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Archive for the ‘Panic Attacks’ Category

The Post-Anxiety Series: “Getting Unstuck”

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

getting-unstuck.jpg“Getting Unstuck” has been called the “post-anxiety series.” It’s about moving forward and creating a new self image, something that is critical after overcoming anxiety and panic attack issues.

But it’s actually about a lot more than getting on with your life after anxiety. The Getting Unstuck video coaching series is a blueprint for increasing self esteem, and re-defining who you are and what you are capable of (because we’re always capable of about 10x more than we realize!).

Since debuting last November, Getting Unstuck has won many die-hard fans, and helped many re-claim their life. Many of the most vocal supporters are people who had just come out of a traumatic time, like a divorce, job loss, physical illness, etc. And yes, quite a few have relied on this series to help put their lives back together after overcoming anxiety and panic attacks too, hence the nickname, “the post anxiety series.” =)

Through the end of February, both the “Getting Unstuck” series and our “Attitude is NOT Optional Series” (another favorite, especially for shy or “sensitive” people) are on sale. Get an instant 15% discount on either of these coaching programs (or both) when you order before March 1st. Just input the discount code W3760891 on the order page.

Check out both programs here: http://www.youniversellc.com/coaching-sessions.html

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The Panic Extinguisher: Using Sound to Stop Panic Attacks

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

nlp-u-panic-extinguisher.jpgHere’s a very effective new resource to stop panic attacks quickly from our “sister” site, NLPUnderCurrents.com

“The Panic Extinguisher” is an unusual (some would say “weird-sounding”) audio session that uses a unique blend of new technologies to change your mental state. It’s NOT just another relaxation or meditation session, but something altogether unique. It works by breaking the loop of repetitive negative thoughts that are present during panic attacks to quickly change your thinking patterns.

The Panic Extinguisher accomplishes this remarkable feat using ultra-low frequency “binaural beats” and bi-lateral sound modulation to “jolt” the listener into a a more detached, less anxious state of mind.  The effects can be felt in just minutes, as your brainwaves begin to “sync” to ultra low frequency pulses beneath the music.

How can listening to a audio session stop panic attacks?

Anxiety and panic attacks produce brain waves associated with heightened awareness — similar to a “feedback loop.” You begin to focus repetitively (and obsessively) on anxious and destructive thoughts, taking you further and further into the spiral of anxiety and panic. This vicious cycle usually continues and intensifies, unless…something happens to “break the loop.”

And that is what the Panic Extinguisher does. It uses ultra-low frequency pulses which cause the brain’s electrical impulses to”sync” to a new frequency that is associated with feelings of calm and well-being. This quickly changes how you feel and stops the panic attack before it can really get started.

This process is known as brainwave “entrainment.” Basically, it is a way of manipulating the electrical impulses in the brain “sync” to the external sound waves, changing your mood and perception.

That’s the techy explanation, but all you really need to know is this: it works.  Try the demo version here and read testimonials from users. Then give the Panic Extinguisher a try for yourself, and see how quickly it call “derail” those obsessive and panicky thoughts. Fearless prediction: you’ll love it.

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How to Stop Panic Attacks with the “Observing the Subject” Technique

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

A Simple Four Step Process to Stop Panic Attacks Using the “Observing the Subject” Technique:

One of the many useful tools to stop panic attacks that you’ll find in the EasyCalm Series is called “Observing the Subject.” The Series goes into more detail about this method, but we can lay out the basics here, By the way, this strategy is also excellent for dealing with social anxiety.  Here are the four basic steps:

Step 1: When you feel a panic attack (or strong feeling of anxiety) just starting, stop everything and begin to focus on your breathing, and make it a point to breath OUT a little more than you breath in. This reduces the tendency to hyperventilate and has a slight calming effect.

Step 2: After about 30 seconds, expand your focus from your breathing to your entire body and notice the physical effects the anxiety is having. Become aware of how your body feels, observing it like an impartial scientist, just “observing the subject” and noting breathing, pulse rate, muscle tension, etc. Strive to ONLY observe the effects of the anxiety, while NOT judging them in any way.

Step 3: After about 30  seconds more, expand your focus again to begin noticing the emotional effects of the anxiety, the thoughts that come up, as well as the physical symptoms. What emotions is the “subject” feeling? Are there any thoughts that have been repeating since the onset of the panic attack? Remember, don’t judge. Do your best to just take note of the panic attack symptoms like an impartial observer.

