eep Breathing can Ease Anxiety, Panic Attacks

With almost every patient I see, I introduce the concept and practice of deep breathing. It is one of the most effective stress-relievers in existence.

Learning to control your breathing, even in life-threatening situations, increases your chances for survival. Combat trainers working with Green Berets and FBI agents often refer to this phenomena as "combat" or "tactical" breathing.

The human body, when it's working right, is an amazing system.

When faced with an extremely fearful situation, the hypothalamus produces adrenaline and cortisol for release into the bloodstream. These hormones increase heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure and metabolism. Blood vessels open wider and let more blood flow into large muscle groups. Blood chemically changes to coagulate more quickly so we bleed less if wounded. Pupils dilate to improve vision, our livers release stored glucose to increase energy, and our bodies produce more perspiration to cool us.

The amazing thing is that all this happens automatically without a conscious effort on our part. Still, with all this natural action, most people experience some degree of fear in their daily lives. So what can you do? One way to deal with fear, whether it comes in the form of anxiety or panic, is to learn how to breathe correctly.

In many cases, we are unaware of our breathing pattern. There may have been times you noticed your breathing is shallow, or you were unknowingly holding your breath.

If we slow down our breathing rate in a fearful situation, we can often reduce fear and act more rationally. Yoga folks and others who practice meditation are in on the secret power of healthy breathing.

Experiencing a panic attack is like going 140 miles per hour on Interstate 95, except you may be at work or in your kitchen. For individuals who experience anxiety and/or panic attacks, self-help is available.

The same can be said for anxiety disorders. A rapid heart beat, tightness in the chest, fear of losing consciousness or having a heart attack and dying, and sweaty palms are common.

Several techniques are used to reduce stress. Deep, abdominal breathing is often the best way to reduce the chance of high anxiety and panic.

Free-floating anxiety or panic seems to come out of the blue, sometimes when we least expect it. There may not be time to do deep breathing exercises; however, there are cognitive coping techniques that help relieve symptoms and give us time to gradually work on breathing skills.

Although they may be frightening, severe anxiety or panic attacks are not usually dangerous to our health. But practicing deep breathing may make potentially habit-forming medication, alcohol and other drugs no longer necessary. This is not only healthier, but also a lot less expensive.

Bob Howat is a licensed marriage and family therapist who lives and practices in Fernandina Beach.

