Before you learn more about these three methods, let’s talk about depression in general. Although no one is immune from feeling sad or anxious from time to time, a person who suffers from depression lives in a chronic state that cycles between fear and despair. This saps the joy and motivation from your life and the more you dwell in it, the more it depresses your brain and immune system.

You know what it feels like to be depressed, now, imagine what it feels like to be free of these dark feelings. See yourself popping out of bed in the morning, stretching and smiling, ready to face a brand new day. See yourself being calm and centered, even when faced with events or people that would normally set you off. Ask yourself what it would feel like to operate from a base of confidence, to be motivated and to feel like you are in charge of your life. Then tell yourself that you deserve to lead a life that makes you feel good about yourself.

Natural cures for depression can help you create this state, but you must be willing to follow the program. The first thing you need to do is take a remedy to help increase the production of feel-good neurotransmitters, like serotonin, in your brain. Start with a supplement because by healing your brain, you will have the energy and motivation to make other lifestyle changes that will help you to climb out of this slump once and for all.

There are many natural remedies on the market, so it is important to do your research because you want want to select a supplement that will work for you. Look for a remedy that is made from proven ingredients such as Passion Flower and St. John’s Wort. This formulation should be standardized to deliver the same ingredients in every dose.

Although some people believe that natural remedies are less effective than drugs, this is simply not the case. In countries like Germany that are focused on natural health, remedies are the number one treatment. Plus, these herbs have been used since the time of Socrates to treat depression. Natural remedies are one of the best, most effective cures for depression because they increase serotonin in the brain and will motivate you to make other important changes in your life.

Once you start feeling better, take a look at your diet. The food you eat gives your body the nutrients it needs to repair itself and function optimally. In terms of natural cures for depression, a healthy diet is crucial step. Don’t kid yourself that it’s okay to eat junk food, although you still can treat yourself once in a while.

Don’t change your diet all at once. Instead, take baby steps by making small substitutions. For instance, if you eat sugary cereal for breakfast, try making an omelet with fresh vegetables and garlic or have some oatmeal topped with a natural sweetener that doesn’t spike the blood sugar (like Truvia) and cinnamon. Make sure that you have quality protein at every meal and focus on eating fresh vegetables and fruit in season. As your diet improves and you continue to take the natural remedy, you will wonder why you didn’t start this program sooner.

The third step in this simple-to-follow “cures for depression” program is to add exercise. By this time, you will be eating good food, taking a supplement and your body will want to move. You will be motivated because you will feel better and more energetic, so don’t worry about needing to summon your will power.

Again, take baby steps. Start with a leisurely walk around the block. Enjoy it. Take in the sights and sounds around you. Allow yourself to feel gratitude simply because you are alive and in motion. Then step it up a bit and start walking at a brisker pace. As you feel better, you may want to try yoga, swimming, cycling or any other physical activity that appeals to you.

In summary, natural cures for depression can help you to get your life back. Start with a good natural remedy, make small changes to your diet and then add daily exercise and before you know it, you’ll be feeling healthier, happier and more vibrantly alive.

Laura Ramirez is a dedicated to helping others achieve health and a sense of well-being. Learn more about her findings on natural ways to treat depression by going to www.cure-depression-naturally.com
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If you suffer from anxiety and want to be free of it, then you first need to be able to imagine what your life would be like without constant fears and doubts. What would it be like to get out of bed and be excited at the prospect of another beautiful day? What would it be like to make decisions easily, instead of being crippled by indecision? How would it feel to view your life as a journey to a deeper sense of self than as a series of stumbling blocks. Imagine for a moment that you are free of anxiety and worry.

When asking, can anxiety be cured, you need to understand what you are really asking. If you are asking if there is a quick fix, the answer is yes and no. There are medications that you can take to treat anxiousness, but they can have side effects that increase your sense of impending doom. Since people who suffer from anxiety tend to be super sensitive, sometimes they can’t tolerate medication. This is why millions of anxiety sufferers around the world are turning to natural remedies, but we will talk about these in a moment.

In order to answer your question, can anxiety be cured, you first need to understand what the condition really is and how deeply it can affect your entire life. In addition to coloring how you feel, it affects your attitude, your behavior, your relationships with others and your willingness to take calculated risks that could significantly improve your quality of life.

