Overcoming panic attacks: 3 tips from an expert

Panic attacks: These intense and unexpected periods of anxiety can significantly impact your daily functioning. The good news is that you can work to reduce panic attacks. How can you understand, recognize and eventually overcome panic attacks? Experienced expert Wouter Manders offers you three tips for taking back control little by little.

Learn about fear

How did you know that you suffer from anxiety and panic? Wouter: “On a busy Saturday, a few years ago, I was working at Bijenkorf in Eindhoven. The winter sales had started and that meant it was very busy on the work floor. I felt tension in my body. But the tension I felt was not just due to the workload. I suffered from performance pressure, I was a perfectionist, and along with these two sources of stress, several things happened in my life that caused stress.These sources of stress made me feel increasingly anxious in my daily life.

“On a busy Saturday afternoon, a strange thing happened. Suddenly my hand started tingling. ‘What is this again?’ I thought as I got scared of what was happening. Soon after I felt a little dizzy, my heart started beating faster and I felt like I was overflowing with emotion.” “I’ve never felt such a wave of stress. I tried to do everything I could to explain what was happening, to calm myself down… But at that moment, all I could think was: ‘I think I’m dying.’ Suddenly I started hyperventilating.” And I had my first panic attack. After a few minutes that panic attack ended. But unfortunately, that didn’t end my period of fear, because I remained afraid of panicking. “I started avoiding more and more locations and situations in case I had a panic attack there,” Futter says.

First steps

“For months, I searched the Internet for solutions, sought professional help and did what I could to get rid of my panic attacks. But nothing seemed to help. I felt very alone, ashamed of my fear, and wasn’t sure who to tell about the severity of my reaction.” My body had some ‘what if’ thoughts. In that dark moment, three pieces of the puzzle fell into place, allowing me to overcome my panic attacks,” Futter said.

Overcome panic attacks in 3 steps

Step 1: You are not a stranger or alone

Realize that you are not alone. Just because you feel lonely doesn’t mean you are alone. according to information 15% of Dutch people suffer from an anxiety disorder. This means that a lot of people around you are also suffering from this, but in many cases you don’t know it. Your fear or panic has a logical reason, and there is a lot you can do to get rid of it. What is important for recovery is:

• Understand that it is not your fault
• Know that fear is completely harmless
• Do you realize that there are more people suffering from it?
• Know that there are many ways to get rid of it.

Step 2: Empty your stress bucket

Water: “When I understood what was happening to me and why my body was reacting the way it did (with emotion, thoughts and symptoms like palpitations and dizziness), I was able to experience more peace.”

You can compare the amount of pressure you experience to an overflowing bucket. “Everyone has their own stress bucket. When we are under prolonged stress, or when we face many changes, this bucket becomes full. The fuller the bucket is, the faster it overflows. You can compare this to fear. Your brain even notices it — it can cause anxiety. What’s important is that you learn how to empty your stress bucket. “Because an empty stress bucket ensures it’s less likely to overflow,” says Water.

Step 3: Check your answer

Don’t fight your fear, let your fear exist. “The reason I didn’t recover was because I did everything I could to fight my fear,” Wouter explains. “When my stress bucket overflowed and I experienced complaints of anxiety, panic, or a panic attack, I wanted to do everything I could to get rid of that feeling: I started fighting it. Because of that battle against… What I was feeling, my stress bucket overflowed more and bothered me more. The lesson I learned from this? The less I could allow my complaining to be, the less bad it became and the less I filled my stress bucket with stress.

Also interesting

Do you have a specific fear, such as fear of failure or fear of a new work week? You can read more here. More tips from Wouter? on watermanders.com You can sign up for free to get training to overcome fear and panic.

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