Step 4: Continue your observation in a detached way for a minute or two. You will likely begin to feel calmer as you become more detached and analytical about the symptoms. This technique is often enough to stop panic attacks in just a minute or two, allowing you to simply return to whatever you were doing.

NOTE: This process gets much easier with practice, so do not feel discouraged if it does not come natural the first time you try it. Most of us are only used to FEELING our emotions and bodily symptoms, not studying them in a detached way–especially panic attacks. But with a little practice it can become second nature, making the attacks much easier top deal with, and you’ll have a powerful technique to stop panic attacks if you should experience one.

“I have tried ALL the other programs out there but nothing really made much difference to my extreme panic attacks before I got easycalm. This has been worth its weight in gold for me. Just superb!”

~Elli James, Baltimore, Maryland US

www.easycalm.com

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Where Do Panic Attacks Come From?

Monday, December 20th, 2010

ecaudioweb2.jpgI’ve been coaching anxiety and panic attacks sufferers for many years now, and one of the most common questions I hear is “where do panic attacks come from?”

Many people believe their panic attacks “come out of nowhere.” But in fact, this isn’t true. Panic attacks come from habits. More specifically, mental habits that we fall into over time unknowingly.

It sounds kind of strange, but the reality is that panic attacks are a “lifestyle issue.” They are the result of an imbalance in your life. This “imbalance” can be very subtle, almost unrecognizable, but it has very real and damaging results.

So how do you stop the panic attacks?

The way to prevent panic attacks (and other anxiety problems) is to deal with their root cause — the mental “environment” that allows them to flourish. This process has several steps, and I’ll be talking more about that over the next few weeks. But for today, let’s just focus our attention on one specific topic: Control Issues.

Anxiety and panic attacks are most often the result of trying to over-control your life, and situations. It’s an easy habit to fall into (I’ve been there). But fortunately, there IS a way out.

The first step is to build up your tolerance to situations that are slightly out of your control In the Easycalm Video Series, we start VERY small, taking gradual steps to build up tolerance over time.

The idea is to begin making a few easy lifestyle changes — changes that reduce your tendency to over-control situations. What we are actually doing is expanding your comfort zone. The more you follow the program, the stronger these “emotional muscles” get, until you are capable of letting go of control to a great extent, and being perfectly comfortable with that.

This approach breaks the chain of anxiety and panic attacks, freeing you to do things you want and need to do to live a happy life. Things that were previously WAY outside your comfort zone.

This concept is summed up perfectly by EasyCalm user Lucinda from Washington DC:

“EasyCalm has been an amazing resource for me. I’m back in control of my life finally without trying to over control everything.”

Get started with Easycalm today. The sooner you start this process, the sooner you are back to living the life you want to live. In a very real way, you become FREE again.

Read more real anxiety/panic attack stories and testimonials from Easycalm users here: http://www.easycalm.com/EasyCalm-Reviews-and-Testimonials.htm

Take care,
Jon

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The EasyCalm Anxiety Series is Getting Bigger and Better — New Updates!

Friday, December 10th, 2010

In oEasyCalm Anxiety Seriesur ongoing attempt to provide as much help as possible for anxiety suffers, I’m proud to announce that we are now including my newest video coaching series, “Getting Unstuck” free with the EasyCalm anxiety video series. Getting Unstuck retails for $77,  but for a limited time it is included at no extra charge with EasyCalm. No strings attached and nothing else to buy.

“Getting Unstuck?” is the perfect companion series to EasyCalm in many ways–here’s why:

Anxiety doesn’t just cause fear and panic attacks, it also erodes self confidence and can create a very distorted self image. As a former anxiety and panic attack sufferer, I know how living with these problems can undermine your personal strength and create a “victim” mentality. The Getting Unstuck video series is designed to counteract this negative programming and help you take back your control and personal power.

Find out more about Getting Unstuck here: http://www.youniversellc.com/getting-unstuck.html

I’m also happy to announce that our new EasyCalm testimonial and reviews page is now live.  You can read about the experiences of others with EasyCalm and how they have overcome debilitating panic attacks, phobias and anxiety using this method The new testimonials/reviews page is located here: http://www.easycalm.com/EasyCalm-Reviews-and-Testimonials.htm

And finally, the first 26 minutes of the EasyCalm Series (session one) is now free on Youtube. If you haven’t already, check it out.

