We know what anxiety and panic are, we know what the sources of anxiety can be, and we know how to cope with Panic Attacks when they strike, but now we need to know how to eliminate them altogether. This chapter discusses my ideas on how to "squash the mosquito" and eliminate panic attacks.
To eliminate our panic attacks we had to find out what was causing them. Basically, the build up of adrenaline in our body that was not used to fight or flee a given situation or circumstance that was found to be the primary culprit. It is these fearful, worrisome, or stressful situations and circumstances (lifestyle) that we have to eliminate, take control of, or change to stop the adrenaline flow and thus stop our panic attacks. Sometimes though, it really is not the situation or circumstance that is causing the adrenaline flow but rather it is the way we think about or deal with (psychological) a situation or circumstance that is causing the adrenaline to flow and that is what must be changed or controlled in order to stop our panic attacks.
To help illustrate, think about the Chinese Finger Trap game. It is not really a "trap" until you get caught in it. If we decide to put our fingers in the trap and cannot get them out, then the trap becomes a trap. How could we stop the trap from becoming a trap? We could eliminate the trap altogether by not purchasing it or by getting rid of the trap. We could choose not to play the game. We could learn how to beat the trap so that we did not get caught in it. We could change our thinking about the trap and realize that it is just a game and react to it as such. Or, we could seek out the advice of someone who is an expert at beating the trap or who has beaten the trap themselves and ask for their expertise. All of these things could stop the trap from being a trap. Since Panic Attacks are themselves like a trap we can use similar Strategies to eliminate Panic Attacks from our lives. We can use one of the following Strategies:
PANIC ATTACK ELIMINATION STRATEGIES
STRATEGY 1) AVOID OR ELIMINATE THE SOURCE
*Get rid of trap sources
*Avoid known trap sources
*Take away the fuel and the fire cannot burn
STRATEGY 2) CONFRONT OR TACKLE THE SOURCE
*Learn how to beat the trap
*Only thing to fear is fear itself
STRATEGY 3) TRANSFORM OR CONTROL THE SOURCE
*Change the way we think about trap sources
*You cannot control a TV show so change the channel
STRATEGY 4) SEE A PROFESSIONAL
*Ask an expert on the trap for help and advice
(SEEK OUT PSYCHIATRIC HELP, MEDICAL HELP, OR COUNSELING etc...)
What we will do next is take our Anxiety Attack Sources Chart (5) and go through some examples from each source category and show you how to eliminate your panic sources by one of the 4 Strategies mentioned in this chapter. After a few examples you should see a pattern develop as to how to deal with your sources of panic, whether they are on the chart or not. You will have to ask of each source, is this something that I have to avoid or eliminate from my life? Is this something that I have to confront or deal with differently? Is this something that I have to change or take control of in my life? or is this something that is beyond my own capability that I need to seek professional help for? Once you have determined what your source(s) are and what course of action needs to be taken, then all you have to do is figure out the best way to carry out that action. Hopefully, by following the examples listed you will have a good idea as to
what to do in any situation that you may face.
I. DIET:
The first category on the Anxiety Sources Chart is Diet. The old saying "you are what you eat" certainly is true. What you eat can have a great effect on your body and mind. Certainly you would want to do whatever it takes to make sure you are eating a balanced diet. By eating right your brain will be able to function better and this will help you to handle life better. You will be able to handle stress better as well, and thus deal more effectively with potential Anxiety sources.
EXAMPLE A)
From your Anxiety Sources Worksheet and Chart 5 you have determined that a source of your panic attacks is from drinking to much caffeine. You believe that caffeine is causing your heart rate to increase. What should you do? The answer to this is simple, you would have to use Strategy 1 and eliminate the source. You could try drinking caffeine free soda or decaffeinated coffee. You could also read the labels on all of your food to make sure you are not consuming caffeine in your food. You will have a headache from the withdraw effects when you first stop drinking caffeine, but they will go away after awhile and so to will your panic attacks. Make sure that any medicine you take to alleviate your headaches does not have any caffeine in it. When I found that caffeine was a contributing factor to my panic attacks, I reduced the amount of caffeine in my diet and this greatly reduced the number and severity of my panic attacks. You can see how easy this Strategy was, so let us go on to another example.
