If you have just had your first panic attack this video may be the most important video you
will watch. This is because what you do next will decide whether you don't have any more
panic attacks or whether you repeatedly get panic attacks for the rest of your life even into old
age. When people get repeated panic attacks it's called panic disorder. Some people who develop
panic disorder go on to develop agrophobia where they are unable to leave their home. So the stakes
are very high so make sure you watch this video to the end so that you fully understand this vital
message. When you have your first panic attack you will probably be very scared and want to know how
to stop another one happening. You may have seen a doctor who has told you that it's just anxiety
but you may have doubts so start consulting google and anxiety forums. On anxiety forums
you will receive huge amounts of suggestions on how people try to cope with their panic attacks.
Try herbal tea, marijuana, essential oils, breathing exercises, cold water sprays, beta
blockers, magic mushrooms, distraction techniques, monitoring your blood pressure or heart rate,
prayer, vitamins, having your thyroid checked, numerous medications, yoga, putting ice cubes
on your neck. The suggestions are endless. These ideas are coming from people who are desperate
to stop their panic attacks but they still keep having them, which means they don't work. Not only
do they not work, in most cases they are actually making the panic disorder worse in the long term.
To understand why this is you need to understand what a panic attack is. Part
of the brain called the amygdala is responsible for responding to life-threatening dangers.
For example if you are attacked, the amygdala floods your body with adrenaline which speeds
up your heart rate and breathing and sends blood to your muscles to fight or run from the danger,
the so-called fight or flight response
The amygdala sometimes gets confused between real danger and perceived danger.
Real danger is being attacked. Perceived danger could be a phobia or just a buildup
of stress. If worry has built up you may act like there is a real danger by tensing muscles,
seeking reassurance or not going to sleep. If you are stressed you may be frantically rushing
around trying to meet a deadline as though your life depended on it. These behaviours
can signal to the amygdala that there is a real danger so it releases adrenaline to
increase the heart rate and breathing to face the perceived danger. This is what a panic attack is.
Whether the initial panic attack was due to a real danger or not, what you do next is still
the most important thing. If you start monitoring your blood pressure or putting ice on your neck
or any of the things suggested on anxiety forums, your amygdala will sense danger and we know that
when the amygdala senses danger it sets off the fight-or-flight response which is a panic attack.
It seems a cruel irony, but sadly it's true.The more you try to protect yourself from a panic
attack the more frequent and severe the panic attacks will become. So what should you do to
prevent panic attacks. The answer is to teach your amygdala the panic attacks are not dangerous
(which they're not) and you do this by acting like you're not scared of them. So no researching
symptoms, no ice on the neck, no googling can i die from a panic attack, no reassurance seeking
of any sort. If you can avoid doing these things the panic attacks will soon stop,
but you might have a few more panic attacks before your amygdala realizes that there's no
danger and stops triggering them. So you need to learn what to do or more importantly what
not to do during a panic attack. I have a video which will help you with this.
It's called how to neutralize a panic attack. You should see a link appear for it just about now.
If you have already been having panic attacks for a long time, they will not be so easy to stop
so it's probably best to get help from a cognitive behavioural therapist. If you'd
like to know more about cognitive behavioural therapy and panic attacks check my panic disorder
playlist where I have many videos on the subject. Finally if you have found this video helpful
please like and share this video and subscribe to my channel for more videos about anxiety.
The key to beating anxiety is knowledge. Let's share that knowledge