How to Stop Anxiety & End Panic Attacks

Postpartum depression is way more common than you may think. Nearly 85% of women suffer from postpartum depression after giving birth. That’s a pretty huge statistic. If you’re a part of that number, you can take comfort in knowing that you’re about to receive some serious relief.

Here, you’ll learn many natural techniques to incorporate into your overall postpartum treatment. Understand that your feelings are quite normal considering the hormonal changes you’re going though. The danger of postpartum depression is that 10-15% of women who suffer experience abnormally long periods of mood fluctuations before they eventually feel emotionally stable again.

That’s why it’s sooo important you don’t hesitate in addressing this problem right away. Letting it grow out of control can really put a strain on your family and your overall well-being. Make the responsible decision to apply these techniques today.

It’s pretty scary what you’re going through. Your body is completely retracting from its previous 9 month transformation in a matter of weeks and you’re feeling vulnerable, depressed and just generally irritable.

How to Feel Better…

I’ll be helping you get over this rough patch with numerous techniques that are completely proven to work. Although you feel a little nuts right now, you’ll be well on your way back to normality after reading these outlined practices for postpartum depression treatment.

First, let’s just delve a little deeper into what’s happening to you. Once you understand why you’re feeling what you’re feeling, you’ll feel more confident that you WILL feel “normal” again. Let’s get started on making you all better, shall we?

The symptoms of postpartum depression don’t paint the prettiest picture when they’re laid out in front of you. Most often they start to arise 2-3 weeks after giving birth.

The strangest part of the whole experience is how gradually they can progress. At first you may just feel a little “off”.

Perhaps, you’ve got the blues for a day or so and then you’re back to your normal self. A few days later, another episode emerges and you’re sad for a couple of days. Again, afterwards you feel better for a day or so.

As time goes on, these days when you have to blues get closer and closer until eventually, you just feel sad all the time, seemingly for weeks on end.

Most often, the symptoms of postpartum depression include but are not limited to the following…

Not such a great scenario huh? That can be a very frightening list at first glance. The important thing to take away though is that all of the above symptoms happen in one place – your brain. None of them can physically hurt you once you learn to control your thoughts and take positive action to correct the feelings listed above.

I’ll be showing you how to do that in just one second. But, first I want to quickly go over why you’re feeling like you’re feeling. Remember, it’s important you understand the whole scenario in order to see how the solution addresses the root cause.

What Causes Postpartum Depression

The postpartum period is characterized by a huge change in your body’s hormone levels. Within just 48 hours after your baby’s delivery, estrogen and progesterone levels fall dramatically in your system.

These hormones moderate neurotransmitter systems in your brain which regulate your mood, stress levels and general anxiety. The degree to which you’re affected is based on your individual brain chemistry. However, the overall effect is a change in the active level of serotonin relaying signals from one receptor to another in your brain. The result is the depression you’re feeling.

Eventually, over time, your serotonin levels will stabalize and you’ll start to feel better. But how long will that take? It’s different for everyone. That’s why putting the following techniques to use is your best course of action. Applying these strategies will help alleviate your depression and anxiety until your body chemically adjusts.

Treating Postpartum Depression

1. Getting Support – having a support system in place during postpartum depression is essential. Surround yourself with family members and friends who can help with caring for the baby. Have your husband, family and friends give you some help with the housework. Better yet, if you can afford it, now’s the time to start thinking about hiring a bi-weelky housekeeper. Ensure that your husband provides equal time with caring for the baby as well. Take turns getting up to change and coddle the baby during nighttime wakes. Have a plan in place so your husband and family know what you’ll need help with in childcare. Do NOT bear the burden of feeling like you’re the only one who knows what to do. Educate your family, husband and friends so they know what you expect from them. It is not your sole responsibilty. Don’t be afraid to delegate to those around you. You’re undergoing a HUGE responsibility and you’ll need help.

2. Date Nights – Get friends or family members to babysit your newborn when possible. Postpartum depression can create a feeling of being trapped by your infant. Whenever possible, arrange for a babysitter so you and your husband can have a date night. There’s nothing wrong with escaping for a night and feeling free for a few hours. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Just going out together and seeing a movie can help you feel alive again. You’ve been so engulfed in this new world of parenthood. Take a night to feel yound again. It’s amazing how just a few hours can completely reinvigorate you.

3. Designated Nap Time – I’m talking about YOU here, not the baby. Designate times during the week (or even day if possible) where you can have your husband watch the baby while you take a nap for an hour. You’re probably exhausted from the circus that’s been going on in your body. Sleep is a great way to recharge your batteries and overcome the next emotion that twirls in your head.

4. Try to avoid alone time – during postpartum depression, alone time is usually when your thoughts become overwhelming. Try to surround yourself with friends who can help block out that negative inner voice. Sometimes just seeing their smiling faces will be enough to cheer you up. Remember, what you’re feeling is temporary. You will feel better again in time.

5. Look your best – you probably feel like staying in your pajamas all day but this is a big mistake. Shower everymorning and get dressed early. Dress for an active day. Even if you’re at home all day, it’s important to find balance between comfort and appearance. By keeping up your appearance, you’ll ward off that “throw in the towel” mentality. Habits like poor eating and gaining weight will be fended off by your love of your self. You’re still so beautiful. Celebrate it every day.

6. Talk to other mothers. Learn from their experiences. You’ll feel better as they tell you how hard it was for them and yes, they did eventually get back to normal with the passing of time. Hearing other mothers’ stories of postpartum depression can be comforting. You know you’re not alone and it creates a bond between you and mothers everywhere. Find out if there are postpartum support groups in your area.