Thank you to all our loyal supporters, and don’t forget to friend me on Facebook!

All the best!
Jon
www.easycalm.com

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Motivation to Overcome Anxiety and Panic Attacks (New Video)

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

Jon Mercer, MA Personal Development TrainerI recently posted a new video on my main YouTube channel about the doubts and fears some people have that they will be able to overcome their panic attacks and anxiety symptoms.  Many times, people will e-mail or contact me on my Facebook page asking if it is REALLY possible to overcome anxiety. As I point out in the video, the question almost seems absurd to me: of course you can overcome these things!!

Since launching the EasyCalm series 6 years ago, we’ve received thousands of success stories from users — people just like you and me who have managed to eliminate anxiety and panic attacks from their life.  And I’m not saying that the EasyCalm video series is the ONLY way to do this (just the best way in my humble opinion =) .

The fact is, people overcome all kinds of limitations.  Almost everyone knows someone who has fought back and overcome severe limitations and problems in their life. I mentioned a friend of mine in the video who was born with polio.  Despite beginning life with such a severe limitation, it has never limited him, and he has gone on to do amazing things and achieved great success in many different areas.

You CAN cure your anxiety and panic attacks and live a normal life.  I have done it, and thousands of other people have done it.  So why not you?  If you’ve had any doubts that it’s possible for you to overcome these problems decide right now that it is inevitable that you WILL overcome them!

If working as a personal development coach has taught me anything, it is that most people have no idea how powerful they are and the amazing things they are capable of.  Think about that the next time you have doubts.  Believe you can do it, and most often, you will make your beliefs into reality.

You can watch my latest motivational video “rant” on the EasyCalm series and overcoming anxiety here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFeqf7iYo48

All the very best!
Jon
www.easycalm.com

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Imaginary Anxiety - Real Symptoms

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

brain01.jpgHave you ever considered that anxiety isn’t actually real?  I know, I know, it seems real.  It can even feel real. And its effects (anxiety symptoms) can certainly be real. But the anxiety itself is entirely imaginary — it is created in the mind and has no life outside of your imagination.

Perhaps more than any other “condition” that affects our physical and mental well-being, anxiety is a fictional projection of the mind.  We create worst-case scenarios and imagine a bleak future whenever our minds are consumed with anxiety.  It is a very creative act. Perhaps that’s why many anxiety sufferers also tend to be highly creative people — their minds are used to imagining situations and perspectives that don’t actually exist in the “real world.”

The only way you can experience anxiety is if you yourself create it.  In fact, I would dare to speculate that the less creative a person is, the less likely it is they would experience anxiety and/or panic attacks.  I don’t believe it is a coincidence that over 50% of my coaching clients with anxiety tend to be in creative fields such as design, music, art and writing.

But here’s the good news: because anxiety is a product of the imagination, we can learn to imagine something different, to create new scenarios in our mind that have nothing to do with anxiety or panic attacks.  And the more creative in individual is, the more potential power they have to do this.

I’ve heard it said that we all create our own little universe as we go along — that life is a creative act, and most of what we refer to as “reality” is the product of our own mind.  It is very easy to see the truth of this in anxiety sufferers.  They are clearly creating little “loops” of anxious and unproductive thought that spiral into full-blown anxiety attacks, or at the very least, a low level generalized anxiety that keeps them stressed out and not performing to the best of their ability.

But just as easily as we can create these “loops” of anxiety and panic.  We can also create loops of well-being, peace and optimism.  How do you do that?  The same way you develop any creative skill: practice.  Like any other learned behavior, optimism and a calm state of mind are developed through repetition.

For this reason, the EasyCalm series (www.easycalm.com) lays out a series of simple day-to-day exercises to begin developing this new pattern of thought. It’s not difficult — it only requires consistency.  Repetition is the mother of all skill, and learning to create a better state of mind is a simple as practicing these techniques on a daily basis until they begin to take hold in your unconscious mind.  Once that begins to happen, a calm demeanor becomes your normal operating system, and the imaginary anxiety you use to create, withers away from disuse and neglect.

To start this process is very helpful to realize right now: anxiety is imaginary.  There is NO question about it.  The effects of it can be very real, but the anxiety itself is anything but. You cannot touch it, smell it, see it or hear it.  It exists only within the confines of your creative imagination.  When you realize the truth of this, you will also realize the key to overcoming anxiety — begin using your creative imagination in a new way, and create patterns of thought that are more helpful to you.

