Panic Attacks and Agoraphobia

Well, your not alone... Panic Attacks or Panic Disorder (experiencing or living with many panic attacks) can lead to the fear of leaving your home, or Agoraphobia.

First off I am not a Doctor, I am simply a woman who has had panic attacks (disorder) which has lead to Agoraphobia... I want to make clear that I no longer have Agoraphobia, nor do I have Panic Disorder. I do of course have a panic attack every now and then, but I know what to do now so that it does not get out of control. In fact, it really doesn't last more than 5 mins.

For everyone looking to seek a "cure" to your panic attacks... there is none. Since Doctors are not really sure what cause the Panic Attack they cannot come up with a cure. There are drugs to help subdue the feelings of panic, and of course there are coping mechanisms. We will discuss the coping mechanisms in this article.

First off I believe to help feel better it is important to understand what is going on with your body: you are having a panic attack simply because you have too much adrenaline rushing to your heart and now way to use it up... so it is making you physically ill. You know the feelings:

* sweaty palms
* upset stomach
* heart palpitations
* tightness in chest
* out of body feeling
* dizziness
* feel of dread and hopelessness
* difficulty breathing... for some you actually have to tell your body to keep breathing (that was me)
* chills
* staring out the window and not knowing if this will ever end
* Of course the feeling that you are dying

Well the good news is you are not dying... you just are experiencing too much adrenaline and you body reacts with the above symptoms.

So now that you know exactly why you feel the way you do, don't you feel better? Well I know for me, it helped because it was the first step to learning how to cope with the panic. I wasn't dying, I wasn't even sick... I just had some strange unexplained fight and flee mechanism linking back to the caveman days.

So the next step is to find coping mechanisms... there are many different ways:

* breathing techniques
* meditation
* diet
* physical activities
* exercises
* drugs

So, let's talk about what you can do today to help lessen the symptoms of Panic Attacks.

1. Realize you are fine (really tell yourself that)... I am fine, this is normal, millions of people experience this everyday, move on with what I am doing and don't let this foolishness get to me.
EXAMPLE: you are in a car, you hit traffic, you have no idea where the next exit is and how long you are going to be stuck there... what are you going to do? Pass out?? NO, not really and option :) You are going to tell yourself you are fine, find a song you like, blast it and sing out loud!!! Tap your fingers, and bop (safely as you are still driving) up and down.
2. BREATHING Techniques... there are many out there... for me it was as simple as holding my breath for a count of 20 and repeating until I could calm down a bit. You will find what works for you, sometimes you will need a paper bag in the car...
3. Various Exercises (below will be a link to many different options)
4. Clean!! If you are in a place where you can clean... do it! Housework keeps you mind off how you are feeling plus it uses some of that adrenaline, gets your heart beating, and just makes that "feeling" go away.
5. Diet... some people think that you can alter your diet a bit to help reduce the amount of panic... I liked coffee too much, so I need to be proactive and deal with the attacks.
6. My favorite is to just do it!! Know what is going on, deal with the feelings and just do it! I had a great boyfriend (now husband), who helped me with this greatly, but it really comes down to you. Fight it and do it... deal with the feelings don't hide from them. You are not dying and you can get over the feelings. I am not an overly strong person, kind of a wallflower, but I got over it and did it. I know you can too.

I hope this helped... I know how awful Panic Disorder can be. There are many cures out there, your job is to find what works for you. For me I like this:

PANIC AWAY... follow the link below to find out how panic away can help you move forward with your life.

Click Here!

Good luck and I hope you find peace and a way to move forward with your life. You deserve to have a full life, and there are too many things you are missing hiding from the potential of a panic attack. Believe me there is an end and it can be done. We all have the power, it is your life...take it back!