EXAMPLE B)
Perhaps you have determined that you have an alcohol problem and that maybe this plays a major role in your panic attacks. Strategy 4 would definitely be recommended in this case. Alcohol is a very addictive drug that requires professional help to try and overcome if there is a serious problem. If you even suspect that you have a problem you should seek out help at once. Panic attacks are probably the least of your worries if alcohol is what you think is driving your attacks. So please use Strategy 4 and seek out professional help. This step may not be so easy, so you might want to have some friends and family help you with this difficult battle. Let us now continue to the next source category the JOB.
II. JOB:
The second category of sources listed on the Anxiety Sources Chart come from the job. One thing to remember about your job and life in general is that "success is a journey not a destination." So many people have anxieties over whether or not they are successful. Strategy 3 is in order here because the source of our anxiety is our own way of thinking, we need to transform our thinking to that of as long we do our best and never give up we are always successful. This is discussed in a little more detail in the PSYCHOLOGICAL section of this chapter.
EXAMPLE A)
What if you have determined from your Panic Sources Chart that you are overloaded with projects to do at work and you do not ever have enough time to complete these projects. This is causing you to be stressed and is contributing to your panic attacks. Well you could use a combination of Strategies to deal with this source of anxiety. If you are in a position to do so you might want to try Strategy 1 and delegate some of your projects to coworkers or you could have your boss help you out. By doing so you would eliminate some of your panic sources.
You could also use Strategy 2 and prioritize you projects. Daily prioritization of your projects is essential in tackling them in an organized and efficient way. Writing down in order of importance your projects allows you to see them and realize that they are not an insurmountable task. As you complete one project you cross it off the list and continue on to the next project. Before you know it the list will be complete. Sometimes it is a good idea to do an easy project first to get one out of the way quickly. When you see an early success, tackling the rest of your projects will seem much easier and more possible. Sometimes you cannot just eliminate a source of anxiety altogether, like school or your job so you have to use Strategy 2 and tackle or confront these sources head on one at a time. When you get control on these seemingly overwhelming projects you then change them from a source of anxiety into a source of self esteem and pride.
Sometimes though, prioritization is not enough. For example, where I worked the projects kept coming and the hours I spent trying to accomplish them got longer and longer. My boss did not seem to appreciate the work I was doing. My wife and child never saw me, so I worried about them. I couldn't pursue personal interests outside of work since all of my time and energy was spent at work. I did not eat right. Things just snowballed and were not getting any better. My panic attacks became more frequent as tension at my job and in my life grew. Fortunately, my company is a large one and this enabled me to make a drastic move in order to deal with my sources of anxiety. I used Strategy 1 to the extreme. After some serious consideration, by using Strategy 1 I single-handedly wiped out multiple sources of anxiety in my life. I did this by transferring to another job within the company. This job was less stressful, had straight hours, and was one that I knew I could be successful at. I took a small pay cut as well, but my health and family were worth the move. The end result was nothing less than spectacular. Since eliminating multiple sources of anxiety, I have not had a single panic attack. Strategy 1 truly worked for me. You may find that you have multiple sources of anxiety emanating from one place, such as your job. You may want to consider whether or not to make such a drastic change in your life in order to improve your health and life. The choice is yours but for me life without panic attacks has been like being set free from a trap. I now have a boss that appreciates the work I do, I have straight hours, I see a lot more of my family, I get to pursue personal interests outside of work, and I feel successful at work. The pay cut has not really had a great impact in my life since I have been prioritizing my expenses and sticking to a budget. All in all, my life is much happier because I made this move to eliminate multiple sources of anxiety in my life. I hope this can work this well for you too. Let us look at another example of Anxiety Sources from the job category.
EXAMPLE B)
What if you have determined that the source of your anxiety is coming from poor relationships with your coworkers. Perhaps someone you work with is very difficult to get along with and nothing that you do seems to help the matter. This is worrying you and is causing you undo stress. The coworker does a good job, but your personalities just clash. In this case you could try Strategy 1 (if it were bad enough) and transfer to another department. If this is not possible Strategy 2 might be viable. You could try and confront your coworker and talk about the specific problem you are having. Focus on the problem and on finding a positive resolution. The key is to confront the problem and not to attack the person. By focusing on the problem in a positive light you don't make the situation worse by insulting or offending the person. Still yet, another Strategy you may want to try is starting a daily exercise routine. This could help you to burn some the extra tension you have away and help you to cope with the situation better. When a source of panic cannot be eliminated the best way to burn of the excess adrenaline is to exercise. Hopefully you can burn enough of the adrenaline away in your exercise, that your panic attacks would stop.