Stress - What Causes It And How to Cure It

Even though many people use the words "anxiety" and "stress" interchangeably, they are actually two distinct conditions. Stress is a response to a stimulus, either external or internal. You may experience stress when you are frustrated with something (like waiting in line behind a slow person) or when you are worried that you will not meet expectations (such as missing a deadline at work). Anxiety, on the other hand, is a feeling of dread, or nervousness and fear. It can be caused by negative thoughts and expectations, or as a reaction to stress. You may experience feelings of anxiety all of the time and not understand why, or your feelings may be a reaction to something you are nervous about, like an upcoming journey. Abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain can cause generalized anxiety. Some research indicates that anxiety can be hereditary. Anxiety can also stem from environmental conditions, as when the child of a parent who is often anxious learns to be an anxious person by observing the parent. But frequently, the core cause of anxiety is simply the thoughts that a person is thinking! Anxiety and stress are subjective conditions. Different people may feel stressed about different situations, and different people may react to their anxiousness in very different ways. Symptoms of anxiety can range from the mild, such as sweaty hands and tense muscles, to the severe, such as vomiting, irregular heartbeat, and anxiety attacks. Everyone feels some amount of anxiety once in awhile. We have all experienced the dry mouth and "butterflies in the stomach" before a test or public speaking engagement. But when does it become harmful to your health? Studies have revealed that prolonged anxiety can lead to sleep disorders, relationship problems, depression, and high blood pressure For sufferers of long-term untreated anxiety, there may be negative health consequences that have yet to be fully identified. Some studies have found a link between generalized anxiety disorder and a variety of serious health conditions including cancer, heart disease, respiratory illness, arthritis, and thyroid disease. Chronically anxious people may even be more likely to suffer a fatal heart attack. If you experience what seems like an overwhelmingly high amount of anxiety relative to the circumstances, or if you feel anxious nearly every day, you may actually have an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are chronic conditions characterized by an individual's inability to function normally because of constant anxiety. Anxiety disorders are serious conditions that should be treated to reduce the risk of long-term effects. Anxiety treatment has long been the subject of much debate in the medical field. Some medical professionals believe that medication is the best treatment for chronic anxiety. Unfortunately, anti-anxiety medications often have side effects that are just as bad as or even worse than the initial condition. There are plenty of natural, non-invasive ways to handle negative emotional reactions. Exercise is an often overlooked option, but it is very effective. Exercise causes your body to release endorphins, which are natural mood-boosting and pain-killing chemicals. With regular aerobic exercise, you may begin to feel a decrease in negative emotional responses to situations that would have previously made you very anxious. The most effective way to deal with tension and worry is to control it from the inside out. Stress management and stress relief techniques are very valuable tools in coping with day to day stress. These techniques can teach you to relax yourself and relieve your tension. You make a conscious effort to slow your breathing rate, release the tension, and remain in a peaceful state of mind. Meditation is an increasingly popular form of tension control in which you focus on thoughtful relaxation and deep, calm breathing. However, if you are searching for a proactive solution to relieve yourself of anxiety, hypnosis is the most effective treatment option. When an individual undergoes hypnosis, their reactions and emotional responses to events are changed at their core. This gives them the opportunity to deal with typical anxiety-inducing triggers without the typical feelings of nervousness and fear. Hypnosis can be performed by a licensed hypnotherapist in a series of regular sessions. More commonly today, hypnosis is available in the form of self hypnosis programs which can be purchased in the form of DVDs, CDs, or MP3s for personal home use. No special skills are necessary to practice self hypnosis. All that you need is a device to play the hypnosis program and a quiet space where you can listen and relax. Another very successful method of anxiety treatment is Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP. NLP is a form of therapy that can help you condition yourself to naturally react to situations in a more positive manner. You can consciously decide to stay calm rather than anxious, and consequently, you are always in control of your own emotions. It is evident that it is important to manage our negative emotional responses in order to stay healthy. Understanding how to deal with nervousness and fear may even add years onto your life. To treat long term anxiety, the best treatment option to follow is to use hypnosis to change your attitudes and reactions from within. Then, practice stress management techniques as needed to keep calm in everyday situations. Alan B. Densky is an NGH certified hypnotherapist. He offers a complete line of stress reduction hypnotherapy CDs, and advanced stress reduction CDs through his Neuro-VISION hypnotism website. You can visit his video hypnosis blog, and download a free MP3.

Do You Have Anxiety Or Panic Attacks - Hypnosis Can Help

Your life is changed. You are overwhelmed with a feeling of dread and feel you are losing your mind. You may feel you are about to die. You want to run, hide, or escape.

In any year, about one third of Americans have a panic attack. About one in 15 adults suffer from panic disorder, which creates recurring attacks that eventually cause them to become housebound.

Anxiety attacks are responsible for job loss, alcoholism and chronic depression. Many suffer marital problems and lose all desire for contact with the outside world. They have extreme social anxiety.

Panic attack symptoms can mimic other types of medical disorders and can result in years of misdiagnosis.

You may feel like you are having a heart attack, or angina. You might suffer from irritable bowel, dizziness, high blood pressure, or hiatal hernia.

You most certainly believe you have a serious illness and may be going from doctor to doctor trying to find what is causing your symptoms. Your physical symptoms may change and that makes your illness even more puzzling.

What is the cause of these anxiety attacks? The main cause is believing you are helpless and trapped by an overwhelming threat. The threat may at one time have been real or it may be imaginary.

It doesn't matter.

Your panic is the result of recurring stress over a period of time. If you are a worrier, suffered a traumatic event, such as abuse, or are a perfectionist, you are more prone to panic attacks. As you worry about your anxiety and continue to avoid situations that seem to bring on panic, the attacks just keep coming. It is a vicious circle and is self perpetuating.

Contrary to popular belief, anxiety does not come from immediate dangerous situations. Anxiety comes from your thoughts.

"Thoughts are Things

It is the thought of a past or potential danger that causes the panic, not the actual danger itself.

