Several treatments are proven very effective in stopping anxiety attacks. Let us look at some of the more popular ones:

Breathing technique ? is one of the most effective ways in controlling anxiety attacks. Proper breathing helps slow down heartbeat and helps calm the tensed muscles as a result of the attack. Breathing also diverts the mind’s attention from the “trigger” and calms the self, thus, stopping the attack even faster. Proper breathing techniques are easy to learn and master.

Self-hypnosis ? is a great tool to alter your thought process as well as your body’s reaction to those fearful thoughts. During an anxiety attack, lay down on your back or in any comfortable position and try to process your thoughts. Identify the origin of such fearful thoughts. Know if it is real. If you concentrate enough in finding the origins of your thoughts, you will soon realize that they are really not a valid reason for excessive fear. It may sound simple, and it is. Psychiatrists now recommend self-hypnosis as a treatment for anxiety attacks and other anxiety disorders. (Hypnosis and cognitive-behavioral therapy can be used together by your therapist to stop symptoms of anxiety attacks.)

Meditation ? has long been credited to relieve stress and anxiety as it promotes the release of negative energy from the body, relaxes tensed muscles, and calms the mind, which in turn, effectively reduces irrational fear and apprehension. Meditation may not be for all because of the time required to master the technique, however, with proper guidance of an expert or a little bit of patience and dedication, you can reap its benefits.

Herbs ? (such as chamomile, passion flower, lavender, and ginkgo biloba) are very effective long-term treatment for anxiety attacks. Since they are all-natural, they posses no side effects. They may not be as aggressive as prescription drugs but they work just as effective.

Prescription medicines ? are a major help in stopping the symptoms of anxiety and episodes of anxiety attacks. Antidepressants are the most common anxiety treatment. They must be taken continuously, which may take as long as six weeks before noticing the effects. Beta-blockers are a type of drugs that prevent symptoms from recurring. SSRIs or Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors boost the level of serotonin in the brain which regulates and normalizes emotions.

Therapies ? are a very important anxiety treatment. These target the psychological aspect of anxiety. CBT or the cognitive-behavioral therapy is used to alter the way of thinking ? converting negative thoughts into positive ones. Techniques used in CBT include role-playing and relaxation technique. Exposure therapy exposes the person to the physical sensations of panic in a safe and controlled environment. Through repeated exposure, patients gain greater self control and more confidence in facing fearful situation.

Prescription medicines and therapies, when combined and used at treatment, are very effective. Medical studies show that the response rate of patients is much higher if both methods are used compared to those that are treated using either method.

Exercise ? Exercise improves the health of the body and mind, and improves the overall well-being of a person. A 30-minute exercise, 3-5 times a week is enough to provide anxiety relief. Increasing to at least an hour of aerobic exercise each day provides maximum benefits for relieving stress and anxiety.

Sleep ? A popular adage, “early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise,” speaks of the importance of sleep in the overall health of a person. Qualitative sleep for 8 hours a day is a proven and effective technique to battle stress as well as anxiety attacks.

Healthy diet ? Along with exercise, diet plays an important role in the overall health of the body. Eating healthy food maintains the normal chemistry and hormones of the body as well has provides resistance to common ailments that increases the risk of anxiety attacks.

Avoid unnecessary stressors ? Most stressors are unavoidable and it is also unhealthy to turn your back to certain situations that need to be addressed. Still, some situations and people cause unnecessary stress that result to anxiety attacks. Avoid people that stress you out, learn how to say ‘no’, trim down your to-do-list, avoid sensitive topics such as politics and religion, etc.

Relaxation techniques ? Yoga, meditation, Taiji, progressive muscle relaxation, visualization and breathing exercises can reduce anxiety and promote the feeling of relaxation and emotional well-being.

Keep a positive outlook ? While it is very difficult to maintain a good attitude when experiencing an anxiety attack, it is very crucial to be more conscious and help stay in control over the situation to effectively battle your condition. Do not think “Oh no, not again!” or “I’m screwed” when an episode hits you. Think that it will be over soon and control your emotions so that your anxiety will now get worse.

If the abovementioned techniques do not work for you, it is probably time to consult a health professional about your health. Since symptoms of anxiety attacks may be a result of other psychological and physical conditions, you need to see your medical doctor first and get a complete physical in order to rule out any other possible causes.

If anxiety prevails and symptoms last for more than 1 to 2 weeks, especially if you have no idea why, see a trained therapist.

A person with anxiety disorder usually goes under medication, therapy or both. Prescription drugs for anxiety are usually antidepressants and benzodiazepines. However, they provide short-term relief and thus, other therapy is often recommended. Therapies given are cognitive-behavioral therapy and exposure therapy. They are both effective (especially when combined with medication) to treat anxiety disorders. Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps patients to replace negative thoughts with positive ones.

Exposure therapy, on the other hand, helps treat anxiety attacks by subjecting the patients to control fear in a safe and controlled environment. Through repeated exposure, patients gain greater self control and more confidence in facing fearful situation.

So speaking from experience I thought I would write my experiences so you have some idea what to expect if you decide that this is something for you.

The first thing is they ask you questions about what is going on with your life and what you are experiencing and what you would like to achieve by doing hypnosis. So they can get to know you better and you feel a little bit at ease,

Once that has been discussed they will usually explain what hypnotherapy is about and what is going to happen so you understand the process. Most practitioners have the same method and some have different methods but really hypnotherapy is all about getting you to relax..

So once the formalities are over you usually lay on a couch or suit in a comfortable recliner chair. They will get you to close your eyes and they will start guiding you to relax, by taking deep breaths and relaxing your body. Then once you start relaxing they will just keep getting you more and more relaxed. The first time is always the hardest but try and go with the flow here and just let go. It?s a great experience to let go when you have been so tense from anxiety and panic attacks.

Then once they can see you are relaxed they will start making suggestions in your mind about a way for you to get through this time. They may also get you do some visualizations? and put you in a place that feels nice to be there. Its all part of getting you to relax. All this usually lasts about 30mins or even longer but the first session is usually only about 30min long.

In the first session you may feel a bit uncomfortable and that?s ok because this is all new territory for you. But remember if you?re making the move to do something about getting rid of anxiety and panic attacks then that?s the most important thing here.

Now if your not comfortable about going and seeing someone for hypnotherapy then there a lot of CDs that you can buy and do it yourself in the comfort of your own home. But I feel that going to see a hypnotherapist at least once you will benefit a great deal because then if you have questions they can be answered while you are there. Then you can could do it at home at your own leisure.

When I suffered anxiety and panic attacks and I was ready to get rid of them this is how it all started for me I started with doing hypnosis then went on to do it by myself at home everyday until they were gone.