Without sounding too much like an infomercial (I hope!), training you to develop these new, more useful patterns of thought is exactly what the EasyCalm series is designed to do.  Check it out!

Jon

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What Does Math Have To Do with Stopping Panic Attacks?

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

I’ve heard about lots of tricks for stopping panic attacks; but using math? Yep, an EasyCalm user from Denmark named Tom recently sent me this tip for stopping panic attacks (Takk Tom!). It involves doing math in your head, and believe it or not, Tom wasn’t the first person to mention this trick to me.

I make no guarantees that this will work for everyone, but obviously, it has worked for some people. So give it a try for yourself and see how it goes.

The technique itself is as simple as they come. The idea is simply to start doing difficult math problems in your head whenever you feel a panic attack coming on. The trick is to make the math problems (or “maths” for my non-North American friends) difficult enough that you have to really focus on them, but not so difficult that you get frustrated and give up. Depending on your skill in math, this could range from simple multiplication to more complicated division, or even algebraic equations if you’re a whiz with the numeros. ;-)

EasyCalm Anxiety MethodI couldn’t try out this technique for stopping panic attacks properly, because, gratefully, I haven’t had a panic attack in a long, long time. But I did get a chance to try it when I was a little stressed about being stuck in traffic a few days ago. I just began doing multiplication problems like 13 X 13, and 21 X 11. My results were kind of mixed (but that could just be me). While I was doing the math problems I did notice that I was somewhat distracted from stressing about the traffic, and the fact that I was running late for an appointment.

On the downside, I also noticed that I began feeling slightly frustrated from focusing on the crappy math problems! Full disclosure: math was never my favorite subject in school!

But to be honest, if I had to choose between feeling frustrated by math problems or feeling the sheer terror of a panic attack, I would choose frustration every time. As I said, I can’t make any guarantees that this trick will work for everyone, but according to Tom and a few other people who have written in over the years, it does help some.

The next time you feel panic attack coming on, give it a try. You’ve got nothing to lose, and it could be a great help.

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What Is the Cause of Panic Attacks?

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

Everybody who has suffered with panic attacks and anxiety has wondered where these things come from. What is the cause of panic attacks?As an NLP practitioner, I tend to not focus on causes and symptoms, but instead focus on changes that bring positive results. In fact, NLP (neurolinguistic programming) is all about results, and doesn’t get bogged down dealing with causes for any problem, including anxiety and panic attacks.

So to answer the question, “what is the cause of panic attacks?” I’ll give you a simple answer.

Life.

Life is the cause of all human difficulties. So why do some people have panic attacks and others don’t? Because we all have our own little crosses to bare, our own challenges, and things to learn. For some people this means learning to deal with anxiety and panic attacks. But no one gets a free ride.

EasyCalm Anxiety MethodEveryone has issues they have to deal with in life, and challenges they have to overcome. Everyone. No exceptions. If it’s not panic attacks and anxiety,it  is sure to be something else: body image issues, anger problems, lack of motivation, depression, poor self-image, and so on. If there is one thing I have learned in my years of coaching and counseling it is this: we ALL have our issues to deal with.

I understand that it’s only human to be curious about the cause of panic attacks; but at the end of the day, it is also unproductive. Trying to figure out what caused the panic attacks in the first place is a rabbit hole that we can easily get lost in. And any time spent trying to figure this out is really just wasted energy. After all, knowing the original cause of panic attacks doesn’t make them go away. That’s where results oriented therapies such as NLP come in. That’s also why the EasyCalm video series focuses on proven solutions and results through techniques and exercises developed over years of working with anxiety and panic attack sufferers.

What is the cause of panic attacks? here’s a good answer: Who cares? The question we  really need to be asking is this:

What are the solutions to panic attacks? Now we’re getting somewhere…

Jon

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How to Stop Panic Attacks: Understanding Loop-Based Thinking

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

Today I want to talk about how to stop panic attacks; and specifically, how to deal with the mental “loops” that both cause and sustain panic attacks. Psychological research suggests that as much as 95% of human thought is repetitive in nature — in other words, it is loop-based.  This discovery has prompted some notable psychiatrists and cognitive researchers to suggest that what we used to call “hypnosis” or a “hypnotic state” is actually a natural phenomenon that occurs in every human being a regular basis. 