7. Exercise & Eat Healthy. Not only will you start looking and feeling better on the outside, but by taking these positive steps you’ll know you’re improving with results you can both see and feel. Exercise also releases endorphins which will give you a positive rush during workouts. You’ll feel energized and this will minimize everyday fatigue. My sister got in the absolute best shape of her life after her baby was delivered. She set the goal to lose nearly 50 pounds and reached it one year after childbirth. She had never looked so wonderful and the feeling of accomplishement glowed on her face with her continuous, proud smile.

The FASTEST Way to Feel Better

One of the most effective ways to move on from feelings of postpartum depression is to gain assurance and support from people who have already been in your shoes. Gaining a sense of normality with your emotions will gently calm your panic by letting you know that what you’re going through is completely normal.

An EXTREMELY popular book for coaching women through postpartum depression can be found right on Amazon here.

It’s called “This Isn’t What I Expected: Overcoming Postpartum Depression“. Here’s what one review says about the book…

I love this book! It gave me so much insight on PPD and all the different ways I could help myself and get the professional help I needed. It also helped regain my relationship with my husband! I would reccommend this book to every woman who is pregnant. It’s good to know what to look for as far as symptoms go, that way you can get help sooner. I was in denial for several months thinking I would “snap out of it”. This IS an illness, and can be treated!! I still have bad days, but they are fewer and farther between. On the bad days I just pick up this book and go to one of the earmarked pages on self help therapy and within a few minutes (instead of hours of crying) I’m feeling better. If you even THINK you might have PPD this is the book to read! It’s also great to give to someone who is in denial…they might not appreciate it at the time, but will love you for it later! Good luck to all those women out there going through PPD right now!!!!

You can read more reviews right here.

Take the time to educate yourself. The more you learn, the more you’ll be able to rationalize these chaotic feelings and roll witht he punches of postpartum depression until you’re completely back to yourself again. Take care!

At the height of my anxiety, I would have week-long stints of nocturnal Panic Attacks.

On top of that, my anticipation of the attacks led to insomnia. I was sleepless and without a good nights rest, I’d spent my days walking around exhausted like a zombie.

I used to fear going to bed. It sounds strange when you say something like that out loud. It sounds even stranger when you try to tell your friends and they can’t possibly understand.

Having a Panic Attack in the night is just horrible.

My first nocturnal attack was the worst one (as with most first panic attacks). I had had panic attacks before — but never at night. Afterall, what kind of cruel joke was it to have a panic attack at night?

That’s like having someone come up to you when your sound asleep and punch you right in the face!

…not good.

I awoke thinking I was dying of course.

The really messed up part about a nocturnal Panic Attack is that you aren’t in a cognitive mindset. You can’t rationalize when you’re sleeping. So you awake to the most normal and natural reaction possible – utter terror.

It wasn’t always like this for me. I used to solely have anxiety during the daytime. Really, I always considered bedtime a relief from my worry.

But over time, as my anxiety got worse, I could no longer trust sleep as a safehaven.

I would finally get home to my apartment at the end of the day, hoping for some relief from my anxiety and hiding in the bed sheets was a massive Panic Attack just waiting to wake me up in the night.

Luckily this can all be said in past tense because I have found a way to end my Panic Attacks for good and lessen my anxiety to a minimal factor in my life.

In this article, I’ve outlined the strategies and tactics for stopping nocturnal Panic Attacks for good.

Now, these tactics won’t completely remove ALL your anxiety. That’s what the Panic Away program is for.

However, the tips here will end your nocturnal attacks by providing some “bandaids” to the anxiety that’s preventing your good night’s rest. So without further ado, let’s get to it.

To avoid the attacks you should prep your body well before sleep. At least 30 minutes before bed don’t watch any television. Reading a relaxing book is preferred. And you should try to drink some Sleepytime tea. They sell it in any supermarket. I would recommend to stay away from alcohol or any unnecessary drugs that will induce a later state of depression. You want your body at complete equilibrium before bed.

If you can, exercising at night helps. Just make sure you don’t do it too close to bedtime or else you’ll be more wound up than tired. Do whatever you can to relax whether it be taking a hot shower, a soothing bath or even dare I say it? – masturbate or have sex. That’s right, I’m not holding back here

Your goal is to prep your body to shutdown into the most docile state possible before bedtime.

If an attack hits during bedtime and you wake up, go into a sound breathing exercise. You are to breath for 2 seconds in through your nose and 2 seconds out through your mouth. Continue until the attack subsides and it WILL subside. Practice this exercise during the day for a few minutes until you are comfortable with the transition. An exercise like this may take a moment to sink in because you will be thrown off your guard (I’m well familiar with it) when you awake.

The important part is recognizing the situation and throwing your brain into a rational state as soon as possible.

I did this with an exact strategy and an exact discipline. Stopping my Panic Attacks was really much simpler than I had imagined. I just had to follow the right blueprint for success. I finally found that blueprint with the Panic Away program.

Depression happens to everyone at some point in their lives. Really, if you’ve ever met someone who’s said they’ve never gotten depressed, they’re simply not telling the truth.

No one is above the rule that sometimes people just get sad. It’s human nature. Just as you love the way you feel when you’re happy, your body counterbalances with similar levels of sadness. It’s a part of our biological design to feel the feelings you feel when you’re depressed, so understand that your emotions are completely normal.

That said, there are many people, just like yourself, who experience bouts of prolonged and deep depression due to any number of factors including hormonal imbalances, circumstancial changes, chemical imbalances, ingrained emotional temperments and a whole host of other reasons.

It’s important that you understand, the following guidelines are NOT for curing the root cause of your depression. The techniques below are designed to show you how to deal with depression, accept your feelings and move on to a happier, more positive mindset. The techniques absolutely work, so try to stick to them as hard and fast rules whenever you’re in doubt and unsure how to deal with depression.

Ready to start feeling better? Great! Let’s show you how to deal with depression and have you feeling “normal” again.

