For many people there appears to be no solution for their panic attacks. Some try one therapy or the other and when it doesn’t produce the results they had expected, they just give up. Having ‘failed’ in finding relief for their condition, they often end up believing that something is seriously wrong with them. Afraid of the next attack they isolate themselves, rarely leaving their homes. As a result, they feel trapped in a world that is lonely and hopeless. If that is you, then stop! There is what is called self help for panic attacks. Here are some things you can do starting today:

Eliminate Stress and Begin Exercising

Start every day anew without anticipating or fearing a panic attack. Keep your daily chores light and easy. Examine your daily schedule and see what is causing you stress. When you can´t possibly finish everything you have scheduled in one day – no big deal. Simply reschedule some of the items on it for a later date. Don´t plan to meet with people who affect you adversely. It is not your job to please everyone; learn to say “no!”  Take some time each day to just relax. Only you know what relaxes you.

Exercising is a sort of self help for panic attacks that will relieve stress from your body. If you are afraid to go out of your home, buy an exercise DVD and use it as often as you can. Exercising regularly will, in time, produce a great calming effect and drive negative thoughts from your mind. As soon as you feel safe enough to venture outdoors, take short walks in the fresh air. If you feel safer doing so accompanied by a trusted friend or relative don’t hesitate to ask. It is a great way to gradually overcome your anxieties.

Change Your Diet

It is important to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet with lots of vegetables and fruits. Avoid sugar, caffeine and alcoholic beverages. Drink hot teas that are known for properties that will help you relax. A magnesium deficiency is known to cause anxiety, so you could try adding a magnesium supplement to your daily diet. A healthy diet that avoids foods which cause you to feel nervous and includes the necessary vitamin supplements is yet another form of self help for panic attacks.  

Have a Plan

Think about your panic attacks and determine how you will react the next time you feel one is coming on. The thing you need to keep foremost in your mind is to relax. Some people count or say the ABCs in order to take their mind off of what is happening in their body. If you begin to breathe shallowly or hyperventilate stop, and inhale deeply and exhale slowly. Continue this until the panic attack goes away. People who have a plan discover that their attacks do not last as long, and they become less frequent.

Face Your Fears

One of the greatest fears a panic attack sufferer has is that of having to face another attack. You must realize that there is nothing in the attack that has ever harmed you. If you are having panic attacks because of an accident or a frightening experience, try to avoid going past the place where it happened. Then look at it logically, and realize that everything that is going to happen concerning the situation has already happened, so why fear? You will do yourself a world of good by realizing that fearing the next attack is the worse thing you can do. Why? Because it is the very fear of next attack that brings about the attacks in the first place. Dare to face your fear of the next attack and resolve to never fear it again, and you will be well on your way to recovery. 

When you eliminate stress and begin exercising, change your diet, have a plan and face your fears you are taking charge by being proactive and thus providing yourself with the best self help for panic attacks that you can in order to prevent future attacks.