III. SCHOOL:
EXAMPLE A)
Today more and more emphasis and pressure is placed on getting high grades in school and on going to college. There is a lot of competition on standardized tests and for scholarship dollars. You may have found that some of your stress and worry are coming from this area of your life. Maybe poor grades of you or your child have you worrying excessively or maybe you are worried about upcoming tests. In this case you would want to try Strategy 2. The reason most people do poorly in school is due to lack of preparation or study. So you would have to attack this problem up front. This requires some work. In order for you to gain control over your grades you will need to take time and study. To do this you will need to learn how to prioritize your time to allow for study. You can use my Daily Prioritization Chart Workbook included with this manual to help you. On the chart you would want to make study a high priority and things like social events and television a low priority. If you continue to have trouble studying and with your grades after trying this, you may have to use Strategy 4. This means you should see a professional counselor or tutor. Whatever the case you will have to get organized and have a plan of action so that you can get prepared enough to do your best in school. Then and only then will your anxieties be reduced about school. When you are prepared for school you know you are in control and that you can do well. You may not be a straight A student but doing your best is what counts. When you do your best all of your energies are expended on the task and the likelihood of a panic attack happening is reduced. Let us now go to the next anxiety source category-The Family.
IV. FAMILY:
EXAMPLE A)
There are a lot of problems in families these days and the divorce rate is higher than ever. Single parent families are almost the norm in today's society. Many have multiple family problems that create anxiety about the future that drives panic attacks. From your Anxiety Source Worksheet and Chart you have found that your child's rebellious attitude is a source of your anxiety. Many parents today are to busy and to ill-equipped to deal with problems of this type effectively. To challenge a rebellious child head-on is a delicate matter to say the least. My suggestion is for each parent to deduce what the best course of action is in their individual case. A little love does go a long way and that may be all that is needed, but Strategy 4 is probably the best solution. A family Counselor has seen this problem before and is an expert in dealing with this in the most successful way. By confronting the problem through a professional you may gain some control of the situation and thus reduce your anxieties about your child. This in turn should help you to eliminate you Panic Attacks.
EXAMPLE B)
From your Anxiety Source Worksheet and Chart you have ascertained that a major source of anxiety in your life came from worrying about money problems in the household. You find that you are living paycheck to paycheck and that you do not know how you are going to pay all of your bills. To try and eliminate this source of anxiety you can try several elimination Strategies. Using Strategy 1 you can try and design a budget that will prevent you from getting into a situation where money is an overwhelming concern. This however, may require Strategy 4, the help of a professional accountant or credit counseling agency. If you are already in a tight situation you can use these same Strategies to get you out of it. Using Strategy 2 you could attack the problem and set some financial goals. You would want to make your goals attainable and write them down. For instance, maybe you would want to make a goal of paying off your credit card in six months. To do this you could make a budget with goals attached to it. You would follow this budget until your card is paid off. Again if you are not certain about how to make a budget you could seek the advice of a professional credit counselor. Making a budget and setting goals should help you gain control of the problem and reduce your anxiety. I This can be compared to driving your car. When you are out for a pleasant drive you roll down your window and feel great because you are in control and are free. However, when you are driving and you are late for work and you are caught in construction, you lose control and get stressed out. You are no longer free and are at the mercy of other traffic. Then driving becomes a source of stress and anxiety. When we lose control of our money we get the same way. This then is a source of anxiety and can drive our panic attacks. By using Strategy 2 and making a budget and setting goals we get control back and money no longer is a source of anxiety. Sometimes though a budget is not enough. We may need extra income to make ends meet. Then maybe you need to look at getting another job or look at securing overtime to help get a control over your bills. You still need to use Strategy 2 and deduce what the best course of action is to attack the problem. You need to organize, prioritize, and set goals. Another good thing to do is use Strategy 3 in this situation. You have to remember that money does not solve problems. If you were to suddenly come into some money your money problems might be solved but your focus would shift to other problems in your life such as health and family. Sometimes you have to transform your way of thinking and have the ability to see things in a broader perspective in order to eliminate your anxieties. This is easier said than done though and brings us to the final Anxiety Source category- The Psychological category.
