Anxiety help me overcome anxiety

[Spider-Man98]

What is it that you guys do during a panic attack and for that matter what do you do to get rid of your anxiety permanently

[Jeff1943]

Spider-Man98, the best way to free yourself of anxiety and panic attacks is to lose your fear of them. General anxiety and anxiety attacks thrive on fear, it is meat and drink to them.

Each time you feel fear you release fear hormones that keep your nervous system over sensitive. Sensitised nerves then make your life a misery by sending you the symptoms of health anxiety, social anxiety, agoraphobia, derealisation, claustrophobia etc.

That's all you have to do, lose your fear of it. Of course, that's a lot easier said than done. But done it can be. Just don't think someone's going to wave a magic wand and it's gone. It took you months to get into this state, allow a few months to get out of it!

In my experience there are two things to bring respite and recovery through freedom from fear.

First, you have to stop fighting your anxiety even though it goes against all instincts. Fighting causes tension and stress which achieves nothing and only makes matters worse. It's a case of what you resist will persist. So when panic or other symptoms come do nothing. Let it come, offer no resistance. Because what you fight you feed.

Second, you must frame your mind to accept the symptoms for the time being. Agree to co-exist with your anxiety for the moment. Learn to live with your anxiety and before long you'll live without it.

Anxiety alone cannot kill you, disable you or send you crazy. It's power is limited. It's very unpleasant but so are lots of other things you cope with. So just let the symptoms come, relax every muscle in your body and let the anxiety rush in and cover you like a wave on the shore that then recedes.

To begin with maybe you will only manage to accept it for a few minutes. This is called glimpsing: you can build on this as time passes and you progress. Make sure that you do not add to the flash of first fear with second fear.

Eventually you overcome fear: you accept even the panic attacks as no more than a minor inconvenience. No need to fear a few short circuits in your nervous system caused by stress and anxiety.

So you stop releasing fear hormones and your nerves lose their over sensitivity and no longer inflict the symptoms of anxiety disorder upon you.

How long will it take, I hear you ask? That depends entirely on your persistence in practicing acceptance of your symptoms. You can regain your quiet mind - and victory over fear is the way to do it.