Regaining Control: Understanding and Overcoming Panic Attacks with Expert Tips

Panic attacks: these unexpected and intense periods of anxiety can significantly affect your daily functioning. The good news is that you can work to reduce your panic attacks. How can you understand, recognize and ultimately overcome panic attacks? Experienced expert Wouter Manders gives you three tips to regain control little by little.

Recognize the fear

How did you recognize that you suffered from anxiety and panic? Wouter: “On a busy Saturday, a few years ago, I was working in the Bijenkorf in Eindhoven. The winter sale had started and that meant that it was very busy on the work floor. I felt tension in my body. But the tension I felt was not only caused by the workload. I suffered from performance pressure, was a perfectionist and besides those two sources of tension, several things happened in my life that caused tension. These sources of tension had caused me to feel increasingly restless in daily life.”

“On that busy Saturday afternoon something strange happened. Suddenly my hands started tingling. ‘What is this again?’ I thought, feeling scared by what was happening. Not much later I felt a little dizzy, my heart started beating faster and I felt like I was overflowing with emotion. I had never felt such a wave of tension. I tried to do everything I could to clarify what was happening, and to calm myself… but in that moment, all I could think was, ‘I think I’m dying.’ Suddenly I started hyperventilating and had my first panic attack. After a few minutes this panic attack was over. But unfortunately this did not end my period of fear, because I remained afraid of the panic. I started to avoid more and more locations and situations in case I had a panic attack there,” says Wouter.

The first steps

“For months I scoured 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 extremely alone, ashamed of my fear and not sure who to tell how intensely my body could react to some ‘what-if’ thoughts. In that darkest moment, three pieces of the puzzle fell into place, allowing me to overcome my panic attacks.” said Wouter.

Overcome your panic attacks in 3 steps

Step 1: You are not weird or alone

Realize that you are not alone. Just because you feel alone doesn’t mean you are alone. According to VZInfo 15% of all Dutch people have an anxiety disorder. This means that many people around you also suffer from this, but in many cases you do not know this. Your fear or panic has a logical cause and there is a lot you can do to get rid of it. What is important to recover is:

Understand that it is not your fault. Know that anxiety is completely harmless. Realize that there are more people who suffer from it. Know that there are many ways to get rid of it.

Step 2: Empty your stress bucket

Wouter: “When I understood what was happening to me and why my body reacted this way (with emotion, what-if thoughts and symptoms such as palpitations and dizziness), I managed to experience more peace.”

You can compare the amount of stress you experience with an overflowing bucket. “Everyone has their own stress bucket. When we are under prolonged stress, or when we experience many changes, that bucket becomes full. The fuller the bucket, the sooner it overflows. You can compare this with fear. An innocent stimulus – something that your brain doesn’t even notice – can cause anxiety. What’s important is that you learn how to empty your stress bucket. Because an empty stress bucket ensures that it is less likely to overflow,” says Wouter.

Step 3: Examine your response

Don’t fight your fear, but let your fear be there. Wouter explains: “The reason I didn’t recover was that I did everything I could to fight my fear. When my stress bucket overflowed and I suffered from anxiety and panic complaints or a panic attack, I wanted to do everything I could to get rid of that feeling: I started to fight it. Because of that fight against what I felt, my stress bucket overflowed even more and it bothered me more. The lesson I got from this? The more often I could let my complaints be, the less bad they became and the less I refilled my own stress bucket with tension.”

Also interesting

Do you have a specific fear such as fear of failure or fear of a new working week? You can read more here. More tips from Wouter? On Woutermanders.com you can register for free for a training to overcome fear and panic.

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2023-11-26 23:04:45
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