Don't Panic: Taking Control of Anxiety Attacks (3rd Edition)
Reid Wilson
Language: English
Pages: 298
ISBN: B00MF185V8
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
The authority on panic and anxiety—newly revised and expanded, Third Edition
Are you one of the more than nineteen million Americans who suffer from anxiety? Don't panic. Newly revised and expanded, this edition offers a straightforward and remarkably effective self-help program for overcoming panic and coping with anxious fears. With insight and compassion, Reid Wilson, Ph.D., demystifies anxiety attacks and provides indispensable advice, including:
how a panic attack happens, what causes it, and how it can affect your life
how to recognize, manage, and control the moment of panic
how to control the chronic muscle tensions that increase anxiety
how to conquer fear and face problems with confidence
how to decide which medication is right for you
how to establish reachable goals and rediscover the joy of living
Short-term Goal. Setting Tasks for Short-term Goal For each Short-term Goal Create a list of related tasks that gradually move you closer to accomplishing your Short-term Goal. Review the list to ensure that A. The first item is the lowest-risk item on the list that you can imagine accomplishing soon. B. Each successive item includes a little more risk taking and moves you a little closer to your goal. Face Your Tasks One at a Time Some of my clients tell me that they feel most comfortable
pressure as you stand up from a sitting or lying position or after prolonged standing. This disequilibrium can cause sensations of dizziness or light-headedness and sometimes fatigue, especially in the morning when you get out of bed. These are signs that your circulatory system needs a little more time to distribute blood equally throughout your body. You may also notice an increase in your heart rate (tachycardia or palpitations) to compensate for this brief hypotension. When this side effect
on the ground, and I had had my first taste of ever-so-precious-but-lost-forever air. I can look back now and laugh a bit at my extreme reaction to such a benign occurrence. On the other hand, this was the second time in three months that I had lost my breath on the playing field. And during both moments I thought, “I’ll never breathe again.” The panic associated with heart or lung problems is special. You don’t experience it as a passing moment, you experience it as your last moment. Panic
your body, can gradually quiet down the Emergency Response. Dr. Herbert Benson, a pioneer in medical research into this beneficial phenomenon, was the first to label this calming process the Relaxation Response. I have chosen to relabel Dr. Benson’s term for one reason: to many panic-prone people, relaxation implies “letting go” or “losing control.” Because of this, they resist learning skills that promote relaxation. The word is also associated with meditative practices: not moving, emptying
breathing is slowing. Your heart rate is decreasing. Your blood pressure is lessening. Your muscle tension is reducing. There is a growing sense of ease in your body and calmness in your mind. You can contrast this with how you felt while you read earlier chapters in which I described anxiety-provoking times. Our images have tremendous influence over our bodies. I am not describing to you some simplistic idea like “Just relax and you’ll feel better.” I am identifying the opposite and equally