Controlling Anxiety By Yourself

These are some good advice to control your anxiety

Breathing - Learn to breathe from your diaphragm, your tummy should rise and fall with your breath as well as your chest. Ensure your out breath is longer than the in one. A count of 4 in – 6 out is great. Use this as soon as you feel panic rising. Alternatively, if you find this difficult hold your breath for a few seconds. This resolves some of the dizzy feeling and any tingling in fingers and toes.


Distraction- As soon as you feel the anxiety rising and you get afraid – do something different. Really different. Change your environment, talk to someone, do something to distract yourself. 
Immerse yourself in something that takes your whole attention and needs detailed thinking. Plan a party, write an article, learn a new hobby – something right brained is particularly effective such as a musical instrument or creative design, photography, dressmaking, art, singing, sport, research for a project. 

See how much better you feel when your full attention is elsewhere. 
Learn and be confident that you can overcome anxiety by distraction. Later on you will learn to stop anxiety before getting to this stage but for now take comfort in knowing you can control it.

This is often enough to dissipate the panic. Some folk like company during these frightening events, others prefer to be quiet and alone. Either is fine.

Comfort yourself – be totally positive - but do allow yourself to go with it and the symptoms. Don’t fight panic, it makes it worse. Keep giving yourself positive messages that this will pass naturally and cannot harm you - breath and distract. 

Keep a journal. Initially get a blank book and just write whatever comes into your mind about who you are, how you got here, how you’re feeling today. 

Going forward resolve to write in it every day. 
Sometimes there may only be the bare facts of what you ate, where you went and that there were no issues but initially and on some days you may have lots to say.

Certainly in the initial stages track food, drink and sleep patterns, what your fears are, how they manifest themselves, what small task you set yourself to do, how it went and so forth. For ladies it is also worth tracking menstrual cycles.. As we move through stages in our female life it is possible that you may get PMS symptoms that you didn't have a few years ago.

There is really relief in writing plus it gives a massive boost to your confidence when you see progress in the making. When we’re anxious we forget easily and have poor concentration and only a few days later you may not recall just how you were on a certain day or even what you did.

Regular exercise – uses the adrenaline/ noradrenaline and the cortisol that are secreted when panic sets in and enhances endorphines (happy chemical) production. Walking or swimming are good places to start if you’ve not exercised for a long time.


Relaxation classes - good if you’ve got continual whirring thoughts: Tai’ chi, Yoga or meditation – promotes complete relaxation as well as stretching. This has a cumulative effect so try it regularly. The meditation part also helps learn to still the mind and cumulatively is a very effective exercise to learn to use during panic. Brings back down the body ‘normal’ stress level. 

Relaxation CD's are extremely useful. Find one you like and stick to it. Play it every day whether you are stressed or not and soon whenever you feel anxious just putting it on will relieve that tension. There is a panic specific relaxation CD that comes as part of the CD set 

Massage – This is good for headaches and unexplained pains in upper body or legs. It releases the tension that builds up in your tissues. Often with anxiety we store it in major muscle groups apart from the usual chronic areas such as shoulders and neck. Wit panic often major muscle groups such as leg muscles can go into spasm. 


Intestinal disturbances : A fast reaction from the guts is extremely common, you may find you get wild disturbances. The flight or flight reaction can cause the guts to want to empty so you may have diarrhoea as a primary symptom. IBS is often diagnosed if you have chronic intestinal disturbances and you report it to your doctor and get it investigated. When you learn to control anxiety, it usually subsides to a manageable level . Dietary changes are often helpful.

A churny tummy with or without nausea can usually be relieved by tonic or soda water leading to a good big burp or two.

Bach remedies will take the edge off panic and anxiety. These are flower essences, are completely safe and have no side effects. 
A couple of squirts in a bottle of water and sip liberally all day or 2 drops on tongue in a crisis.
 Rescue remedy is the main one used which is a combination of 5 essences. Additionally I used Aspen for fear, Cherry plum for terror and Rock rose for fear of losing control. 