Hypnotic states are repetitive, loop based thinking processes. And as the new research demonstrates, we all experience these states to one degree or another on a daily basis.  For example, have you ever driven a car somewhere and once you arrived found that you could not really remember the trip or the details about what happened between home and your destination?  EasyCalm Anxiety MethodThat’s because you were in a type of trance or hypnotic state while driving.  This is a perfect example of loop-based thinking, where the mind takes one idea — such as driving a car — and focuses on it repetitively.

So what does all this have to do with stopping panic attacks? Actually, a whole lot. Panic attacks are the ultimate example of loop-based thinking. They are a kind of hypnotic state, albeit one that is extremely negative and destructive to the sufferer.  Panic attacks begin with a terrifying image or sensation, which then begins to feedback onto itself in a loop. So the sufferer’s mind just goes around on and around in an obsessive loop, which feeds off of the original fear.  

How to stop panic attacks? First, realize what they are, cognitive loops; then use one of several methods to “break the spell” of the panic attack by either 1. stopping the loop, or 2. introducing a new loop that is more beneficial.  Let’s take a look at these two techniques to stop panic attacks, one at a time. 

Stopping panic attacks by halting a cognitive loop: 

In some cases, panic attacks can be stopped very quickly by shifting your focus in an extreme way.  Although it is not always appropriate or possible to use this method, if you can get a moment alone in a private place, there are things you can do to “shock your system,” and halt the repetitive loop of the panic attack.  One method is to scream at the top of your voice, “stop!”  A loud outburst of this type can often be enough to stop the mental loop that is running (the panic attack). 

Another technique is to shower with extremely cold water, or if that’s not possible at the moment, just put ice cubes straight from the freezer down your shirt. Again, the shock of the freezing cold water or ice will often be enough to stop the panic attack “loop,” and reset your thought processes. 

Stopping panic attacks by replacing a cognitive loop: 

In this method, you’re trying to start a new cognitive loop to compete with the panic attack loop that is already running.  One way of doing this is to repetitively sing a very catchy line from a song over and over and over again. Pick a song you really like, with a catchy melody, and don’t sing the whole song — just one or two catchy lines, and repeat them again and again until you feel your state has shifted and the panic attack is fading. 

Another method is to simply repeat a short, catchy phrase.  You can say it out loud or just inside your head.  Famous phrases such as “Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country,” often work, or a scripture quote. You can pick any phrase that flows easily for you and is simple to remember, and it doesn’t have to be motivational or positive — just a bland “neutral” comment is fine.    The key is to repeat the phrase almost obsessively and get into a rhythm with it, so it quickly becomes a repetitive cognitive loop, displacing the old loop — and stopping the panic attack. These are just a few methods to stop panic attacks, and you can find more in the EasyCalm anxiety video series, including our very popular 30 second breathing technique to stop panic attacks. J.Mercer, MA
www.easycalm.com

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Question About Panic Attacks Part II (Weird Symptoms of Panic Attacks)

Tuesday, December 16th, 2008

Anxiety Questions Nearly every day I get a few e-mails describing a variety of strange physical and emotional symptoms. The majority of the people e-mailing me want to know if their symptoms could be panic attacks, or something altogether more serious. And because I’ve been doing this a while, it is pretty rare for someone to describe a type of panic attack symptom that I have never heard of– however, it does happen occasionally…

 In this post I want to mention a few of the more “unusual” symptoms and issues that can be caused by panic attacks and anxiety.We’ve talked about all the “normal” panic attack symptoms in the past, such as stomach discomfort, shortness of breath, dizziness, obsessive yawning, tingling in the arms and legs, and many others. Now let’s take a look at some of the more “weird” symptoms. 

One unusual symptom of panic attacks that is rarely discussed is a morbid fear of eating in public. I’m not sure if this is becoming more common, but I have noticed that I get more e-mails about it than I used to. Hmmm….

Another eating-related symptom is an extreme fear of food touching the back of the mouth when eating.Those who experience this sometimes feel like they are on the verge of choking when this happens; and it often triggers panic attacks.