Symptoms of this condition range from mild to severe. If you have mild anxiety, you live your life with a vague sense of fear. You are always waiting for “the other foot to drop.” In other words, you’re waiting for the next bad thing to happen. At the other end of the spectrum, severe anxiety can cripple you emotionally and destroy your life.

Since anxiety is triggered by stress and stress occurs inside the body (thoughts and feelings trigger stress) and outside the body (in the form of external events), you need to learn which stressors you can control and which you have no control over, but can control your response to. This is where natural remedies come in.

A good natural remedy contains herbs that will calm and soothe your brain, increase serotonin and decrease the negative thinking that spirals into panic attacks and generalized anxiety. Natural remedies reduce negative thoughts and leave you in a relaxed state of awareness. They give your brain the nutrients it needs to heal the damage caused by being in a chronic state of fear which leads to a new perspective on life. Then you will stop asking can anxiety be cured and start taking the steps to overcome it.

Once you are relatively free of negative thinking, you can start learning techniques for dealing with negative thoughts and emotions as they arise and you can also learn what to do when something happens outside of you that you don’t like. These are just skills that you can learn. Like any new skill, you simply need to practice them, so you can better deal with events outside your control. The difference between someone who suffers from anxiety and someone who feels the fear, but acts anyway is simply a difference in behavior.

Of course, in order to get to this place, you have to first calm and soothe your brain, so you’re not constantly bombarded with negative thoughts. And this is why it is helpful to take a natural remedy first and then learn the skills that will help you to deal with stress in way that helps you rather than hurts you.

So the answer to the question, can anxiety be cured is a big yes. Like anything, though, it is a process. Starting with a natural remedy can give you the peace of mind to learn new techniques that will help you deal with stress more skillfully.

Everyone is affected by stress. But you can learn to deal with it, so it doesn’t ruin your life.

Laura Ramirez is a dedicated to helping others achieve health and a sense of well-being. Learn more about her findings on natural ways to treat depression by going to www.cure-depression-naturally.com
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Take a moment and imagine that your life is different. What would life be like if you were not saddled by anxiety and depression? What could you do if fear or lack of motivation didn’t hold you back. See the possibilities in your mind’s eye. Paint a picture of it with your imagination. Would you wake up in the morning refreshed and ready to tackle the challenges of the day? Would you view problems as opportunities to think differently about things and improve your ability to tackle challenges? Would you see life as an exciting journey, rather than an exercise in negativity and frustration?

A better life is possible for you. If you can imagine it, you can do it. You just need to learn how to make it happen.

The first step is to find a good treatment. Why? Using certain herbs increases the production of feel-good neurotransmitters in your brain which lifts your mood, heightens perspective, increases motivation and decreases negative thoughts and feelings. You can’t do anything unless you feel better first. When you don’t feel good, you lack the motivation.

This is why a natural treatment is the first step. But it’s important to know that not all natural medicines are the same. Since you want to overcome depression, take the time to do your research. Find a good supplement that contains proven ingredients like St. John’s Wort and Passion Flower, which have proven to be effective. These herbs are best taken in a formulation that guarantees the same dose of ingredients every time. The most effective depression and anxiety treatment on the market comes with a one-year guarantee which shows a company that believes in and stands behind their product.

Once the remedy has you thinking more clearly and your motivation has returned, it is time for the next step: improving your diet. For instance, did you know that leafy greens contain phytochemicals that are crucial to brain health. If you have been depressed or anxious for some time, eating right and taking a natural remedy will help undo the damage caused by chronic stress. Choose lean proteins, fresh vegetables and fruit, nuts, seeds and beans. Make changes slowly over time, so you don’t feel like you’re being deprived. For example, a simple change might to make sure to eat a fresh green vegetable at lunch and dinner. As you change your diet, you will want to healthy food.

The third step to an effective depression and anxiety treatment plan is to get regular exercise. Try to exercise 3-5 times per week and start out slowly. Walking 10,000 steps a day is a good way to start. If that’s too much for you, start with 5000. Get yourself a pedometer. Keep track. Walk in an area where you feel safe and enjoy the sights and sounds around you. Take in the fresh air and the beauty and magnitude of nature. Make walking a meditation. Express your gratitude for the opportunity you’ve had to turn your life around by helping others.

This depression and anxiety treatment plan is simple to follow and doable for everyone. Make a commitment to yourself and your good health. Get started now!

