In the furious rhythm of modern life, we are subject to stress and anxiety. They, with a lack of sleep and bad ecology, are the main factors that cause panic attacks.

What is a panic attack?

A panic attack is an unexpected, irrational state of intense fear that can not be reassured. It may seem that you are in the center of a terrible conspiracy, that your life is a real mistake, or even seem that you are dying.

Physiologically, a panic attack is characterized by rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness.

Why there is a panic attack

Fear that appears during a panic attack is irrational and is not its cause, but only a symptom. In fact, an attack can arise because of prolonged stress, lack of sleep, fear of parting with a loved one or loss of loved ones, loss of control over something and feelings of helplessness.

In addition, a panic attack is a true symptom of fear of open spaces and crowds, agoraphobia.

Where can a panic attack happen?

Panic attacks happen anywhere, but often these are places of increased stress: planes, bridges, tunnels, underground passages, unfamiliar cities, noisy meetings.

How to stop a panic attack

During a panic attack, the psyche pressure on the body and vice versa, because of such a vicious circle, it only intensifies. If, with an increasing panic, it is difficult to calm the brain, then to withdraw the body from this state is much easier and faster, and already it will give signals of calmness to the brain.

To do this, try to be in a quiet quiet place, lean against the wall and firmly stand on the ground. Hands clasp in the castle or embrace yourself.

Deep breathe: concentrate on the cycle of deep breaths and exhalations. Feel how your heart calms your heart.

Drink a glass of water in small sips.

Remember: panic attacks always end, and none of them in history has ended fatal.

How to prevent a panic attack

First, you need to sleep well, control the use of alcohol, eat healthy food and not be nervous. These rules are useful not only to prevent panic attacks, but also for life in general.

But the regular appearance of attacks may indicate prolonged stress or subconscious anxiety about anything. It’s better to go to an appointment with a therapist and solve the problem once and for all.

Is it possible to permanently get rid of panic attacks

Psychotherapy frees up 80% of patients from panic attacks forever. But even those who live with them, learn quickly and successfully block out panic attacks. In addition, you can treat them not as an enemy, but as a friend who signals that something goes wrong in life.

Image credit:  Ben White

The post Panic Attacks: What They Are and How to Stop Them appeared first on John Barry Miller.

If you feel tired right from the morning, if you can not sleep in the evening and you are very irritable during the day, then try this practice.
What can anyone do who wants to improve their condition?

AT HOME
Smile
When you wake up, direct attention to the body – go through it with your mind’s eye from the top of your head to the tips of your fingers and toes. Give yourself a couple of minutes to feel your condition at the moment: woke up you are energetic or tired, glad you are a new day or not, as you feel the body – tense or relaxed, rested or tired.

The task is not to evaluate and analyze the state, but to simply notice it, to realize it. If you feel fatigue in some place, strain, detain attention on it and on an exhalation relax this part of the body, release the tension. For example, you can imagine that you exhale all of your tension in the ground – even if you lie on the bed.

And now try to smile in different parts of the body: feel the smile of your eyes, face, heart, liver and internal organs, back. Our body does not just reflect emotions – it creates them. And, smiling all over, we fill it with the energy of joy and cheerfulness for a new day.

Be grateful
This exercise is well suited for completing the day. Gratitude has a tremendous healing effect. A feeling of gratitude is a signal to the nervous system that we are all in order. In our life there is fullness, harmony, we do not need to run anywhere, achieve anything, like nobody.

Of course, we have hard days and problems, but in life there is a lot of good. Think about what you can sincerely thank the world for tonight – what was good during the day? And allow my heart to be filled with gratitude.

Relax your eyes
Many work all day in front of the monitor screens, and by the evening our eyes are very tired, and in my head it is buzzing with thoughts and working problems.

Close your eyes. Most likely, you will notice that your eyeballs continue to move, trembling. This activity is directly related to the activity of the mind. Now turn your attention to your eyes and relax them, just as you relaxed the muscles of the body. And relax more and more.

You will notice that the movement of the eyeballs will slow down, the mind will begin to calm down. Your breathing will fall to the lower abdomen, and there will be a general feeling of relaxation and peace, in which it is easy to fall asleep. Ideally – in complete darkness and with a dark mask in front of your eyes, removing all the gadgets.

AT WORK
Ground
Sitting or standing, direct your attention in two stops at the same time. You do not think about the feet and do not look at them, namely, you direct your attention to them and feel their contact with the floor. It is important that this feeling is two stops at the same time. Usually people note that at the moment when all their attention is directed to the feet, the mind calms down and the breath goes down to the bottom of the stomach.

Look around. Pay attention to what has changed in the perception of the world around and employees in the office. Perhaps you see something that was not noticed before after a stream of thoughts and interpretations. Perhaps you will notice that your perception becomes more clear and neutral, unvalued.

This practice allows us to quickly return attention at the current moment, while remaining open to everything that surrounds us. It is good to use during a conversation or meeting, when you need to ground yourself and return attention to yourself.

Learn the wisdom of plants
Employment is not an objective fact, but a state of mind. Often in order to do everything, it’s enough for us to stop switching from one case to another in a panic (because of this we lose about 30% of the time and efficiency) and start acting very slowly and carefully. And here we have much to learn from the plants that are available in almost every office.

Trees and flowers are in no hurry. They are the embodiment of the peace of the present moment. They grow and bloom in their own rhythm. Give yourself 5-10 minutes to do nothing and try to feel what it’s like to be a plant. Allow yourself to feel what rhythm is good for you now. How does it – to choose the rhythm of work from within, and not under the influence of external circumstances?

IN TRANSPORT
Watch the breath
To keep calm at rush hour is not easy. Especially in the evening after work. But you can use the time on the road to practice breathing – it activates theparasympathetic department of the autonomic nervous system and prepares the body and mind for rest.

Image credit: geralt

The plus of this practice is that it can be done in any position – both standing and sitting. Pay attention to breathing. Inhale and exhale. To pause between them. Follow the attention of the exhalation, and then after the breath. To do this, you can focus on the tip of the nose and focus on the sensation of air flow through the nostrils. Or you can focus your attention on the bottom of the stomach and see how the abdominal wall moves barely noticeably forward and backward to the beat with exhalation and breath.

At some point you will notice that you are distracted, you have forgotten breathing and you are thinking about an outsider. Or consider your neighbors. Or you are reading an advertisement. Do not scold yourself, but gently bring back your attention to breathing.

Master the practice of loving kindness
From the point of view of many traditions of meditation, the true nature of people is love and joy. But while our mind is in anxiety, but our attention does not belong to us and is governed by external events, we can not feel this joy and love. Here is a short version of the practice of loving kindness.

Feel the joy and heartfelt thanks to what you have. What are you alive and healthy. And wish for yourself love, joy, abundance, health. Feel this joy in the heart. Now look at the people around you, completely unfamiliar, and admit that they, like you, dream of peace, love and joy. Wish them all this.

The post How to Bring Inner Peace Into Your Life appeared first on John Barry Miller.