Do you experience sudden palpitations, dizziness, excessive sweating or the urge to run away or the feeling that the walls of the room are caving in, when placed with an unpleasant situation/person? What you are experiencing can be categorized as a Panic Attack. A panic attack happens mostly due to anxiety or phobia – A panic attack can happen to anyone; it could be due to a fear of flying, socializing, public speaking, or any kind of confrontation, etc.

A wonderful ex-colleague, who is now one of my best friends used to suffer from panic attacks. I remember how she would dread coming in to work, so she will not have to deal with our obnoxious boss. Even an email from the boss would push her into panic mode; she would be jittery and shaky due to her panic attack. It would take a lot of cajoling and comforting for her to regain her tranquility. And sometimes she would resort to tranquilizers to calm her down. It is from her that I learnt all about panic attacks and realized that there are many who have such symptoms. You could be one of the many experiencing panic attacks.

There is nothing good about such attacks, but you can make good of the situation with some practice and control from your side. To start with you need to make a mental note of when and how you panic. Knowing and understanding your trigger points will equip you with what you need to work on.

Relaxation exercises are a good way to help manage your panic attacks. Relaxation exercises will ease the tension in your muscles and declutter your mind, so you can have better control over your thoughts
and emotions. When you have control over your mind, you can control your anxiety and fears effectively and have a better grip over yourself. Having the ability to handle your trigger points and controlling your mind will in turn curb your panic attacks.

Positive thinking and approach to any situation will lead to positive results. I used to ask my friend, who used to have panic attacks because of our boss, “What is the worst he can do to you? Fire you? But, he can’t take away the good things you have, your life and your family!” That is one thing you need to understand, being in a panic filled situation is not the end of the world or your life. There’s more to life than a situation, which will pass. You cannot let your fears keep you away from enjoying life and confronting challenges. Panic will not solve your issues; it will only make it worse. So take a positive approach and set yourself free of panic.

By,
Mary-Ann Roche


Tags: panic attack

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 at 10:14 pm and is filed under Fears. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.