Different types of separation anxiety are not particularly uncommon, but there is an unusual variation of this that has come to my attention: a few panic attack sufferers have a fear of being alone, and MUST be around their close friends or family at all times–but at the same time, they experience a type of social anxiety when they ARE around their friends or family. So it creates a Catch-22 situation. This one doesn’t appear to be very common (thankfully), but it can make life hell for those who are living with it.

And finally, I have to mention this one: in the five and a half years we have been online, I have received two e-mails from individuals who had severe phobias about seeing another person’s feet. Both of these individuals claimed that if they saw anyone’s naked feet, panic attacks would ensue right away.  And surprisingly, one of the e-mailers even claimed that he would become panicky if he saw his OWN feet without shoes or socks on. I can only imagine how hard it would be to try to avoid the sight of your own feet throughout your whole life –not an easy way to live. 

Those are just a few of the more unusual panic attack symptoms that have been reported to me over the years. But please, leave a comment and let me know if you have an unusual anxiety or panic attack symptom that I haven’t mentioned. Remember, you can do it anonymously if you like– we are all about protecting everyone’s privacy here at Easycalm.

 The EasyCalm Video Series teaches methods to overcome panic attacks, no matter what kind of symtpoms you may have. That’s because EasyCalm doesn’t just deal with the symptoms, but gets to the root of the problem to help you quickly change the “mental environment”that is allowing the attacks to happen in the first place.  One of the great benefits of this is that it creates a greater sense of self-confidence, reassuring you that you CAN deal with panic attacks. Once this confidence begins to build, most users overcome the attacks altogether. And as a former sufferer of severe panic attacks, I know what a sweet feeling it is to be rid of them (good riddance!). 

Take care,
Jon Mercer
www.easycalm.com

www.easyalm.comEasyCalm Anxiety Method

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More Anxiety Questions: Panic Attack Symptoms

Monday, November 24th, 2008

Anxiety Questions As you might imagine, we receive lots of questions about anxiety and panic attacks here at EasyCalm.com. Some of the most common questions we get are about the nature of panic attack symptoms, and if a particular sensation is actually caused by panic and anxiety, or something altogether different. 

 The truth is, panic attacks can have all kinds of symptoms. Some of them are very common (upset stomach,unexplained sense of terror, hyperventilation, lightheadedness and dizziness) but others are more unusual (fear of eating in public, obsessive thoughts, frequent yawning, feeling of being “unreal” or detached from reality, flu-like symptoms and muscle soreness).

But regardless of which panic attack symptoms you are having, there is one characteristic that is common to all panic attacks, and that is a feeling that the uncomfortable emotions being experienced are somehow “permanent.” The fact is, anxiety and panic attack symptoms are fleeting–they come and go, sometimes almost inexplicably.

 Of course, when you’re in the middle of a panic attack it can be difficult to remind yourself that these feelings are fleeting, and that they will pass just as quickly as they came on. Still, it IS possible to learn to view panic attack symptoms as temporary things, and just allow them to fade naturally on there own.

 It takes time to develop this “overview”of panic attack symptoms, but it is a skill anyone can build with consistent effort. Many people find it helpful to simply “observe” the symptoms in an analytical sort of way. This allows you to detach from them to some degree, and the more detachment you can obtain, the less severe the attacks tend to be.

The EasyCalm Video Series teaches methods to develop this “overview” of anxiety and panic attack symptoms. This quickly allows you to view the attacks in a very different way– a way that does not seem nearly as “personal” or severe. This level of detachment builds as you go through the series, creating a greater sense of confidence that you CAN deal with the attacks.

 The irony is, once you begin to be confident that you can handle panic attacks (should they occur), they tend to dissipate on their own.  Why is this? Because panic attacks feed off of fear –YOUR fear. Once your level of fear about the attacks is decreased, so is their power over you. This is one of the central points of the EasyCalm method, and it has helped thousands of people to regain control over panic attacks and anxiety.

Take care,
Jon Mercer
www.easycalm.com

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Can Panic Attacks Hurt You?

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

panic attacks

Can Panic Attacks Hurt You? 

There’s no two ways about it: panic attacks are frightening.  But can anxiety and panic attacks hurt you physically, not just emotionally? The answer to this question is no — and yes.  Here’s what I mean:  While panic attacks can be emotionally draining and cause an intense sensation of fear, there is no evidence that they can physically hurt you “when they are happening.”   

