It is too easy to become a self fulfilling prophecy where anxiety is concerned. It is simple to understand, if you believe you will be the victim of an anxiety attack, it is bound to happen. It will happen with increasing frequency until it completely debilitates you.
The time has come for you to stop visualizing yourself as a victim. Although it is easy to feel victimized, knowing how to stop anxiety means having a proactive, survivor’s attitude towards the panic.
To do this, you will have to train your mind to think about your anxiety in a new and different way.
Stop Having Anxiety About Having Anxiety
If you think about it, it is an almost humorous thought. Yet, it is the cause of most panic attacks. Thinking about anxiety causes the anxiety attack.
This is the essential premise that often makes anxiety sufferers become a self-fulfilling prophecy. They focus on their anxiety. They dwell on it.
They talk about it with peers. They read about it. Everything they do serves only one purpose, it keeps anxiety foremost in their mind. They expect to have an anxiety attack, but are still surprised when it happens.
It is no wonder they have anxiety, they are doing everything they can to reinforce the feeling. The first step of how to stop anxiety attacks is to stop reinforcing the anxiety that you have.
Each time you talk about, read about, or even think about your anxiety you are giving it more power over you.
The more you concentrate on your anxiety, the more you begin to fear it. The more you start to underestimate yourself and your ability to get past that fear. You give yourself time to imagine the worst possible scenarios that could happen when you have an anxiety attack.
The first time you begin to feel an anxiety attack occur, your mind immediately recalls all of the fears and negatives you have been focusing on.
The attack feels different this time because the panic has a firmer grip than previous attacks. Your anxiety will increase with surprising speed because it is the foremost thought on your mind and does not have to compete with other thoughts.
If you keep worrying about having anxiety, you will always have that problem. You will not be able to stop anxiety attack and panic feelings from overwhelming you. It is important that you cease this behavior as soon as you can.
If you find yourself obsessing about anxiety attacks, you must take control of the situation. Tell yourself you will be able to handle the anxiety and then divert your thoughts to happier or more relaxed topics.
Avoidance Is Not An Option
This topic goes hand in hand with having anxiety about anxiety. If you have suffered from anxiety attacks for any length of time, chances are you are already training yourself in avoidance. Avoidance is the most common anti-anxiety technique, but it is also the least useful.
Avoidance starts when you begin to focus on your anxiety even when you are not having an anxiety attack. You realize that there are times when you are in a certain situation, like sitting in a crowded subway or riding in the elevator to work, and you begin to feel anxious leading to a panic attack. In the beginning, it probably does not happen every time you are in the situation.
As you focus on your anxiety in that situation, you will inevitably start thinking about all of the things that could go wrong. The subway could be so crowded you miss your stop and are trapped.
The power could go out and you could be stuck in the elevator for hours. The situation does not have to be that extreme, you could simply fear the way others will treat you if you have a panic attack at that moment.
Sooner or later, consciously or subconsciously, you will begin to avoid the situation you fear. Once you avoid the situation, you will mistakenly tell yourself you are okay.
You may feel temporary security, but by telling yourself you are safe away from the situation you are also telling yourself that there is danger in the situation.
Inevitably, you will encounter the situation again. Even in today’s modern world, it is still impossible to completely avoid riding a bus, being in an elevator, shopping for groceries, driving in traffic, or whatever event triggers your anxiety.
Unfortunately, you have now convinced yourself that you will have a dire panic attack in that situation. You predicted an anxiety attack and you mind has no choice but to respond accordingly.
In this instance, the only solution of how to stop an anxiety attack is to stop avoiding the situation. In fact, you will want to immerse yourself in the event that is most likely going to cause your panic.
The more you do, the more you will find that you come out okay. You will train your mind to not anticipate anxiety and it will occur less frequently. Even when anxiety arises, it will not have the power over you it once did.
Retrain Your Mind
The only way to not make your anxiety attacks a self fulfilling prophecy is to retrain you mind to think about your anxiety differently. The Panic Puzzle Program was designed to retrain your mind and alter your perception of anxiety. It gives you the tools you need to stop the anxiety cycle for good.
When you become stronger than your anxiety, you will no longer fear it. If you do not fear it, you will not obsess about it day in and day out. This will break the self fulfilling cycle and help you stay in control of your anxiety in any situation you face.