Laura Ramirez is a dedicated to helping others achieve health and a sense of well-being. Learn more about her findings on natural ways to treat depression by going to www.cure-depression-naturally.com
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Worrying if you might be suffering from anxiety? Well today in this article I am going to give you a quick checklist of the most common anxiety disorder symptom so that you can make up your mind for yourself.

As you go over this list just remember everyone feels sad or anxious over their bills, job, and family once in a while. This does not mean that you are suffering from an anxiety disorder – everyone feels this way once in a while.

The most common symptoms are.

Dwelling on unhappy and dismal thoughts – The thoughts of an anxious person will be extremely negative. They will think things like, I’m going to look stupid when I make that speech, I never know what to say at parties, this plane will probably crash”. Thoughts influence the way you feel and depressed anxious thoughts will have a detrimental effect on your life.

Apprehensive and depressed behavior – If you were close friends with an anxious and depressed person you would soon notice strange behaviors caused by their emotional turmoil. This is because bad emotions on the inside affect what people do on the outside. An anxious person will avoid socializing and may talk in a trembling voice; they may pace around when worried. They may have shaking hands and sweaty palms. The more of these symptoms you have the greater your chance of having an anxiety disorder.

Social problems – If feel anxious and depressed you will probably not want to spend very much time with other people. This in fact could be the source of all your problems remember – people need people and by cutting yourself of from others you are just making your problems worse. Ask yourself if any of the following apply to you. I get nervous when I meet new people, I feel uptight in crowds, I don’t feel like being with anybody, I don’t feel like to talking to people.

The above are some of the most common anxiety disorder symptom. You may have one or a combination of them just remember if you have these symptoms it does not necessarily mean you have an anxiety disorder it could just be everyday blues and worries.

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A medical doctor is necessary if you experience severe anxiety or have panic attacks. In the case of daily anxiety, however, there are many natural methods to calm yourself.

There are techniques, tips and even herbal remedies to reduce your anxiety:

1. One is Passionflower. Research has shown that passionflower reduces anxiety. In fact, in some individuals, passionflower is as successful in curing anxiety as prescription medicine. Passionflower also helps alleviate insomnia as individuals often experience these disorders simultaneously.

2. Self-Hypnosis. This is a great method of relaxation and helps individuals get in touch with their unconscious thoughts and feelings. One advantage to this is that it alleviates the need to have someone else involved; you can do it yourself.

3. A Good Diet. Many people do not realize the relationship between your emotional well being and your diet. One very effective way to reduce anxiety is to eat well.

If it’s hard for you to maintain a proper diet, be sure to take a daily vitamin and try to abstain from caffeine, chemicals and processed foods.

4. Schedule Your Time Wisely. Being too busy can increase your anxiety levels. Maybe you should take time to reflect on how you spend your time and figure out your priorities.   Be sure to include time for yourself to meditate and do what you enjoy.

5. St. John’s Wort. St. John’s Wort is a natural remedy that has been used for centuries. It’s a natural supplement that aids in the reduction of both anxiety and depression. Of course, it works best on less severe cases of these disorders.

6. Acupuncture. Acupuncture has been used for centuries as a means of reducing anxiety and causing individuals to remain calm and composed. It involves using thin needles to be placed at strategic locations in the muscles which causes them to relax.

7. Set Aside Time to Worry. If you find yourself worrying constantly, then decide to choose a specific time to worry. Schedule a one hour time slot and give yourself permission to worry endlessly. They key is that this is the only time you can worry and worry is not permissible any other time of the day.

* If worries begin to crop up during the day, remind yourself that worries are on a strict time schedule. You’ll quickly discover that you’ll stop worrying even during your worry time!

8. Begin to Exercise. Research indicates that anxiety can be reduced by a regular exercise program. There are many advantages to exercise:  Muscle relaxation, stress reduction, increased oxygen levels in the body and it also produces Serotonin, aka the “feel good” hormone.

9. Meditation. Schedule time to meditate daily. Locate a place that you can go to daily and focus on relaxed breathing. Additionally, practice visualization regarding your desired life. Motivation,inspiration and relaxation are three common benefits of meditation.

10. Valerian Root. Valerian Root is another supplement that reduces anxiety naturally. It works well in fighting insomnia. Valerian root comes in both a pill or tea and is most beneficial if taken about two hours before going to bed.

Natural solutions are the best methods in treating anxiety whether you choose supplements, exercise or meditation.