Before we begin, it’s important you understand a very important principle. Now, it may sound a little out there, so just bear with me for a moment. Your depression is a part of YOU and everything that’s apart of you is a good and wonderful thing. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the feelings you’re having. They are completely normal. Let me explain…

Life is complex. Our emotions are our mental reactions to the physical and circumstantial stimuli around us. There are a limitless number of things that can happen to you in life. So why should you experience only a limited number of your feelings?

Depression is a normal and natural emotional response to certain stimuli. The problem of depression comes into play when you can’t let go of the feeling and move on to more pleasant thinking. Some people just don’t know how to deal with depression and they keep it inside for weeks, months or even years. It’s a real shame huh?

When your mind lingers on negative thoughts, depression feeds on itself and essentially sets up shop in your head, refusing to go away and let you enjoy the positive things around you. The techniques I’m about to teach you will help you release this mental monster and move on with your life.

It can feel like a helpless battle when you first experience depression. Your mind becomes so introverted and self-absorbed. You can feel trapped in your own head and while you’re stuck in there, all your attention focuses on everything you don’t like about yourself, your life and those around you. Depression can get very dark. Knowing how to deal with depression gets you back into the light.

That’s where I come in.

Sometimes, all it can take is a little outside perspective to take you out of that element. Here I’ll be shedding some light on that dark depressive cave, effectively letting you see the big picture. I’ll show you how to deal with depression using natural techniques that are proven to work fast.

I know how you feel. You get so bogged down in your depression that it seems you get tunnel vision, meaning you only see the negative immediately before you. I used to be there myself before I know how to deal with depression.

The fact is, your perception is your reality. If you focus on the negative, whether it’s there or not, you’ll be attracting more negative into your life and things will only get seemingly worse.

Here I’ll be teaching you active ways you can change your perception and learn how to deal with depression, not so you can elimintate it completely, but so you can let it wash over you like water off a duck’s back.

Sometimes that’s just how you need to face life…one challenge at a time.

See, there are two primary ways to choose how to deal with depression.

1. You are completely empowered to overcome the feelings of negatively, letting your sadness fuel the fire to improve yourself and your life. Depression motivates you to change for the better. It gives you the push to strive for greater things.

2. Your depression cripples your ability to make great things happen for yourself. You let depression consume and incarcerate your ability to laugh, love and be grateful. You watch life pass by as others seemingly enjoy feelings you’ve forgotten how to find.

The good news is, if you’re reading this right now, you’re well on your way to knowing how to deal with depression using the first reaction.

If you’re still stuck in the second way of thinking, have no fear. I’m about to unload to phenomenal tactics to help you change your perception. “Changing your perception” is a phrase I want you to mediate on. That’s because perception is the playing field in this game of how to deal with perception. It’s where you take action.

Here we go!

Life is a gift. You can make it whatever you want. Knowing how to deal with depression is just the start. The only limitation is your own way of thinking. Make the decision right now to change your way of thinking so you can experience every wonderful thing life has to offer.

Let’s go way beyond how to deal with depression.

The Conquering Stress Program found here will show you how to overcome all your negative thoughts which feed your depression.

Chris Green authors this ebook and I have to say, he’s really outdone himself. I read this book and actually re-read it every few months to reinforce the principles. It’s a must have in your reading collection if you’re serious about finally living “depression proof”.

Check it out here right now. I know you’ll really enjoy it. There’s some really nice testimonials as well. I always like to promote books with a sound track record. This one’s got it. You may want to jump on it quick though. Chris is always taking products off the market without much notice. Anyway, go on, give it a read and let me know your thoughts.

By now you’re no stranger to Panic Attacks. You know their symptoms. You know they can’t kill you despite the fear you have during the attack.

And…

You know the techniques that calm you down when they strike.

That’s all well and good. Don’t get me wrong. But it’s just not enough.

See, I don’t want you to spend the rest of your life as some kind of Panic Attack “Kung Fu Master”, fighting off the attacks with every bout, waiting patiently for the next one to come around the corner.

I don’t care how prepared someone is for a Panic Attack. I guarantee they would rather avoid them altogether than go through a lot of self meditation to slow their heart palpitations.

Knowing the Panic Attack self-defense that I’ve taught you on this site is important. But it’s not my goal for you to be the most well adjusted Panic Attack sufferer. My goal for you, is to end the Panic Attacks altogether.

I never want you to have another Panic Attack again in your life. That’s it.

Sure it will take some baby steps to get there, but know that ultimately, I’m looking to completely rid you of your Panic Attacks for life. This site has done it for hundreds of other people and you’re no exception. Follow my lead and you’ll be cured of Panic Attacks just like they are now.

Thoughts are things. You’ll hear me say that over and over again. What I mean by that is…

When you have negative thoughts, negative things will come into your life. Conversely when you have positive thoughts, positive things will come into your life. That’s because thoughts steer the direction of your life.

Everything in your life up to this point is a result of the thoughts in your head. This includes the shirt on your back, the car that your drive, the food in your fridge, the house that you live in, the dog you now own…

…Everything.

Whatever it is, you thought your way into having that thing.

Now, this theory is an introduction to the fundamental thinking behind “The Law of Attraction”. You may have heard of the book “The Secret”. That too is based on the Law of Attraction.

Today’s lesson on preventing Panic Attacks relates to this law. Allow me to explain…

A Panic Attack in itself (aside from the physical symptoms) is a negative thought loop that spirals downward out of control.

Panic Attack circumstances can be different for everyone. Speaking personally, mine would often happen when I was at work on a stressful phone call.

I would think…

“I hate being on the phone like this. This is so stressful. Ughhhh, when is this ever going to end?”

As my negative thoughts escalated, so did my heartrate and breathing. Shortly after, the Panic Attack would then ensue.

