How to Overcome Panic Disorder
When panic strikes, it seems that the best way to get through is to get away from all the situations that are causing it. Some people have avoided caffeine, exercise, being around others, or shopping.
If you once enjoyed these things then you know first hand how panic can make your world small. (And if you are struggling with panic, we offer individual sessions that can help).
In order to effectively cope with panic, you must do the opposite of what the logical part of your brain wants you to.
The logical part of you tells you to stay away from the things that cause you to feel anxious and panic. But that only strengthens your fear to that situation. We have to paradoxically move towards the fear-not away from it.
Consider this example. Have you ever ridden on a segway? You know, those two wheeled vehicles that you are standing upright in?
About 5 years ago I was visiting Chicago with my husband and we went on a segway tour through the Hyde Park neighborhood. At the start of the tour, we were told how to ride this two-wheeler and given all the safety instructions. I was like...yea-yea, ok lets get on with this tour.
But then while we were on the tour, my segway caught speed. I was cruising past our group and the instructor started yelling at me "LEAN BACK!" I was terrified. I thought, "If I lean back, I'm going to fall backwards and hurt myself." It did not feel like the most intuitive way to prevent myself from crashing to the pavement.
But I kept leaning forward which made me go even faster. I could still hear the instructor in the distance. Eventually, I put trust in what he was telling me and leaned back. And sure enough, I got control of the segway.
So you see, this is similar to how we must approach panic. It doesn't make sense to go towards what makes us anxious when everything in our body screams "go the other way." It feels like we will lose control, die, or cause something horrific to happen.
But when we decide to trust that we should lean in to our fear, we regain control because we tell our brain that this is just a signal. We tell our brain that it feels like danger but we are safe.
If we don't move towards what makes us anxious, then we end up giving fear all of our strength and power.
So the next time you decide to look fear in the face, step into it with a fierce willingness to experience the discomfort (which is not the same as a white-knuckle approach) that shows up and be committed to sticking with it now matter what. I know it's not easy. Use the statements below to encourage yourself:
“It’s OK to be anxious here.”
“I won’t guard myself against anxiety.”
“This is practice.”
“I can tolerate uncertainty.”