Nutritional supplements – Having panic and anxiety is extremely draining on your body resources. 
A strong 50 mg Vitamin B complex supplement is highly recommended as is Omega 3 oil ,Vitamin C and extra calcium and magnesium.

If you are not eating properly or having trouble with nausea and vomiting please do start a liquid mineral /vitamin supplement such as Maximols that you can buy from this site. You will not improve if you are nutritionally running on fumes.

Unless you’re intolerant, warm milk at night contains tryptosan which promotes sleep and relaxation. Turkey breast also contains tryptosan 


Aromatherapy oils - lavender, clary sage, Chamomile, vetiver. Just a sniff or two of lavender oil can be very helpful in getting you through a difficult situation.


Herbs - If you are really shaky you can take passiflora/lemon balm/valerian root/ hops tinctures for instant help or you can take tablets regularly to maintain calm.

St Johns Wort can also help with depression but doesn’t kick in for 3 weeks or so.

Kava Kava is brilliant for anxiety but is currently withdrawn from the market whilst investigations go on into possible liver side effects complicated by anxious people often taking to alcohol for relief.

For constant insomnia melatonin is excellent. It’s not available in the UK but widely available in the US where its main use is for jetlag.

With all of the herbs above if you are on any other medications at all then you must check it out carefully and ask for professional advice. SJW is a definite No if you’re on the pill, immunosuppressants or anti coagulants. 


Food and drink: - It is worthwhile when acutely anxious, trying to eat little but often and keep to mainly protein and complex carbohydrates - nuts/seeds are a great choice, it’s recommended to have a protein based breakfast when you get up and then a snack within 2 - 3 hours – please avoid sugary things.
This takes the strain off your adrenals glands and maintains and regulates your blood sugar.


Caffeine – reduce intake slowly if taken to excess. This includes the new drinks advertised for energy and stimulation and colas as well as tea and coffee.


Alcohol: many people do resort to a glass of wine or 2 to help them relax. Before they know it - it's 3-4 then day time drinking - then all day drinking.
Do not go down this route. Alcohol is a popular and easily available 'sticking plaster' treatment for anxiety. 

It is also a disaster waiting to happen. It promises much initially, but is always a disappointment later. It is a depressant drug.

Many ‘spontaneous’ Panic attacks come shortly after alcohol and recreational drug intake.

Talk therapy
Talking does help but unless it’s an informal chat with friends, try to make the talks productive. 

Think of the messages you’re giving yourself every day. 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is the gold standard treatment of choice now which addresses how your thoughts affect you every minute of every day.
With about 90% of panic attacks you can revise your self communication and stop these happening, you can also address your excessive worrying traits. It is not easy and takes time and patience but it is extremely successful and this is included within the chapters of the CD set. 

Part of this is restructuring the neural pathways in our minds. Once we have done something once or twice our minds learn the sequence so can help us perform better ie know the way to a specific location. 

Once we’ve done it a couple of times it’s an anchored route, it’s the same with our fears. Once something has succeeded in frightening us, our minds automatically learns the process and therefore almost automatically leads us to a continued fear of certain things. Next time it senses something similar it gives us a warning and asks wit symptoms whether this is to be avoided too.
Thus the continuing list of growing fears where we had none previously. These neural pathways need to be broken and new ones built. This takes about 30 - 45 days to anchor and is a case of safe repetition.
Drive over the bridge you dread and you’ll feel extremely frightened and experience all the awful symptoms and maybe panic. You survive - just!!

Next time you do it again - you’ve positive messages to tell yourself and to reassure yourself with as you’ve already survived once. You still feel awful and frightened but again you survive. Next time may already be getting a bit easier and once you’ve been doing it daily for a month the fear will almost have dissipated – providing you are reinforcing the positive messages each time. Doing it with gritted teeth still actively visualizing all the possible extreme troubles and misfortune that could befall you will not help ridyourself of the fear. 

Do watch out for your thought patterns , they can be very powerful in keeping you anxious and in panic mode. Our thought process and what we actually do to ourselves ….