You will notice that I tacked on the phrase “when they are happening” to the end of that last sentence, and here’s why: there is ample evidence that panic attacks (and anxiety in general) can weaken the immune system, leaving your body vulnerable to a wide range of physical ailments. There is an enormous amount of research data demonstrating that anxiety, panic attacks and even everyday stress is detrimental to our health.

But the health effects of panic attacks are not immediate.  They posed no threat to you “in the moment” even though you may feel like you’re about to pass out or die.  The real threat from panic attacks is when they become a way of life, when you begin suffering with anxiety on a regular basis.  This constant strain takes its toll on the body as well as the mind. 

That’s why it is so important to be proactive, and actively work to reduce both the intensity and frequency of panic attacks. So don’t worry; panic attacks cannot hurt you, no matter how horrible they feel in the moment.  But remember, living with panic attacks CAN hurt you over a long period of time by weakening your body and shattering your confidence.   Don’t allow yourself be a victim.  Take action to get help for your panic attacks before they become not just an emotional problem, but a physical one too. JM
www.easyalm.com
EasyCalm Anxiety Method

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What are You Watching?

Tuesday, April 1st, 2008

Have you ever watched the news and found yourself terrified of some new, hidden health threat or similar that could possibly be the end of you? I know I have. It seems that almost every day there’s a new threat out there; it’s often something hidden in your food or your genes, or our neighborhood, and it it’s almost always lethal. But wait…then the commercial break comes on, and there it is; the pill or shot or company that will make it all better. 

 Shannon Brownlee, author of the book “Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer”, calls the medical and pharmaceutical companies “The anxiety industry.” She talks about how these industries in combination with the media is constantly telling us to keep a lookout for illnesses and how this is causing real anxiety and possibly a lot of unnecessary medical costs.   

Why are we so obsessed with illness and death? And why are the people that are supposed to look after our health seemingly more concerned with prescribing expensive tests and medications than they are with inexpensive prevention and taking care of our overall health? No wonder we are scared; everywhere we look we are told to be careful and to take caution.  

The primary commodity of the news media is fear; George Gerbner, one of our time’s most important media researches put it this way:  

“People think of television as programs, but television is more than that; television is a mythology - highly organically connected, repeated every day so that the themes that run through all programming and news have the effect of cultivating conceptions of reality.[…] The programming reinforces the worst fears and apprehensions and paranoia of people.” 

Is it possible that the extremely high levels of anxiety we are collectively experiencing as a society has to do with what we are watching? Lewis Lapham, correspondent for Harper’s Magazine said this about it:

“First they give you the vision of hell, which is what scares the person, the audience and the viewer. This is what sets up the good news, which is the advertising, which is the way the game is played. So the idea that the media as a whole does bad news is just not true at all. It’s part of the pitch. It’s the freak show in order to sell the snow cones.” 

The next time you are watching TV, try to pay attention to the absurdity of it all; commercials tell us to ask our doctor about asthma medicines that could help us…or lead to an increased risk of asthma related death. A morning show will tell you how important it is for your health to eat lots of fruit and vegetables, and then the evening new will tell you to tune in at seven to “See what’s in your fruit and veg that could possibly kill you…”                                                                               

Instead of focusing on all the things that could possibly kill you, put your attention to what is actually hurting your life and causing you anxiety: your television.  Tonight, try turning off the evening news and going for a walk instead; you might find that your neighborhood isn’t so bad after all. 

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Are Your Panic Attacks a Symptom of Something Else?

Friday, October 5th, 2007

Today, I just want to present a simple question to you. I’m not going to “wax philisophical” about this question. I just want to raise this as an idea to consider:

 Are Your Panic Attacks a Symptom of Something Else Going On in Your life?

I’ve dealt with this issue with many clients, and in my experience,  just the act of considering the question begins an internal dialog that is useful. I won’t bore you (!) with my opinion, or my “answer” to this question.  Instead I’d like to hear your thoughts on the matter.

 You can leave a comment here on the blog or email me at the usual address. Consider the question and come to your own conclusion.

 OH, and just a quick reminder that we’re still accepting testimonials and comments about the EasyCalm Video Series on this page: http://easycalm.com/blog/easycalm-testimonials/  I really appreciate all of the great comments so far–Thanks!

Wishing you all the best!
Jon

Jon Mercer, MA
Personal Development Coach
http://www.easycalm.com/
http://www.attractanything.com/
http://www.ultraconfidence.com/
Managing Director, Youniverse LLC

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