V. PSYCHOLOGICAL
From the Anxiety Sources Chart you have seen some similarities in the way you think to those that are mentioned on the chart. If you tend to think the same way of those areas mentioned on the chart you may be your own source of anxiety. All of these ways of thinking: All or nothing, negative, paranoid, exaggerating, and obsessive/compulsive make everyday normal events seem to you worse than they are and thus can make you more stressed, worried, and fearful than you should be about life. This in turn makes your body react more often in the form of panic and thus you may have more panic attacks. To overcome this is difficult because it is in fact who you are and how you have been brought up. The best thing you can do is try Strategy 3 and control your thinking by stepping outside of yourself and recognizing when you are potentially thinking in an extreme way and by curtailing it at that point. Again, this is easier said than done so you may decide that you need help and that you need to see a professional using Strategy 4. A professional Psychiatrist can help you to change your way of thinking and deal with life better. If you are experiencing any of these extreme ways of thinking a visit to the psychiatrist may be the best thing you can do. Panic attacks may be the least of your problems if there is an underlying mental problem that needs to be addressed.
ANXIETY/PANIC SOURCES WORKSHEET EXAMPLE ANXIETY WORKBOOK PROCESS
* NOTE THIS WAS IN THE ORIGINAL MANUAL. YOU CAN USE A DAILY LOG AND FIND YOUR PANIC TRIGGERS. THEN DETERMINE WHAT METHODS TO USE TO DEAL WITH THOSE TRIGGERS.
STEP 1) USE ANXIETY SOURCES WORKSHEETS (OR KEEP A DAILY LOG OF YOUR OWN AND DETERMINE YOUR SOURCES) UNTIL A PATTERN DEVELOPS
STEP 2) COMPARE PATTERNS TO ANXIETY SOURCES CHART AND SEE WHAT CATEGORY YOUR SOURCES FALL UNDER
STEP 3) REFER TO PANIC ATTACK COPING AND ELIMINATION GRID FOR SUGGESTED ACTION ( OR USE YOUR OWN COMMON SENSE TO DECIDE WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU)
STEP 4) LOG SUCCESSFUL Strategies ON YOUR PERSONAL PANIC ATTACK TRIED Strategies GRID (REMEMBER WHAT HAS WORKED IN THE PAST)
STEP5) USE SUCCESSFUL PANIC ATTACK COPING AND ELIMINATION Strategies OFF OF PERSONAL GRID (OR ONES THAT YOU HAVE LOGGED PERSONALLY)
MY WORKSHEET/DAILY LOG EXAMPLE:
WHAT DID YOU DRINK TODAY?
1) I HAD 4 COLAS
WHAT DID YOU EAT TODAY?
1) HAD A BANANA
2) HAD A BAG OF PRETZELS
3) PIZZA
4) LEFT OVER SPAGHETTI
WHAT STRESSES AT WORK ARE THERE TODAY?
1) MORE FLIGHTS CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER
2) PAPERWORK BACKED UP
3) WORKED 9 HOURS
4) BOSS MAD BECAUSE HIS COMPUTER IS BROKEN AND BLAMES ME
WHAT STRESSES IN SCHOOL ARE THERE TODAY?
1) NA
WHAT STRESSES ARE THERE IN THE FAMILY TODAY?
1) WIFE MAD AT ME BECAUSE OF WORKING LATE
2) CANNOT VISIT PARENTS THIS WEEKEND
HOW IS YOUR MONEY SITUATION TODAY?
1) ALL BILLS PAID
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE WORRYING YOU TODAY?
1) DID NOT GET TO SEE FOOTBALL GAME BECAUSE OF WORKING LATE
ARE THERE ANY EXTREME THOUGHTS THAT YOU HAVE HAD TODAY?
NA
CROSS REFERENCE YOUR ANSWERS WITH PANIC ATTACK SOURCES CHART 5
ARE THERE ANY REPEATING STRESSES OR PATTERNS NOTED FROM PAST LISTS?
1) CAFFEINE
2) LONG HOURS AT WORK
3) OPERATIONAL PROBLEMS AT WORK AND BOSS UNHAPPY
4) POOR DIET
5) NOT SEEING FAMILY ENOUGH IS HURTING FAMILY
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