Take a minute : Is this following statement true ? …..
When your mind is sexually aroused, the body responds in an unmistakable fashion.

This is also true for every other aspect of your thought process...

If you think thoughts that frighten you then you will feel fear 
If you think despairing negative thoughts the body will respond by feeling worthless and depressed.

Your perception of events is of critical importance, not necessarily the events themselves. And by manipulating these perceptions, it becomes possible to diminish discomfort & pain.

 General advice:

Do not allow yourself to start avoiding anything or anywhere. Agoraphobia soon sets in. You are your own safe person and place.
Where you are at the time may be a trigger but once you learn to not have panic any more it just doesn’t matter.
Look after yourself emotionally, physically, spirituality and nutritionally and you will be making a head start in your recovery.
All these points are covered in great detail within the Ultimate Anxiety Solution.
You can overcome this anxiety and rid yourself of panic attacks.

Proactiveness + Positivity + Persistence + Perseverance + Practice =  Progress

I wish you every success on your recovery path.

How To Relieve Anxiety Without Medication

Anxiety disorders are an increasingly common problem facing people today. The rapid lifestyle and technological changes that have taken place over the last hundred years have brought with them an increase in stress, anxiety and panic for everyday people.
This has resulted in an inevitable increase in people searching for how to relieve anxiety disorders.
It is estimated that in these modern times there are approximately forty million American adults each year who are suffering from anxiety disorders. This situation is not just confined to the U.S either, with similar problems being experienced around the world.

If you are looking for ways to cope with anxiety, it is important to learn how to relieve anxiety naturally. Anxiety management techniques that focus on how to relieve anxiety without medication, will undoubtedly be best for your physical and mental health in the long run.

How to relieve anxiety – anxiety solutions

The following are a number of ways to relieve anxiety. This includes lifestyle changes, which are worth considering to help bring you some relief from your excessive anxiety problem.

1. Exercise

Many studies have been carried out into the effects of exercise on anxiety levels. In one study it was shown that a ten week program of exercise, undertaken by people suffering from panic disorder, had the same impact on anxiety levels as a commonly
prescribed anti-anxiety drug.
Regular thirty minute sessions of aerobic exercise, that are sufficient to get your heart rate going, can have a calming effect on the mind and the reduction of your anxiety levels are often noticed very quickly.
Who needs medication when there are ways of treating anxiety without medication which also benefit your overall health, with no harmful side effects? If you are not already doing this, i strongly urge you to give it a try.

2. Meditation

Meditation is a method of self regulation of the mind that has been practiced in various forms for thousands of years.
Scientific studies have shown that meditation can cause a significant reduction in anxiety levels in people who are suffering from panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder, including people also displaying agoraphobia.
Excessive anxiety is often brought about by our own hyper active thought processes. Meditation can help the mind to achieve stillness and peacefulness, and in doing so naturally helps with relieving anxiety.

3. Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy uses the essential oils from certain plants, which are mixed with either oil or alcohol. These aromatic compounds

Panic Attack Medication – The Truth You Need To Know!

The first time your anxiety disorder fully reveals itself can be a terrifying and confusing experience.
There you are, going through your everyday routine, when all of a sudden, without any rational reason or warning your anxiety levels go off the scale.
You’ve just had the first of what turns out to be a series of panic attacks.

Scary thoughts run through your mind, maybe there’s something seriously wrong with you, maybe you have a problem with your heart, maybe this is a serious threat to your health!
You start to feel more and more anxiety about everyday things, afraid to go out, irrational fears stalking your every waking moment. You’re scared and you feel like you’re struggling to cope, so you book an appointment to see your local doctor for advice.

Panic attack medication – the prescription

Your doctor listens to your story, asks a few questions, and conducts a physical examination to see if he can find any physical cause for the symptoms you are describing. 

Depending on your doctor’s knowledge at this point he may recommend you to a specialist for further testing, or he may realize that there is nothing physically wrong with you.
Either way, the end result is often the same, you are reassured that everything is alright, but recognising how stressed and anxious you appear to be, the doctor makes out a prescription for some medication to help you relax.

