Feb

Panic Disorder Cycle

Panic Disorder Cycle – Breaking the Patterns of Fear That Feed the Fire!

Panic disorder cycle is a progressive path from a normal situation to one of complete panic attack. Normal everyday life events present themselves and your reaction is one of panic fed by your anxiety and that increases as the cycle builds. Fear results in an increase of your body’s natural anxiety reaction and will set the stage for the usual physical symptoms you experience with a panic attack. As the attack increases in severity your thoughts focus on what is happening but only server to feed the attack more. Your symptoms continue to intensify. As they do, one of two things will happen: You will either have a full blown panic attack or you will stop it in its tracks by seeking some sort of relief – usually by removing yourself from the situation. Sometimes it is as simple as deciding to not go to a certain store that is always crowded. At other times it means holding onto something nearby as a measure of protection or walking on the opposite side of the sidewalk. While these things may reduce or stop your anxiety and prevent your panic attack, they actually result in severely restricting your lifestyle and reducing your ability to deal with your panic and overcome your fears to stop them altogether.

So, what can you do? Keep a log of the following things:

1. Identify your triggers

What are the things that start your panic attacks? These can be external things like an interview, meeting new people, caffeine, or pubic speaking. You may also have triggers that are internal. They can also be thoughts, mental images, or strong emotions.

2. Identify your fears

What do you feel? What are your afraid of? What do you think might happen? Give each fear a level of intensity on a scale of one to ten, one being negligible fear, ten being all out severe panic attack type, high level fear.

3. Negate Your Fears

Examine your triggers and fears and write down arguments for yourself you know to be true that negates your fear. For example, your doctor has given you an excellent bill of health so your fear of having a serious illness is unfounded.

With this log you can begin a plan to challenge yourself to gradually increase your ability to face the things you fear:

1. Exposure

By intentionally and gradually placing yourself in the presence of the things that trigger your anxiety you can develop a tolerance and ability to deal with your trigger situations and thoughts without panic. Start with the mildest of fears based on your ratings and gradually work up and through the more severe ones. Use your arguments to talk yourself through each event, thought, or situation.

2. Challenge Yourself

Address your physical fears by challenging yourself physically in the same way. If your heart palpitations make you fear a heart attack, do a quick workout to elevate your heart rate.

3. Reinforcement

Once you have succeeded in proving your fears are unreasonable and you have confidence and success in facing them, use guided imagery, breathing techniques, and other relaxation techniques to handle your stress.

Addressing your fears and managing your panic attacks can be a difficult step to take but once you get started you will find your confidence rise and your fears fade.