Your thoughts are just as responsible for your own attacks. Put quite simply, your mind is just not in a happy place when your anxiety spirals into the attack. So to prevent the Panic Attack, you’re going to learn to control your thinking and in turn prevent falling down that negative thought spiral.

There is no task in the world more exhausting than controlling the course of consecutive thought. Our brainwaves travel at 120 meters per second, creating continuous and instant impulses of thought.

Have you ever tried to clear your mind? Not so easy, huh?

Even if you tried to clear your mind and think of nothing, you’re still going to literally be thinking something.

Everyone has this continuous voice of thought in their head. Those who control its direction are masters of their own destiny.

So where do we begin?

Simply monitor your thoughts and determine their direction. I made a brief table below for your reference.

As you monitor your thoughts, start to determine which side of the table they are coming from. When you do have a negative thought, immediately couterbalance this thought with a positive one.

An easy way to do this is by making a list of all the things you are grateful for in life — all the little things that give you pleasure. Essentially, you make a list of positive things.

As negative thoughts flow into your head, immediately replace them with one of these positive things and meditate for a second on it.

Why go through all this?

This exhausting exercise (and it will be exhausting at first) is going to train your brain to change its thought patterns. Once you get into the habit of tossing out negative thoughts like it’s a sin, you will slowly begin to think more positively in general.

This TOTALLY works and has been proven over and over.

Another important part of this is taking a moment everyday to reinforce your positive thoughts. I usually spend 5 minutes in the shower giving thanks for everything I am grateful for.

It could be something as simple as being grateful for having friends who love me or a fond memory of a camping trip that I went on. It doesn’t matter what it is, so long as it comes from the left side of that chart.

Whatever is positive in your life, take a few minutes everyday to reinforce that good and say thank you to the universe for bringing it to you.

Don’t be lazy about this. Monitoring every consecutive thought in your head will be hard. You’re not going to catch everything, but stay on it. The more corrections you make to your thinking, the easier it becomes. It gets easier over time because you’ll start to have less negative thoughts in your head.

That makes a HUGE difference when it comes to your anxiety and Panic Attacks. Prevent your Panic Attacks with this exercise and start living your life to the fullest ever day.

Of course there are so many other exercises and techniques that you can find in the Panic Away program on the next page. This program was truly a godsend for me and the teachings within it are truly irreplaceable.

As helpful as my website lessons may be to you, they are nothing compared to the value and support you receive from the Panic Away program.

If you’re suffering from anxiety, it’s more than likely there are times you feel overwhelmed with the task of overcoming it completely. It’s a normal feeling to have.

After all, anxiety is a recurring problem. It pops up every now and again when you let your guard down and allow negative emotions to take over. There’s no quick fix.

The thought of spending the rest of your life trying to cure yourself of this condition is enough to make anyone dizzy. There is hope, though, and your solution is as SIMPLE as it is EFFECTIVE…

Take each episode of your panic and stress one day at a time.

What does that mean? Well, if you spend all your time worrying about the next anxiety attack or the next uncomfortable moment, you’ll never be able to appreciate the downtime you DO have.

Make it a habit to change your perspective after calming down from each episode of extreme anxiety. Tell yourself that you ARE getting better. You really are! Every experience where you control and manage your anxiety is a step forward towards ending the problem for good.

Recognize that each new day is a day closer towards achieving your goal of a stress free life where YOU decide how you want to feel.

Here’s how to do it…

There are 3 important thinking strategies you can implement right now to change the way you approach your anxiety. These strategies will take some of the pressure off and allow you to continue improving your mental health as quickly as possible – one day at a time.

Tips for helping you overcome your anxiety one day at a time:

1. Use Visualization

Visualization is a key factor in making your dreams a reality in life. How can you expect to have a happy life when you don’t even know what that means to you? Spend time everyday visualizing your perfect life. It should be a stress-free daydream where you picture every last detail of your day, down to the dishes in your cupboard. When you visualize where you want to go, you’ll naturally progress towards that physical and mental state. This is based off of the law of attraction. The law states that thoughts are things and when you direct your thoughts towards positive things, positive changes will happen to you.

2. Give Yourself an Outlet

You need to have a way to decompress from your stress. Having an outlet for your anxiety is a nice way to give yourself a break from panic and just lose your thoughts in what you love to do. Your outlet could be a hobby like cooking, painting, reading or singing. It could be a physical activity like exercise, golf or hiking. I personally play Tennis when I need to unwind. The point of the outlet is to always have a place to go when your anxiety takes hold. For some, being alone is preferred. For others, when anxiety hits they just NEED to talk to someone like a therapist or family member. Decide what works best for your personality type.

3. Keep a Diary

Keeping a diary serves two purposes here and BOTH of them will help you cure anxiety one day at a time. First, it helps you to better understand your feelings and review your progress as you read your past worries and fears on paper. Secondly, these notes come in handy when you’re speaking to your therapist or counselor, figuring out how to overcome these mental barriers. Learning from your challenging thoughts of the past will make tomorrow’s stresses easier to cope with. Try it out and see if it works for you.

It’s no surprise that curing anxiety goes way beyond these three strategies. I’d be doing you a disservice if I told you it was as simple as 1-2-3. The fact is, curing anxiety requires diligent effort on your part towards learning tactics that work on a continuous basis.

If you’ve been following my tips for any length of time now, you KNOW I’m a HUGE advocate for Panic Away. It’s by far the best program out there for continuous support in overcoming anxiety. Take it easy and remember…

Take it one day at a time.

If you’re feeling anxious at just the thought of driving, chances are getting on the freeway is enough to tip you into a full blown panic attack. You’re not alone and there IS help, so listen up. Anxiety while driving is way more common than you might realize. If you’re suffering with this debilitating condition, this article will give you strategies you can start implementing immediately to overcome your problem once and for all.