The panic attack medication that is given to you can sometimes help in the short term to relieve some of the symptoms that you are experiencing, but the relief you feel from this treatment can only be considered temporary.
It is not a way of curing your problem and giving you back your life to enjoy again. As soon as you stop taking the panic attack medication your problems will usually resurface and torment you.
Even more worrying is the fact that many of the drugs you are offered have harmful side effects and can be very addictive.

The main types of panic attack medication

There are a number of different drugs that are used when dealing with anxiety disorders. Probably the most common are the benzodiazepines. This class of drugs includes the well known Valium, Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin and Librium.
Benzodiazepines act fairly quickly, and produce a sedative effect. It can temporarily reduce the feeling of anxiety, but can also lead to side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, confusion and impaired thinking. Because it builds up in the body these side effects can become even more pronounced with prolonged use.

But the worst problem with the use of benzodiazepines, comes because of the need to continue using it in the long term to manage your condition. With symptoms returning upon stopping taking the drug, the risk is that your use may continue beyond the point at which you become addicted.
The withdrawal from bezodiazepines can be a harrowing experience, with insomnia, tremors, muscle spasms, gastric problems, depression and anxiety all common symptoms. Sometimes the effects can be worse, with depersonalization, derealization, hallucinations and psychosis. This experience can last for months.

Added to this will usually be the return of your anxiety condition, as the root cause of your problem has still not been identified and dealt with. The combination of withdrawal and full exposure to your anxiety disorder can be very difficult to cope with.
Long term use of benzodiazepines often leads to depression, and the escalating dosage required to overcome the effects of the tolerance that you develop to the drug can increase the risk of experiencing depressive symptoms which can also lead to suicidal thoughts and feelings.

A different type of medication often prescribed are anti-depressants. Commonly these are Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), of which the best known is Prozac. These have less harmful side effects than the benzodiazepines, but are also more limited in their effectiveness to treat anxiety disorders, and usually take over a month to start having an effect.
However the side effects do still exist, and use of SSRIs can mean having to live with fatigue, nausea, tremors, headaches, weight gain, decreased sex drive, insomnia, anxiety and diarrhea.

There is also the danger that, in some people, long term use of anti-depressants can actually cause an increase in depression and anxiety and consequently an increased risk of suicide.
While they are not as addictive as benzodiazepines, withdrawal from anti-depressants can be very tough. It is common for it to cause depression, and can also result in tremors, insomnia and nightmares, and of course the resumption of your anxiety disorder in full force.

Beta blockers are another type of medication that are sometimes used to help anxiety disorders. These are more frequently used to treat people with heart and blood pressure problems. They are not FDA approved for use with anxiety disorders but can be prescribed because there are scientific reports that support their use.
While they can help to keep some of the physical symptoms under control, like trembling and sweating, they are not useful for dealing with the psychological aspects of anxiety disorders.

Consequently they are of very limited use, and mainly seem to offer help to those with social phobia and performance anxiety in dealing with specific situations, such as giving a speech or performing in a public venue.
They also have a number of adverse reactions associated with them, including nausea, hallucinations, diarrhoea, dizziness and fatigue. Commonly prescribed beta blockers include Inderal and Tenormin.

Panic attack medication is not a cure for your anxiety disorder

Medication can be of help to people with severe symptoms who are desperate for immediate relief, but it should only ever be viewed as a very short term aid. Ultimately you need to cure yourself of this condition if you want to live a happy and satisfying life in the future, and the drugs you are prescribed are unlikely to do that for you.

If you are currently taking drugs to deal with your anxiety and panic attack problem, strongly consider speaking to your doctor about slowly withdrawing from them, and start looking for a permanent solution that focuses on panic attack treatment without medication.

You don’t have to continue to suffer, or accept a future in which you have to manage your condition. You can beat your anxiety disorder, but you will need to utilse a different treatment method because relying on medication may end up doing you a lot more harm in the long run than it does good.