Control Anxiety

Trying to overcome the intense times of anxiety and the perpetual fear of having a panic attack can make you feel helpless. Especially when these attacks are triggered without any cause, and when you least expect them. Even though such situations might seem to be uncontrollable and turn out to be random, by understanding and learning the procedures from the Linden Method you can set your life free of suffering from panic attacks for good. This method includes three simple yet extremely powerful strategies, namely - deep breathing techniques, staying in the present and repeating affirmations to take back control. This article will explain the basics of dealing with a panic attack by using a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy along with the Linden Method System.

Balancing the Body with the Power of Breathing

Whenever you are going through an intense panic attack, the first and foremost thing you need to do to overcome it is to step-up or increase the supply of oxygen in your blood stream. The hyperventilating, which follows immediately after a panic attack is mostly due to the imbalance of oxygen. What's important to do is forcing yourself to start taking deep, full, diaphragm breaths to bring out balance in the body. When you breathe in deeply and sufficiently using your abdomen, it lowers the carbon dioxide levels at a rapid pace. Use your nose for breathing in till count one, hold on for two-three counts, and slowly exhale out through your mouth for up to two counts. After about a minute of breathing this way, you can double up the counts. Again, use your nose for breathing in till count two, hold on for seven-eight counts, and exhale out through your mouth for four. In the beginning, it might feel a bit difficult to actually control your breathing as the panic attack will make it hard for you to follow through it. However, if you stay firm and stick to the practice, you will definitely feel that your body is beginning to return to a calm and balanced state rapidly.

Never underestimate the power of affirmations

When you are going through a panic attack, the best way to gain back control (apart from deep breathing) is positive self talk, using your inner voice to balance and calm your mind. You shouldn't underestimate the effectiveness of controlling your inner conversation. With the use of repeated positive phrases, you can relax your mind and calm it down, and soon you will see your body following. Strong statements such as "You won't die from an anxiety attack" or "My body is fighting with the attack, this will pass off in no time" will immediately bring a sense of confidence and take full affect after a minute or two of repetitions. Affirmations which others have found to be helpful are, "I can sense the panic and still stay firm and deal with it" and "I can deal with this situation even if I don't like it". When you remind yourself that your fright is only because of being scared, it will give you the room to consider that by putting a stop on the worrying about getting frightened allows the realization to set in that there is nothing really to get scared of.

Staying in the Present

An important element of the Linden Method concepts is the technique of staying in the present. The key to this method is, rather than questioning yourself and assuming something dreadful will happen, start focusing on now, the present moment. People suffering from panic attacks have a habit of creating 'catastrophic fantasies' in their minds and start to imagine how terribly wrong things might go in the future. In order to combat this mental conditioning, it's necessary to know and realize that when you stay focused on the present, the control begins to shift back to you.

Acute periods of anxiety and panic can leave a significant impact on your thinking process. Getting over a panic attack which drains you requires you to take some strong action to affirm yourself. However, by employing methods like the ones we discussed above, and the Linden Method strategies, you can finally get rid of those disturbing panic attacks for life.

Further reading:

The Linden Method by Charles Linden