So, let’s get started with some tips that will alleviate the anxiety while driving one step at a time.

Rationalize your Behavior and Set a Goal

Recognizing the root cause of your fear is really the first step to overcoming your problem. Driving anxiety can originate from a multitude of places.

Have you ever been in a bad car accident or experienced a traumatic experience in the car? Is your generalized anxiety giving you an overwhelming fear of death? Do you have claustrophobic tendencies and feel trapped in the confined space of a car? Have you ever known someone close to you who also suffered from this debilitating condition? Were you deeply affected by someone who died in a car accident?

When did your driving anxiety begin?

These are just some of the questions you should be asking yourself when you get into the car and that terrible fear takes hold. Rationalize your feelings by recognizing their origin. Although this tactic won’t stop your driving anxiety, it will poise you to start treating it. That’s because understanding the root cause of your fear puts the problem in perspective. You recognize that it’s an irrational anxiety that can be stopped with treatment. The anxiety while driving is just an illusion that you’ve created for yourself with preconceived notions based on superstition and habitual behavior.

That’s the theory, anyway. The fear as you know is much more tangible.

After taking note of your fear and the feelings that overwhelm you, make a pact with yourself that you won’t let fear steer the direction of your behavior.

Choose to run TOWARDS what you want in life. Don’t run AWAY from what scares you.

Do you recognize the primary difference between those two scenarios? When you move TOWARDS your desires, you’re taking action. When you run AWAY from what scares you, you’re reacting (and irrationally as well). Take control and make the decision to overcome your driving anxiety. Making this commitment is the first step towards realistically attaining this goal.

Overcome the Panic

When you get in that car and the panic hits, it’s going to strike fast and furious. Have a plan and learn anxiety tactics that work. The very first sensation that will hit you is a feeling of not being able to breathe comfortably.

You’ll probably have trouble swallowing normally and taking natural breaths. You’ll feel claustrophobic. You’ll feel like you’re dying and trapped in your car. The list of symptoms goes on and on.

Learning to breathe the RIGHT way will be your best ally at plowing through the panic and building up a tolerance to the driving anxiety.

Start by inhaling deeply through your nose for 4 seconds and exhaling out your mouth for the next 4 seconds. Feel your diaphragm pushing your stomach outward as you breathe in and pushing inward as you exhale through your mouth.

Be methodical with your breaths. Don’t rush them. Hyperventilation is a common symptom when driving anxiety hits, so this exercise will take control of your physical symptoms and allow you to calm your panic away.

The other idea of breathing is to change your focus. If you feel like you can’t swallow, it’ll only feel more uncomfortable by thinking about it. Swallowing is an involuntary muscle reflex. Of course it’ll be harder to do if you’re actually concentrating on the muscles in your throat. Focus on what you can control, your breath. Let this exercise calm you and give you the satisfaction of knowing you’re doing something to actively stop your panic.

Getting Out of your Comfort Zone

When it comes to overcoming your anxiety while driving, don’t think of it as turning off a light switch to make the anxiety effectively disappear. Instead, think of the process as wearing down your sensitivity to the fear until you are numb to the experience altogether and driving becomes a mundane activity.

There are a couple of factors that come into play here. Firstly, when you’re driving, you’re usually moving away from you home – a place of comfort. This activity alone is something that may give you anxiety.

Start small and work your way up. Start by driving around the block or even a nearby, empty parking lot. Work your way up to driving casually around the neighborhood or on short errands.

As time goes on, try to make the trips longer and longer until you eventually take your progress up to highway driving.

Also, try to make your car as comfortable as possible.

Make the temperature perfect with climate control. Have relaxing fragrances in the car if that makes the experience more enjoyable for you. Car fragrances help you take advantage of another anxiety fighting tactic – Aromatherapy.

Also, music is a great way to take attention off your fear. Play your favorite CD or ipod playlist. Enjoy yourself. Who knows – if you pamper yourself enough in your car, you may start looking forward to the longer trips.

The most common complaint about anxiety while driving is driving on the freeway. The higher speeds and increased traffic can be a huge hurdle for panic sufferers.

My recommendation is to take it slow. You can get out of your comfort zone using baby steps without pushing yourself too far. Stay in the right lane. Go a little slower than the speed limit if you need to. If you’re in the right lane, you’re not inhibiting other drivers from passing you, so don’t feel self-conscious about your speed.

Don’t Stop Here. Engage in a Proven Step by Step Program

It’s easy to learn a few tips, casually practice them and then pretend your anxiety is gone for good. The truth is, long-term success is determined by your persistence to continuously learn new ways to treat your driving anxiety and adapt to new fears that may arise.

When it comes to ending driving anxiety for good – and I mean PERMANENTLY, there’s no program out there that compares to “Driving Fear”. Driving Fear is a program I discovered about a year ago while surfing through the internet, looking for ways to end my driving anxiety naturally.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover the program helped me completely eliminate driving anxiety by transforming my fear on the road. What was REALLY cool was that the program went beyond eliminating driving fear. Using the easily transferable techniques, I was able to overcome OTHER fears even when I wasn’t in the car.

I think ANYONE can benefit from this program. I certainly did. If you suffer from driving anxiety and you’re ready to finally do something about it, start with the Driving Fear Program.

Check it out here: The Driving Fear Program

Try it out today and learn the lifesaving techniques that will stop your driving anxiety in just minutes!

If you’ve been trying to stop your overwhelming anxiety for any length of time, you’re probably already familiar with some of the more common strategies. Breathing techniques, mental exercises and finding physical outlets for stress are just a few. Granted, these tactics work pretty well, if you want to speed up the process, the following 5 natural herbs for anxiety are sure to do the trick.