Mark Foo has brought together 48 personal development bloggers and writers to co-author one of the most powerful success eBooks on the web – The 77 Traits of Highly Successful People – and it is available to you FREE! To learn the secrets of success, grab your free copy of the eBook now at – http://www.77SuccessTraits.com

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The short and obvious answer: panic attacks are caused by high anxiety. But, what exactly is anxiety? Understanding how anxiety crops up will help you defeat panic attacks.

One of the biggest myths surrounding anxiety is that it is harmful and can lead to a number of various life-threatening conditions.

Definition of Anxiety

Anxiety is defined as a state of apprehension or fear resulting from the anticipation of a real or imagined threat, event, or situation. It is one of the most common human emotions experienced by people at some point in their lives.

However, most people who have never experienced a panic attack, or extreme anxiety, fail to realize the terrifying nature of the experience. Extreme dizziness, blurred vision, tingling and feelings of breathlessness—and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

When these sensations occur and people do not understand why, they feel they have contracted an illness, or a serious mental condition. The threat of losing complete control seems very real and naturally very terrifying.

Fight/Flight Response: One of the root causes of panic attacks?

I am sure most of you have heard of the fight/flight response as an explanation for one of the root causes of panic attacks. Have you made the connection between this response and the unusual sensations you experience during and after a panic attack episode?

Anxiety is a response to a danger or threat. It is so named because all of its effects are aimed toward either fighting or fleeing from the danger. Thus, the sole purpose of anxiety is to protect the individual from harm. This may seem ironic given that you no doubt feel your anxiety is actually causing you great harm…perhaps the most significant of all the causes of panic attacks.

However, the anxiety that the fight/flight response created was vital in the daily survival of our ancient ancestors—when faced with some danger, an automatic response would take over that propelled them to take immediate action such as attack or run. Even in today’s hectic world, this is still a necessary mechanism. It comes in useful when you must respond to a real threat within a split second.

Causes of panic attack

Anxiety is a built-in mechanism to protect us from danger. Interestingly, it is a mechanism that protects but does not harm—an important point that will be elaborated upon later.

The Physical Manifestations of a Panic Attack: Other pieces of the puzzle to understand the causes of panic attacks. Nervousness and Chemical Effects…

When confronted with danger, the brain sends signals to a section of the nervous system. It is this system that is responsible for gearing the body up for action and also calms the body down and restores equilibrium. To carry out these two vital functions, the autonomic nervous system has two subsections, the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.

Although I don’t want to become too “scientific,” having a basic understanding of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system will help you understand the causes of panic attacks.

The sympathetic nervous system is the one we tend to know all too much about because it primes our body for action, readies us for the “fight or flight” response, while the parasympathetic nervous system is the one we love dearly as it serves as our restoring system, which returns the body to its normal state.

When either of these systems is activated, they stimulate the whole body, which has an “all or nothing” effect. This explains why when a panic attack occurs, the individual often feels a number of different sensations throughout the body.

The sympathetic system is responsible for releasing the adrenaline from the adrenal glands on the kidneys. These are small glands located just above the kidneys. Less known, however, is that the adrenal glands also release adrenaline, which functions as the body’s chemical messengers to keep the activity going. When a panic attack begins, it does not switch off as easily as it is turned on. There is always a period of what would seem increased or continued anxiety, as these messengers travel throughout the body. Think of them as one of the physiological causes of panic attacks, if you will.

After a period of time, the parasympathetic nervous system gets called into action. Its role is to return the body to normal functioning once the perceived danger is gone. The parasympathetic system is the system we all know and love, because it returns us to a calm relaxed state.

When we engage in a coping strategy that we have learned, for example, a relaxation technique, we are in fact willing the parasympathetic nervous system into action. A good thing to remember is that this system will be brought into action at some stage whether we will it or not. The body cannot continue in an ever-increasing spiral of anxiety. It reaches a point where it simply must kick in, relaxing the body. This is one of the many built-in protection systems our bodies have for survival.

You can do your best with worrying thoughts, keeping the sympathetic nervous system going, but eventually it stops. In time, it becomes a little smarter than us, and realizes that there really is no danger. Our bodies are incredibly intelligent—modern science is always discovering amazing patterns of intelligence that run throughout the cells of our body. Our body seems to have infinite ways of dealing with the most complicated array of functions we take for granted. Rest assured that your body’s primary goal is to keep you alive and well.

