Panic attacks can be frightening and are a common form of anxiety. Because panic can make your heart race and feel quite ill many people have thought they were having a heart attack and ended up in the emergency room. Although there are many way to treat panic attack and other forms of anxiety cognitive behavioral therapy has been show to help by asking the person to identify their anxiety provoking thoughts and then challenge them.
If you suffer from panic attacks and want to try cogitive behavioral therapy, start out by identifying the thoughts that are causing the anxiety and panic. They can be almost anything that causes you to feel fear. If you ruminate about what people think of you, what will happen if you take that job, what will happen about almost anything, you are pulling yourself into the future and making up a scary story about what will happen.
To identify your thoughts, look at your anxiety and trace back to the thoughts that started it all. Record your thoughts, how you felt (any body sensations) and any anxiety-like behaviors that went along with it. I have a bad habit of biting my nails when I’m anxious, but it can be almost anything.
Once you’ve identified the thoughts and themes that make you anxious, then you need to begin challenging those thoughts. Questions you can ask yourself include 1) is this a helpful thought? 2) What is the chance that the particular person really thinks that way about me? 3) Am I really going to be late and if I am is it the end of the world. Also give the thought a percent chance of really occuring. Is it 10%, 40% or more.
Then ask yourself what are some alternative thoughts that counter the ones you are having. For example, instead of thinking "oh that person really can’t stand me she never says hello", you could say to yourself that person is really shy or that person is afraid that I won’t like her. Turn your negative thoughts on their head, literally.
What are some ways you could handle it if your most difficult thoughts actually came true. For example, if you didn’t get the job, what resources can you draw from in your life that could help you deal with the situation? Who could you talk to? What else might you do to help yourself feel better and not feed your negative thoughts about yourself such as doing something you really love?