I have to admit, prior to trying out the herbs listed below, I was pretty skeptical of the results. I’ve never considered myself the holistic, hippie type. I had some reluctance going the route of natural herbs to deal with my anxiety.

What finally convinced me was a simple yet effective remedy to nighttime panic that yielded amazing results.

I used to have a LOT of trouble getting to sleep at night. My mind would toss and turn and it seemed impossible to get to bed with the unstoppable, anxious thoughts rolling around in my head. A good friend told me to try Sleepytime tea with Valerian root by Celestial Seasons.

I figured I’d give it a shot. I picked up a box of the tea at my local supermarket and quickly discovered drinking it before bed was a great way to lull my body into a calm state.

The Valerian root in the tea decreased my anxiety like nothing I had ever found.

I decided to do a little research about the herb and found out that it has mild tranquilizing properties. Obviously it’s not the kind of thing you should ingest before operating heavy machinery or driving, but valerian root proved to be an awesome, gentle solution for my nighttime anxiety. It led me to do some more research.

I wasn’t looking for something that acted like a heavy drug; quite the contrary. I was looking to find natural supplements that I could weave into my diet to give me a nice, gentle way take the edge off daily stress.

After some trial and error, I came up with the 5 effective herbs for anxiety listed below. As always, talk to your doctor before using any of these herbs on a regular basis.

Passion Flower

Passion Flower acts as a non-drowsy, natural sedative that relieves intermittent nervousness, anxiety and panic attacks. It’s actually the vine of the passion flower that holds the soothing effects.

Rather than knock you out or make you sleepy, passion flower will make you feel emotionally balanced. It won’t give you a hyper, happy or excited feeling. Instead, passion flower will restrain your emotions from its range of extremes. If you have exaggerated emotions throughout the day (you go from very happy to very angry or sad), you may find passion flower to be a nice supplement.

St. Johns Wort

Extracts of this popular herb exert an antidepressant effect by inhibiting the reuptake of the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Dosage may vary. The one I took had a recommended serving of three grams of powder per day, but you really need to take it for weeks before results are felt. That said, if you just buy the supplement pills at your health store, this herb becomes a convenient way to ward off the blues.

Ginkgo Biloba

Used to improve circulation to the brain, Ginkgo Biloba elevates mood and is often used as a natural antidepressant. Side effects are minimal, but talk to your doctor if you decide to go this route. Ginkgo Biloba has been linked with bleeding disorders so you should do your homework before giving it a try.

Meadow Sweet

Meadow Sweet relieves headaches related to anxiety and stress. You can drink meadowsweet tea or extract as a convenient dietary supplement.

I have just a couple of warnings for you here. People with sensitivity to aspirin should avoid the use of meadow Sweet. Keep in mind, it should never be used to lower headaches or fevers in children as it may possibly lead to Reye’s syndrome.

Kava Kava

This is one of the most popular choices for the treatment of anxiety and insomnia. It is a powerful herb from the South Seas. Used as an alternative to Valium, research studies have found it reduces anxiety equivalently. The advantage is that there are no addictive side effects with the Kava Kava.

Bear in mind, Kava Kava WILL knock you out. It acts as a sedative so don’t take it if you need to stay alert for any duration of time. This is a more powerful alternative if Valerian root isn’t getting rid of your nocturnal anxiety effectively enough.

Talk to you doctor and see if they advocate adding any of these natural herbs to your diet. I’ve tried the ones mentioned above. Your own results will vary but for myself, I found Valerian Root and St. Johns Wort to be the most beneficial for my specific anxiety traits.
Remember, adding these supplements to your daily routine won’t do a thing if you’re not engaging in the RIGHT anxiety fighting tactics. Knowing strategies that effectively reduce panic, stress and anxiety is the only way to get over your debilitating condition.

It’s a pretty common scenario for most first time panic attack sufferers to immediately think they’re having a heart attack. After all, one of the most prominent symptoms of a panic attack is a POUNDING heartbeat that seems to flutter out of control. It’s pretty terrifying. Plus, if you’re unfamiliar with the symptoms of a panic attack, a heart attack seems like a natural conclusion to what you’re feeling.

Because it’s so common to mistake the chest pains that normally accompany panic attacks for a life threatening heart attack, this article will clear up the confusion and differentiate between the two. Upfront, I just want to say that people don’t die from panic attacks.

So even though it feels like your heart is going to pop right out of your chest during one of these episodes, the fact is, attacks like these are analogous to intense levels of cardio exercise with one major safety net. Extreme cardio exercise may potentially lead to heart attack whereas a panic attack will force you to pass out or faint before any real damage is done.

That’s because the physical symptoms of a panic attack are triggered by an offset in breathing (usually hyperventilation). Your heart isn’t being strained; it’s being thrown into a natural fight or flight response. Also, your heart isn’t what’s causing the panic attack – your mind is.

The fear combined with the physical sensation creates a natural sense of urgency.

Every year, thousands (if not millions) of people having chest pain, difficulty breathing, pain or numbness in the left arm and tingling throughout the body end up in a hospital emergency room because they believe they’re having a heart attack. Typically, a few tests are run, and the patient is sent home because the nature of the attack he or she experienced is one of panic, not coronary.

Here, I’ll outline the symptoms of both a heart attack and a panic attack so you can see their subtle differences.

The two share several common symptoms. For instance, the chest pain from a heart attack is focused in the center of the chest and is crushing, as if a heavy weight is sitting on top of the chest. It is usually persistent, may radiate to the left arm, neck or back and lasts longer than 5 – 10 minutes. Heart attack victims don’t hyperventilate (unless the person’s fear of heart attack triggers a panic attack), any tingling they experience is usually confined to the left arm, and vomiting is common.