Not so convinced?

Try holding your breath for as long as you can. No matter how strong your mental will is, it can never override the will of the body. This is good news—no matter how hard you try to convince yourself that you are gong to die from a panic attack, you won’t. Your body will override that fear and search for a state of balance. There has never been a reported incident of someone dying from a panic attack.

Remember this next time you have a panic attack; he causes of panic attacks cannot do you any physical harm. Your mind may make the sensations continue longer than the body intended, but eventually everything will return to a state of balance. In fact, balance (homeostasis) is what our body continually strives for.

The interference for your body is nothing more than the sensations of doing rigorous exercise. Our body is not alarmed by these symptoms. Why should it be? It knows its own capability. It’s our thinking minds that panic, which overreact and scream in sheer terror! We tend to fear the worst and exaggerate our own sensations. A quickened heart beat becomes a heart attack. An overactive mind seems like a close shave with schizophrenia. Is it our fault? Not really—we are simply diagnosing from poor information.

Cardiovascular Effects Activity in the sympathetic nervous system increases our heartbeat rate, speeds up the blood flow throughout the body, ensures all areas are well supplied with oxygen and that waste products are removed. This happens in order to prime the body for action.

A fascinating feature of the “fight or flight” mechanism is that blood (which is channelled from areas where it is currently not needed by a tightening of the blood vessels) is brought to areas where it is urgently needed.

For example, should there be a physical attack, blood drains from the skin, fingers, and toes so that less blood is lost, and is moved to “active areas” such as the thighs and biceps to help the body prepare for action.

This is why many feel numbness and tingling during a panic attack-often misinterpreted as some serious health risk-such as the precursor to a heart attack. Interestingly, most people who suffer from anxiety often feel they have heart problems. If you are really worried that such is the case with your situation, visit your doctor and have it checked out. At least then you can put your mind at rest.

Respiratory Effects

One of the scariest effects of a panic attack is the fear of suffocating or smothering. It is very common during a panic attack to feel tightness in the chest and throat. I’m sure everyone can relate to some fear of losing control of your breathing. From personal experience, anxiety grows from the fear that your breathing itself would cease and you would be unable to recover. Can a panic attack stop our breathing? No.

A panic attack is associated with an increase in the speed and depth of breathing. This has obvious importance for the defense of the body since the tissues need to get more oxygen to prepare for action. The feelings produced by this increase in breathing, however, can include breathlessness, hyperventilation, sensations of choking or smothering, and even pains or tightness in the chest. The real problem is that these sensations are alien to us, and they feel unnatural.

Having experienced extreme panic attacks myself, I remember that on many occasions, I would have this feeling that I couldn’t trust my body to do the breathing for me, so I would have to manually take over and tell myself when to breathe in and when to breathe out. Of course, this didn’t suit my body’s requirement of oxygen and so the sensations would intensify—along with the anxiety. It was only when I employed the technique I will describe for you later, did I let the body continue doing what it does best—running the whole show.

Importantly, a side-effect of increased breathing, (especially if no actual activity occurs) is that the blood supply to the head is actually decreased. While such a decrease is only a small amount and is not at all dangerous, it produces a variety of unpleasant but harmless symptoms that include dizziness, blurred vision, confusion, sense of unreality, and hot flushes.

Other Physical Effects of Panic Attacks:

Now that we’ve discussed some of the primary physiological causes of panic attacks, there are a number of other effects that are produced by the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, none of which are in any way harmful.

For example, the pupils widen to let in more light, which may result in blurred vision, or “seeing” stars, etc. There is a decrease in salivation, resulting in dry mouth. There is decreased activity in the digestive system, which often produces nausea, a heavy feeling in the stomach, and even constipation. Finally, many of the muscle groups tense up in preparation for “fight or flight” and this results in subjective feelings of tension, sometimes extending to actual aches and pains, as well as trembling and shaking.

Overall, the fight/flight response results in a general activation of the whole bodily metabolism. Thus, one often feels hot and flushed and, because this process takes a lot of energy, the person generally feels tired and drained.

Mental Manifestations: Are the causes of panic attacks all in my head? is a question many people wonder to themselves.

