Panic attacks cause people to experience moments of agony that feature shortness of breath and increased heart rate. Panic attacks can create trouble for people who try to live a normal life, but you don’t have to let it get the best of you. Below are several useful tips to help panic attack sufferers.

Keeping your emotions inside and not sharing them is a great way to set off panic attacks, so stop it! Try to find someone who you trust and share with them any problems you’re facing, or consider going to a therapist or counselor for help. There’s always someone to talk to!

Find something you really love to do and then, engage in it when you’re having a panic attack. Choose something that is meditative, like gentle yoga or knitting, so that you’ll get lost in it and forget what is happening to your body. Make sure you’re able to do this whenever an attack hits.

Remind yourself during a panic attack that there is nothing wrong with you, your nervous system is just sensitive and reacting to some sort of stimulus. This is only temporary and it will pass, and that you’ll survive it and have absolutely no residual problems from the way it affects your body.

Can you remember any instance in which your panic attack did not end? You are in full control over the emotions that you have.

When you have a panic attack sit down and figure out how it’s making you feel at the moment. On a scale from one to ten to rate your feelings. Wait for a while and then rate your anxiety again. Continue until your anxiety is back to a 0.

Consider imagining yourself as a boxer when you have a panic attack. Create a monster in front of you that is made up of all your bad feelings and stress. Now, beat the heck out of him. Knock off his arms, legs, eyes, antennae, and every part of his body until he’s nothing but a lump of goo on the ground.

Don’t just listen to music when you’re having a panic attack, get up and dance! Dance is a great way to exercise and get rid of the adrenaline absorbed by your body, ending your attack in a most enjoyable way. If you know that you get to dance when you have an attack you won’t feel so scared about it!

A very useful tip to remember when experiencing a panic attack is to try to be cognitive of your environment and what is going on in it. You should keep in mind that you are feeling a momentary nervous system overload; you are not in any physical danger. By keeping the panic attack in proper perspective, you will be able to stop it in its tracks more often than not. Yes, it is awful, and this advice is not meant to down-play that at all, but adopting this kind of thinking will help to negate at least some of the panic.

One good tactic to use while you are in the middle of a panic attack is to lower your gaze. When our bodies enter a state of hysteria, our eyes are ultra-sensitive. This means that the lights and other things that we see can make things even worse than they are.

When you begin to feel anxiety, make sure that you do something. Turn on the TV or start writing in a journal. Do not just sit there and let your symptoms get the best of you. When in doubt, do something to occupy your mind to you can relax a bit.

The fear of panic attacks will make you want to flee. Do not let this fear rule you and pay attention to what you are feeling. If you let your fears win or you try to fight the unpleasant moment you will never gain your control back. Allow and accept your feelings and they will pass.

Believe it or not, practicing good posture is one way to lessen the occurrence of panic attacks. When you subconsciously move into a defensive position, your mind reacts with feelings of fear. Likewise, such positions often create tension in the body and obstruct your ability to breathe deeply and clearly. By reminding yourself to open your posture and relax whenever possible, you help to counteract a common trigger of panic attacks.

Exercising regularly can help to deter some panic attacks. Exercise helps to prevent panic attacks in two ways. One, physical activity helps you to expel extra energy in your body, as well as, to moderate all of your biological processes. At the same time, exercise strengthens your body and makes you healthier and more confident, reducing your feelings of vulnerability and thus, of panic or fear.

As stated before, those who have panic attacks can face moments of sheer agony with shortness of breath and a rapid heart beat. This can be troublesome, but it can be overcome. Whenever you have a panic attack, just remember the tips from this article and your suffering will go away.

Read These Tips And Stop Suffering From Panic Attacks was originally published on Spring