During a panic attack, chest pain is localized over the heart and described as “sharp, and comes and goes. The pain usually intensifies with breathing in and out, and pressing on the center of the chest. Panic attack may cause nausea, but vomiting is very rare. If tingling is present, the entire body tingles. Hyperventilation almost always precedes panic attack symptoms.  If the location of the pain moves to the center of the chest, doesn’t go away within 10 minutes, is accompanied by more than one incident of vomiting or diarrhea, or goes away and returns a few minutes later, you should immediately get medical attention.

Now, if you’re having panic attacks, you may be inclined to worry about how these episodes are affecting your heart long-term.

Panic attacks don’t cause heart disease, and some experts say that they actually affect the heart similarly to the way cardio exercise does, by causing the release of adrenaline, increasing the heart rate, and expanding blood vessels. On the same note, heart disease doesn’t cause panic attacks, although a person with a history of panic attacks who is actually having a coronary may also panic for fear of worsening the heart damage, dying or being disabled.

That said, stress is NEVER good for your overall health so it’s important to start treating your panic and anxiety right away. You won’t hear me say that stress benefits your health of course but try not to think of stress as some terminal condition.

The truth is if you don’t have traditional risk factors – you’re not a smoker, you don’t have high blood pressure, obesity, have a family history of heart attack, your risk should be very low.

If you’re having panic attacks, chances are you have high levels of anxiety and this kind of constant stress can lead to obsessions about your health. I’m here to tell you that if you take care of yourself with exercise and proper eating (something you should be doing anyway), you don’t need to worry about heart failure during a panic attack. It simply won’t happen. The two scenarios (panic attacks and heart attacks) are completely separate animals and should be treated as such.

Now that said, just because you won’t die from a panic attack, that doesn’t mean you should just live with the debilitating anxiety it creates. There IS help for you.

Start with “Panic Away” and get your stress under control FAST!  You can read about it here.

Have you ever experienced feeling an overwhelming wave of anxiety rapidly wash over you once you have stepped inside a pharmacy, at work or a convenience store? If yes, this is probably because pharmacies and convenience stores are lit with harsh, fluorescent lighting.

You might be wondering now what the relationship is between fluorescent lights and anxiety. If you have experienced the beginnings of an anxiety attack just by being near a fluorescent light or being inside a room lit with them, you are not alone.

Many people who suffer from anxiety attacks feel the same way too.

In one particular survey, 53% of those who suffered from anxiety felt that their attacks got worse when they saw fluorescent lights.

The common complaints when it comes to being near fluorescent lighting from anxiety sufferers include hearing a buzzing sound, having the sudden urge to pee, feelings of being anxious or disconnected and difficulty in focusing or concentrating on things.

Some sufferers of anxiety attacks may be able to tolerate being in rooms lit with fluorescent lights for up to an hour or several hours.

Others who suffer from anxiety attacks find the experience more disconcerting. Some complain of wanting to cry or wanting to curl up into a tight ball whenever they are in a room lit by fluorescent lights even when they have been exposed to the lights only for a few minutes.

Several studies have shown that fluorescent lighting is related to anxiety, hyperactivity, attention problems, bodily stress aggressive behavior and tooth decay in children. Researchers have also found that too much of fluorescent lighting can cause annoyance which can lead to medical stress. Fluorescent lights have also been linked to worsened cases of agoraphobia or the fear of wide, open spaces.

If you have a job that keeps you indoors for most of the day, you might end each day feeling tired and burnt out. This may prove dangerous for you, especially if you are already prone to depression and anxiety.

Being under the glow of fluorescent light all day cannot make up for your need of the sun’s beneficial rays and may make your case of anxiety worse.

Doctors are advising those who are stay indoors all day, especially those who are prone to depression and anxiety, to get more sun.

If you suffer from increased anxiety when in a room with fluorescent lights, you might consider going for full-spectrum lights, which have been shown to improve the mental activity and moods of people who were suffering from depression and anxiety.

I like to make sure I get ouside for at least 15 minutes to half an hours during my lunch break at work just to take a little mental vacation from the fluorescent lights. I highly recommend you do the same. You’ll feel way better for it.

If you’d like to learn how to stop the “little things” like annoying fluorescent ligting from getting to you, you should check out the strategies taught in the Linden Method. The program is great for teaching you how to turn off these stress triggers like a light switch. You can learn more here.

OCD ran my life. Really, it controlled every aspect of the day. I would constantly check the door knob when leaving my house just to make sure the door was locked. Of course that was after already checking it 5 or 6 times.

It’s not the easiest disorder to describe to someone. OCD effects everyone differently. Utlimately though, I think it comes down to worry. You worry about whether or not your alarm clock is set. You worry about whether or not you left the stove on. You worry about the slightest germ or miniscule piece of dirt on anything you own.

Sooner or later all this worry builds up and leaves you feeling helpless and victimized by your own obsession with perfection.

OCD has innocent victims as well. Your co-workers, family and loved ones around you all suffer from your problem. They’re all affected by your quirks. It could be as simple as making them late for meetings, dinners, outings or special events with time consuming compulsions to quadruple check things around you.

You may avoid physical contact with those you love out of your own discomfort towards germs or uncleanliness. It’s possible you’re losing touch with friends and family around you due to your fear of driving. Perhaps your work is suffering due to your inability to stay focused on anything other than your own OCD tendencies.

These are just a few random scenarios that OCD can create. Whatever degree of OCD you suffer from, you NEED help and the fact is the only one who can save you is yourself.

The good news is… you’re not alone.

Did you know that Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) affects 2.2 million Americans or 1.0% of the U.S. population from ages 18 and older?

OCD is one of the anxiety disorders that is SO difficult to understand. To get a better idea of the definition of OCD…

OCD is characterized by unwanted, recurring, disturbing and uncontrollable thoughts called obsessions and/or repetitive and habitual behaviors called compulsions.