The goal of the fight/flight response is making the individual aware of the potential danger that may be present. Therefore, when activated, the mental priority is placed upon searching the surroundings for potential threats. In this state one is highly-strung, so to speak. It is very difficult to concentrate on any one activity, as the mind has been trained to seek all potential threats and not to give up until the threat has been identified. As soon as the panic hits, many people look for the quick and easiest exit from their current surroundings, such as by simply leaving the bank queue and walking outside. Sometimes the anxiety can heighten, if we perceive that leaving will cause some sort of social embarrassment.

If you have a panic attack while at the workplace but feel you must press on with whatever task it is you are doing, it is quite understandable that you would find it very hard to concentrate. It is quite common to become agitated and generally restless in such a situation. Many individuals I have worked with who have suffered from panic attacks over the years indicated that artificial light—such as that which comes from computer monitors and televisions screens—can can be one of the causes of panic attacks by triggering them or worsen a panic attack, particularly if the person is feeling tired or run down.

This is worth bearing in mind if you work for long periods of time on a computer. Regular break reminders should be set up on your computer to remind you to get up from the desk and get some fresh air when possible.

In other situations, when during a panic attack an outside threat cannot normally be found, the mind turns inwards and begins to contemplate the possible illness the body or mind could be suffering from. This ranges from thinking it might have been something you ate at lunch, to the possibility of an oncoming cardiac arrest.

The burning question is: Why is the fight/flight response activated during a panic attack even when there is apparently nothing to be frightened of?

Upon closer examination of the causes of panic attacks, it would appear that what we are afraid of are the sensations themselves—we are afraid of the body losing control. These unexpected physical symptoms create the fear or panic that something is terribly wrong. Why do you experience the physical symptoms of the fight/flight response if you are not frightened to begin with? There are many ways these symptoms can manifest themselves, not just through fear.

For example, it may be that you have become generally stressed for some reason in your life, and this stress results in an increase in the production of adrenaline and other chemicals, which from time to time, would produce symptoms….and which you perceive as the causes of panic attacks.

This increased adrenaline can be maintained chemically in the body, even after the stress has long gone. Another possibility is diet, which directly affects our level of stress. Excess caffeine, alcohol, or sugar is known for causing stress in the body, and is believed to be one of the contributing factors of the causes of panic attacks (Chapter 5 gives a full discussion on diet and its importance).

Unresolved emotions are often pointed to as possible trigger of panic attacks, but it is important to point out that eliminating panic attacks from your life does not necessarily mean analyzing your psyche and digging into your subconscious. The “One Move” technique will teach you to deal with the present moment and defuse the attack along with removing the underlying anxiety that sparks the initial anxiety.

Learn more

http://www.panicportal.com

Joe Barry is an international panic disorder coach. His informative site on all issues related to panic and anxiety attacks can be found here:http://www.panicportal.com

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* Palpitations

* a pounding heart, or an accelerated heart rate

* Sweating

* Trembling or shaking

* Shortness of breath

* A choking sensation

* Chest pain or discomfort

* Nausea or stomach cramps

* Derealization (a feeling of unreality)

* Fear of losing control or going crazy

* Fear of dying Numbness or a tingling sensation

* Chills or hot flashes

…then you’ve experienced firsthand some of the possible symptoms of a panic or anxiety attack. If you are reading this page because a loved one suffers from these symptoms and you are trying to understand or help, it’s hard to appreciate what they go through.

Just try to imagine what it feels like to experience one, if you can.

Here is a typical example:

Standing in a supermarket queue, it’s been a long wait but only one customer to go before you make it to the cashier. Wait, what was that sensation? An unpleasant feeling forms in your throat, your chest feels tighter, now a sudden shortness of breath, and what do you know—your heart skips a beat. “Please, God, not here.”

A quick scan of the territory—is it threatening? Four unfriendly faces queue behind, one person in front. Pins and needles seem to prick you through your left arm, you feel slightly dizzy, and then the explosion of fear as you dread the worst. You are about to have a panic attack.

There is no doubt in your mind now that this is going to be a big one. Okay, focus: Remember what you have been taught, and it is time now to apply the coping techniques. Begin the deep breathing exercise your doctor recommended. In through the nose, out through the mouth.

Think relaxing thoughts, and again, while breathing in, think “Relax,” and then breathe out. But it doesn’t seem to be having any positive effect; in fact, just concentrating on breathing is making you feel self-conscious and more uptight.

