RELAXATION
IS A HELPFUL TOOL IN CONTROLLING ANXIETY AND PANIC ATTACKS
By:
Michael Smallwood ©
A never-ending nightmlare is often the best way to describe the
daily life of an anxiety or panic disorder sufferer, as they live
in constant fear and uncertainty as to when the next attack will
come or how strong it will be this time around. An anxiety or
panic attack overwhelms your nervous system, and causes you to
have a sense of confusion; leaving you disconnected from the world
around you, as irrational thoughts and fears forces you to loose
all self-control of your emotions. By learning how to control
your emotions with various relaxation self-help techniques, you
will be able to bring yourself some relief and control over your
disorder; that sometimes is hard to come by simply depending on
medications alone.
Many
relaxation programs are available to help you find relief from
anxiety and panic disorder, disruptive affect on your life. Methods
that have been effective relaxation techniques range from meditation,
hypnosis, and visualizing to the more common and simple deep breathing
with sounds relaxation exercise that you can do anytime from the
comfort of your home.
Non-spiritual
meditation, can assist you in learning how to focus your thoughts
on your breathing instead of your disorder’s symptoms .By
concentrating more on your breathing, you will be able to distract
your mind even if for a moment, away from the attack, giving you
a chance to regain control of the situation.
Hypnosis
is sometimes used when sufferers cannot find the confidence hidden
inside them, that they can overcome and manage their irrational
fears that trigger panic attacks. With anxiety attacks, having
positive self-confidence will give you reassurance that you can
face and get through any situation.
Visualization
works in a similar manner of meditation, by using a voice tape
or your own imagination to describe a peaceful and pleasant place
to focus on. Again, the goal is to distract your focus away from
your disorder and on to something more relaxing. As you visualize
what ever you like, you will start to notice that your breathing
is more relaxed, muscles are not as tense and your blood pressure
is returning to a normal level. All of these emotional effects
contribute to the overall force of an attack.
All
of these while different methods, all have a similar goal in giving
you skills to help you relax and to have confidence in your abilities
to face any attack without first becoming overwhelmed.
A
common and simple to do relaxation exercise is simply to close
your eyes, turn on some soothing music while taking slow deep
breaths. This method does the same thing as the other techniques
mentioned before, helping you learn how to relax your emotions
with deep breathing and thought distraction through the soothing
music.
Facing
anxiety and panic attacks everyday can be overwhelming at times,
using any form of self-help techniques along with any medications
that you are taking; is an effective combination for bringing
you relief and freedom from anxiety or panic disorder’s
grip on your life.
Michael
Smallwood is a freelance writer, specializing in but not limited
to anxiety and panic disorder self-help recovery. He also suffered
from anxiety and panic disorder for 15 years, before finding relief
through self-help techniques supported by medication. You can
contact him for questions, comments, or assignment inquires by
e-mail. Michael_Smallwood@Hotmail.com