Among the most common obsessions are fear of being contaminated with germs, sexual or violent images, excessive orderliness and excessive attention to superstitions.

On the other hand, symptoms might be milder like repeatedly washing hands, obsessively worrying if doors are left unlocked, counting and silent repetition of words, etc.

If you have any of the above signs, it is necessary to take action now. You may think these innocent habits aren’t such a big deal but their longterm effect becomes degenerative. Once you think it’s ok to obey one particular superstition, your mind will create all sorts of new rules to follow. Make the responsible decision to nip this problem in the bud now.

The fact of the matter is that there is no cure for OCD. It’s not like you get a shot in the arm from some doctor and your obsessive habits cease to exist. A habit is both broken and created within 90 days. Some people will argue that you can create and break a habit every three weeks, but honestly – I’ve seen this theory in action.

In order to break your OCD habits, you’ve got to engage in “normal” behavior and responses for 90 days. That kind of habitual training conditions you for a permanent solution.

Effective treatment of OCD anxiety may or may not widely reduce the repetition of your obsessions and compulsions. You decide whether or not this works. There’s no one to blame but yourself. Let me give you a little example to illustrate my point.

My Totally Embarrassing Nail Biting Story…

When I was a younger I bit my nails terribly. Really it was quite gross. This was long before my OCD really became prevalent in my life. I was about 16 or 17. BTW – I don’t consider nail biting OCD. That is, unless of course you meticulously bite your nails in a compulsive or repetitive nature. However, for the sake of this story nail biting is just a bad habit.

Anyway, I was a young, shy guy in high school and a very significant time was right around the corner.

Prom was coming up and I really really wanted to look great for my date. She wasn’t a girlfriend or anything. I was just going to prom with a really nice girl that I liked for a while.

So, anyway…

Here I was about 3 months before prom and I had these disguisting bloody fingers from all the terrible biting. I REALLY wanted to make a great impression on Jill (my date), so I swore off the nail biting and proceeded to try every remedy under the sun to end the habit.

I tried using that nail polish that tastes terrible – I just bit them anyway and cringed everytime. It didn’t work.

I tried putting strings around my wrists to remind me that I was specifically trying not to bite them. This tactic failed quickly. I just ignored the rules whenever I felt stressed and started chomping away.

Then I put bandaids on all my fingers. I must have looked so silly. For weeks I showed up at school with ridiculous bandaids on my fingers. It was just as well. At the time I was a very shy kid and didn’t have many friends anyway.

This worked for the remaining 8 weeks (mainly because I never took the bandaids off long enough to go at it.) and when Prom came around, my hands looked great for Jill. I remember feeling so proud of myself.

Now the few days following were fairly good. Afterall, I was out of the habit. I didn’t need to bite my nails right?

Not quite. Can you guess what happened the week after prom?

I was so ravenous for nail biting that I chewed my fingers worse than ever! Eventually I learned to control the habit with a combination of the bandaid treatment for a couple more months and some SERIOUS conscious effort but this lesson isn’t so much about nail biting.

Any habit can be broken on the surface for a short period of time. However, you’ve got to really WANT to resolve a problem permanently to put forth the effort it takes to extinguish subconscious tendencies.

You can avoid OCD habits for any length of time but until you monitor yourself nonstop for an extended period of time (and I mean 90 days or more), you’ll never be able to train your brain away from these damaging compulsions.

If this doesn’t sound like it’s for you, that okay. There are more conventional ways to get relief.

Conventional OCD Therapy

Among the known procedures that help in OCD anxiety relief are behavioral therapy, cognitive therapy and pharmacotherapy.

Psychotherapy

The first line in OCD anxiety relief is behavioral therapy. With the assistance of your physician, you will undergo an exposure treatment and response prevention. The doctor will expose you to the source of your obsession and/or compulsion and you must prevent yourself from engaging the repetitive thoughts, ritual or habit you usually do under such circumstances. This method as an OCD anxiety relief has in fact found to be effective by 75% of patients who underwent this therapy. Cognitive therapy is also another way to relieve OCD anxiety. This approach will let you address the source of your compulsion and/or obsession and challenge them. When cognitive and behavioral therapies are combined, it is more effective as an OCD anxiety relief and is called cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Pharmacotherapy

Pharmacotherapy or the use of medication is another common method used as an OCD anxiety relief. Medication prescribed for patients with OCD anxiety helps in the reduction of obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. Among these medications are Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) such as include Celexa, Luvox, Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft. Another group of medicines, which was declared by one university as more effective is called Clomipramine like Anafril.

Support

For you to have effective OCD anxiety relief, seeking support is a must. Your family is instrumental to the success of your treatment so it is best if you make them a part of your recovery. Families and relatives, in most cases, do not understand the plight of patients with OCD anxiety when they are forced to deal with the patient’s obsessions and compulsions and your family may be the same. To minimize this, it is best if they come with you during your consultation with your doctor so that the latter may explain to them your predicament. If you do not have a family or live far from them, you can engage in support or self-help groups, talk to a trusted friend or seek spiritual advice from your church minister or priest.

My favorite solution is the well known “Panic Away” program and has been getting a LOT of attention from Psychotherapists these days.

It’s by far the easiest way to engage in solving your OCD problem because it not only shows you step-by-step how to overcome numerous anxiety disorders, it also puts you in touch with a support staff that is there for you whenever you need extra help overcoming a particularly rough day of anxiety, panic and OCD.

Take the next step to ending your OCD today with the “Panic Away” program on the next page. It’s guaranteed to cure your OCD using natural techniques and CBT therapy. The step-by-step approach has been proven over and over again to work wonders on ALL types of anxiety including OCD. Check it out here.