Replacing Your Anxious Thinking

  The Panic Away Program Website.

Being realistic is a key step step, to overcoming anxiety and panic attack disorder symptoms. Replacing anxious thinking with realistic thinking is a major step to recovery and finding that elusive permanent cure to the disorder, impacting on the anxiety sufferers life. A sufferer of Anxiety or Panic Attack disorders usually believe the worst about their condition. Why? The reason is simple, from the sufferers mental perspective all the symtoms are real.

Their body tells them "It is so", as it shows the effects it has endured, the racing heart, the cold sweat, the extreme pressure across the chest, the loss of control, wanting to vomit and having made a fool of themselves in a public place or in front of friends and family.

Finally, those around them confirm their actions during the anxiety or panic attack were very disturbing to all that saw it and they felt the pain and suffering with them, as the sufferer explained to them about what was happening to their body.

This latter point, of having had an attack in front of friends and family is one of the most disturbing to the anxiety sufferer. They can relate, that an attack in front of the public was not in front of people they know and it's not likely they will see those people again. With friends and family it's different. It doesn't matter that they are aware of the sufferer condition. The sufferer knows then , will see them again and must withstand the stares and looks, some of compassion, but mostly of thank god it's you and not me, or I don't want to see that again, particulary in front of my children, it really scared them. The sufferer knows friendships can be lost over such incidences, even close relationships held over many years.

So there we have it. Anxious Thinking, being anxious about:

1. When will it happen again?
2. Where will it happen next time?
3. Who will it happen in front of next time?
4. What will they think of me?
5. What will they tell their friends?

For there to be any progress in controlling an anxiety disorder, the sufferer must learn one of the hardest subjects. learning to have less concern about the disorder and less concerned about actually having an anxiety or panic attack. Stop being concerned or having anxious thoughts about having the anxiety or panic attack and it seems your less likely to actually have an attack or if there is an attack, it is less intense.

Research indicates that the more you look forward to an actual anxiety or panic attack to take place, the less frequent they become and in some cases they stop forever. Without the inner fear and stress of having an attack, the lower the anxiety level of the sufferer becomes. Lower anxiety levels lead automatically to less anxiety or panic attacks.

Further research as detailed in 10 Simple Solutions to Panic by Martin Antony & Randi McCabe, shows that there is strong evidence that "panic disorder is associated with a stronger than usual tendency to pay attention to physical symtoms, to remember information that is consistent with ones anxiety beliefs, and to misinterpret physical symptoms as being dangerous"

This can relate out to the more you fear something the more likely you are to notice symptoms relating that something you fear. You can interpret symptoms the way you want to and in doing so direct the bodies response down this path. This can induce the fear into realilty of an attack.

An example of this is: We are all aware of different situations in our lives where we may have not noticed a cut or injury and are not feeling any trauma related to the injury that is until it is pointed out to us. We then feel the pain and symptoms immediately from this injury and respond accordingly. The question is would that have been the case if it was not pointed out to you.

Anxious Thinking tends to afflict those who have had symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks over some period of time. The body has been gradually conditioned into a response program on the advent of certain conditions or feelings caused by our surroundings. This response can become so spontaneous as to be automatic and not require any direct thougth process by our brain. The required indicators are subliminally registered and the body automatically reacts. All the anxiety sufferer feels or registers are the acutal anxiety or panic attack symptoms, but not the trigger points that caused the condition to develop.

The anxious thinking can take another turn to the discomfort of the sufferer and that is taking on an "Overestimating of Probabilities". In this situation, the sufferer tends to overestimate that a particular event is more likely to occure that in reality, is ever likely to take place. The anxious thinking can lead the sufferer to believe the normal panic attack symptoms are getting worse and now relate to other health problems. A heart attack in place of a panic attack is the normal anxious thinking pattern. Even thought the symptoms, felt a hundred times before, which have not changed, should be telling the sufferer its just another panic attack, they will be convinced it is a heart attack this time.

Typical of this type of negative overestimating thinking are the following examples;

• My next panic attack will never end
• If my panic attacks continue, I will go crazy
• If I'm not careful, I could die from a panic or anxiety attack

Now that we have set the ground conditions for anxious thinking and how it may impact on the anxiety and panic attack sufferer, let's look at how we can change our anxious thinking patterns.

The identification of the need to change the thinking process of anxiety and panic attack sufferers was made in the 1960's by a variety of psychologists and psychiatrists. These forefathers developed strategies to help people change away from negative thoughts to a more positive line. The success of these new directions changed the thinking process of industry in general in personal development, let alone anxiety in the effectiveness of cogintive strategies in the treatment of fear and associated issues such as anxiety.

It is critical that we watch our self talk because we have to face our worst enemy every day, OUR SELF, OUR OWN MIND. Our own mind is capable of doing more damage that a lifetime of depravity and poor living. We readily accept poor image issues over good as fear not living up to a position of respect, the cutting down of tall poppies etc.

Change your thinking to positive, affirmative, successful and realistic then you will become a high achiever with nothing to fear but seccess. For those with anxiety and panic attack disorders realistic thinking can and will change your life for the better and has a possiblity t provide the lifetime cure you seek.