Calming Nerves And Stopping Panic Attacks

There are times when it feels like our nerves are getting the best of us. Sometimes, it seems like life is absolutely overwhelming. Many of us are battling anxiety because of something that has happened to us recently, or something we are currently going through in our lives. Others could be suffering anxiety disorder. In this article, we are going to calm down your nerves and if necessary, end, or stop a panic attack before it gets started.

Do you know a person can bring him or herself down into a sad mood by simply standing, moving and looking like a sad person? Conversely, one can elevate a mood by putting his head back, throwing his chest out and walking and breathing like a totally confident and happy person.

Pretending We're Calm

Right now, we're not going for a mood elevation as much as we are a calming down of the nerves. So, using the same method as in mood elevation, here is how we go about it. Sit or lie down in a way that mocks a relaxed person. In other words, slump in your chair, or sprawl across your bed. Do your very best to loosen up all your muscle groups. Picture a very relaxed, carefree person, and imitate this person.

Now, we will exercise controlled breathing. Here's how we do that: take one very deep breath. Breathe in deeply enough so you can feel your lungs expand. Hold it for 5 seconds and then let your breath out slowly. This is a cleansing breath. Take two more cleansing breaths.

After the cleansing breaths, it is no longer necessary to continue deep breathing, however, continue breathing more deeply and slowly than you would normally. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. Don't breathe as slowly or deeply as you do in a cleansing breath, just slow down what is your normal breathing pattern.

Blow Off Some Steam

In his great book Psycho-Cybernetics, Dr. Maxwell Maltz recommends visualizing the exhale as steam blowing out of the top of your head. I know, it sounds kind of dumb, but it works very well every time I've ever tried it! Every once in a while, explains Dr. Maltz, you just have to blow off some steam.
Speaking of visualization, this technique, when combined with controlled breathing, always gets remarkable results for those of us wishing to calm our nerves.

Simply visualize some peaceful scene you found yourself in at some time during your life. Don't try too hard to recall everything about it and don't actually try to calm down, just turn your attention toward this relaxing scene. If you can't quickly recall such a scene, make one up. This works jus t fine! Everything you feel is relaxing to you, put into a fake scene and just think about it. This too, might sound far-fetched, but it has staved off many a bout with the nerves.

Visualization, combined with controlled breathing has helped many stave off a panic attack or just simply put a stressful day behind. However, on a long term basis there are more exercises that may be needed or desired to help overcome anxiety.

Still, using the exercise in this articleis a great start. So, continue to first, to mock a calm and carefree individual, and continue your controlled breathing and visualization of a peaceful scene for about the next half hour and enjoy the re-introduction of calm nerves into your life.