Some of the symptoms of panic attacks that mimic disease are:

* extreme nervousness
* shaking, sweating and trembling
* very rapid heartbeat and/or palpitations
* a feeling of suffocation - that you can't get enough air
* a feeling of dread - that something bad is going to happen or you are about to die
* dizziness or lightheadedness
* nausea
* hot flashes and/or chills
* "pins and needles" in your fingers or toes
* a feeling that you are "going crazy"
* chest pains
* choking

Of course, many of these symptoms are the result of a medical condition. But if you have no certain medical illness to cause the symptoms or if you haven't suffered a real life threatening event prior to the panic attack, you have a very high chance of suffering from anxiety or panic disorder.

If you suffer from anxiety symptoms you know what they feel like.

My cousin suffered from panic attacks. Often her symptoms were a feeling of not being able to breathe and not getting enough oxgen. She would get so panicky that she couldn't sleep and often would get up and sleep in her recliner because her attacks would come in the middle of the night when her mind was racing and she couldn't calm down. Her heart would race and she thought she was having a heart attack. She suffered these attacks for many years.

Often your panic attacks will last no longer than a minute or two at their intensity, but they leave such an indelible impression on you that you retreat from people and situations that might cause another panic episode.

You ask "what's wrong with me?" Your episodes are sudden and severe, but short lasting. They are typically gone in about 30 minutes, but when you experience anxiety symptoms for the first time, you may end up in the emergency room thinking you have a serious illness.

Experiencing a panic attack changes your life dramatically in many ways.

Here's how hypnosis can help you rid yourself of your panic disorder.

Once you suffer recurring panic disorders, you expect them to happen. Your brain and your subconscious mind are waiting for the anxiety attack.

What you concentrate on and expect WILL happen because your subconscious is very powerful and will override the conscious mind.

To begin ridding yourself of your anxiety disorder, imagine yourself looking at a movie of yourself in a frightening situation.

What situations cause your panic? Are you out with people in a social situations? Are you driving a car? At work? In a certain location or around certain objects or animals? Watch yourself in that movie in your panic situation. Where are you? What do you hear, smell, see? Write it down.

Now, watch yourself in that movie again. Imagine watching yourself in that frightening situation. What are the physical symptoms you are feeling? Are you nauseous? Is your heart palpitating and are you short of breath? Are you hot or cold? Weak? Difficulty swallowing? Shaking or trembling? Write down what you are physically feeling. You will have those that are unique to you.

Now imagine yourself in that situation again and concentrate on what you are thinking. Are you imagining the worst thing is going to happen? Do you think you may die or have a heart attack or faint or lose control? These are typical irrational thoughts and inaccurate outcomes that intensify your panic.

Write those things down.

You will feel more in control of your anxiety just by placing your panic situation on a screen and watching and examining your fearful situations from a distance. This is a very powerful NLP technique. It is looking at a fearful situation from another point of view. When you step outside of yourself and look at your anxiety from a different perspective, it becomes less powerful. You can examine it.

Now, you will need to reprogram your irrational thoughts of panic with truthful statements about your situation, your imaginary danger and your physical symptoms.

Look at the situation or place that caused your panic. Create a suggestion that you are relaxed and safe when you are in that situation.

If you are dizzy, tell yourself you are relaxed and dizziness will pass when you slow your breathing.

If your heart is racing, tell yourself that there are no consequences from having a rapid heart beat. Tell yourself your heart is healthy and strong and will slow down in a few minutes with slow breathing and relaxation.

Breathe slowly and deeply. Imagine a balloon on your stomach and slowly fill it up and then let it out slowly.

Whatever your symptoms are, reprogram them for positive. "You can laugh and the tension is gone in your throat." "You are clear headed and rational in any uncomfortable situation."Your legs and arms are strong and all weakness is gone"

Create positive statements for all your physical symptoms and for all your negative thoughts, and then create a new movie with yourself in control in that panic situation. Replay that movie of yourself and watch yourself stop negative thoughts with positive statements and cope with the anxiety with your new responses to the fearful situation.

It's a good idea to keep a journal of your thoughts during anxiety episodes. For each negative thought, create a new and positive outcome statement.

For more self-hypnosis techniques, visit my website.

Carol A Pounds I have twenty years experience in teaching and education, twelve years working the in health care profession, and am a certified hypnotist. My goal is to help people keep their minds and bodies in optimum condition and help them achieve their goals through the power of the subconscious mind. More original content on achieving your goals posted on my website. http://www.achieve-with-hypnosis.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carol_Pounds