I wondered what would happen if I punched her baby right in the face. Wow!

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One could write and talk for days about the potential contributors to panic attacks. So much so that I choose to use the term “contributors,” not “causes.” And that’s because I believe using the term “causes” throws a very unnecessary roadblock in the path toward relief, as it attempts to find solid and defined explanations for why panic attacks occur. Ultimately, that’s great; however, I find it limiting in the immediate. At any rate, I want to discuss a very common psychological contributor to panic attacks that I refer to as the “We Do It Intentionally Paradox.”

First, just what is a paradox? Well, it’s something that may appear to be incongruent with what’s accepted as common sense, yet it’s very likely true. That said, it’s my observation that many panic sufferers may consciously and/or unconsciously intentionally trigger their panic attacks. Is that paradoxical enough for you? Geez, don’t get angry at me now. If this notion is true, and it applies to you, it can serve to provide a lot of direction. So think about it. Before I go into detail, could it at least be possible?

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So often, my working relationship with a panic sufferer begins with an initial email of all-consuming pain, fear, bewilderment, and desperation. The writer has visited my website, identified with the content, felt a glimmer of possibility, saw my invitation to write, and did exactly that. But as this person wrote, just what were they really looking for? And what do they really need to receive at this most vulnerable, yet opportunistic, time? Those are hugely important questions because their answers hold the very keys to lifelong recovery and growth.

If you’ve been in the panic attack or panic disorder saddle, you know it’s a rough ride; especially when the symptoms first appear. I mean, seemingly out of nowhere you’re being pounded by sledge-hammers of panic, anxiety, agoraphobia, derealization, depersonalization, avoidance, phobias, depression, substance abuse, and crushed self-esteem and confidence. And you may not even know what some of these phenomena are, much less that you’re suffering from them. The one and only thing you know for sure is, “I want to be the way I used to be.” And you’re mentally, emotionally, and physically flailing wildly to establish that sense of identity and comfort.

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