Okay, coping technique 2:

Gradual muscle relaxation. Tense both shoulders, hold for 10 seconds, then release. Try it again. No; still no difference. The anxiety is getting worse and the very fact that you are out of coping techniques worsens your panic. If only you were surrounded by your family, or a close friend were beside you so you could feel more confident in dealing with this situation.

Now, the adrenaline is really pumping through your system, your body is tingling with uncomfortable sensations, and now the dreaded feeling of losing complete control engulfs your emotions. No one around you has any idea of the sheer terror you are experiencing. For them, it’s just a regular day and another frustratingly slow queue in the supermarket.

You are out of options. Time for Plan C.

The most basic coping skill of all is “fleeing.” Excuse yourself from the queue; you are slightly embarrassed as it is now that it is your turn to pay. The cashier is looking bewildered as you leave your shopping behind and stroll towards the door. There is no time for excuses—you need to be alone. You leave the supermarket and get into your car to ride it out alone. Could this be the big one? The one you fear will push you over the edge mentally and physically. Ten minutes later the panic subsides.

It’s 10:30 a.m. How are you going to make it through the rest of the day?

If you suffer from panic or anxiety attacks, the above scenerio probably sounds very familiar. It may have even induced feelings of anxiety and panic just reading it. The particular situations that trigger your panic and anxiety may differ; maybe the bodily sensations are a little different. Or maybe it happened to you for the first time on a plane, in the dentist chair, or even at home, while doing nothing in particular.

If you have ever had what has become known as a “panic attack,” take comfort in the fact that you are by no means alone.

A panic attack always comes with the acute sense of impending doom. You feel you are either about to lose your mind or one of your vital bodily functions is about to cease functioning and you will end your days right there among the canned goods and frozen food.

You are by no means alone; you’re not even one in a million. In America, it is estimated that almost 5% of the population suffer from some form of anxiety disorder. For some, it may be the infrequent panic attacks that only crop up in particular situations-like when having to speak in front of others, while, for other people, it can be so frequent and recurring that it inhibits them from leaving their home. Frequent panic attacks often develop into what medical physicians refer to as an “anxiety disorder.”

One of the first steps to regaining control of your life is getting helpful information. This site will give you that, and more.

The beginning of your recovery starts here. What you will learn is that there is a very good chance you are about to end the cycle of panic attacks in your life. You will learn not only to regain the carefree life you remember once having, but will also gain new confidence in living. Your answer to living free from “panic” or “anxiety attacks” is at hand.

This site demonstrates that the panic and anxiety that you have experienced will be the very key to your courage and success.

Begin the road to recovery by browsing through the site. While many of you may have read almost everything you can possibly read relating to panic and anxiety I assure you this site offers something very effective.

Did you know…?

The key difference between someone who is cured of panic attacks and those who are not is really very simple. The people who are cured no longer fear panic attacks. I’ll try to show you how to be one of these people as well.

What if I told you the trick to ending panic and anxiety attacks is to want to have one. That sounds strange, even contradictory, but let me explain.

The trick to panic attacks is wanting to have one-the wanting pushes it away. Can you have a panic attack in this very second? No!

You know the saying that "what you resist, persists." Well that saying applies perfectly to fear. If you resist a situation out of fear, the fear around that issue will persist. How do you stop resisting–you move directly into it, into the path of the anxiety, and by doing so it cannot persist.

In essence what this means is that if you daily voluntarily seek to have a panic attack, you cannot have one. Try in this very moment to have a panic attack and I will guarantee you cannot. You may not realize it but you have always decided to panic. You make the choice by saying this is beyond my control.

Another way to appreciate this is to imagine having a panic attack as like standing on a cliff’s edge. The anxiety seemingly pushes you closer to falling over the edge.

To be rid of the fear you must metaphorically jump. You must jump off the cliff edge and into the anxiety and fear and all the things that you fear most.

How do you jump? You jump by wanting to have a panic attack. You go about your day asking for anxiety and panic attacks to appear.

Your real safety is the fact that a panic attack will never harm you. That is medical fact. You are safe, the sensations are wild but no harm will come to you. Your heart is racing but no harm will come to you. The jump becomes nothing more than a two foot drop! Perfectly safe.

Learn more

http://www.panicportal.com

Joe Barry is an international panic disorder coach. His informative site on all issues related to panic and anxiety attacks can be found here:http://www.panicportal.com

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