Managing Panic Attacks: DIY Therapy, #1

By Jessica Brohmer

DIY Therapy Series volume 1

 

Managing Panic Attacks teaches you six core exercises based in Acceptance and Commiment Therapy (ACT) to help you navigate the symptoms and effects of panic attacks. ACT is an empirically validated method based in mindfulness and cognitive therapy. Learn more about panic attacks, trace the roots of your panic experiences, and use the exercises to get through your next panic attack.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jessica Brohmer
• Release date: Jan 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393429265

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

So You Have Panic Attacks

How to Manage Panic Attacks

Since you’ve picked up this little ebook, I’m going to assume that you or someone you care about has experienced a panic attack and you’d like to learn more about panic attacks so you can learn how to stop them. Don’t worry, that’s exactly what we’re going to do.

This book is short so you can read it quickly and get right into the exercises so you can start feeling better. Here’s an overview.

First, we’ll look at the panic cycle. Learning how thoughts, physical feelings, and the sense of panic work together is key to breaking the cycle. In this section, you’ll track your panic cycle so you have a visual representation of how your unique circumstances come together to create your panic attacks.

Next, we’ll go over how to observe and challenge catastrophic thoughts. By detaching from your thoughts, you’ll develop a new relationship with your anxieties and worries that fuel panic. As you gain control of your thoughts, you will notice how even the act of naming a thoughts makes it lose its power to create fear.

Then, we’ll start tuning into your body and your environment to practice grounding and awareness skills that will help you interrupt physical symptoms. By learning and practicing these skills when you’re feeling calm, you’ll increase your ability to use them automatically when you’re experiencing panic. 

Finally, we’ll get into the importance of staying put through the panic. When a situation is overwhelming, the urge to escape is powerful, but giving into that urge and leaving the situation only reinforces the panic cycle.

That’s just four things! Easy, right? Of course not. If you’ve been through panic cycles, you know how hard it is to stop, challenge your thoughts, stay grounded, and stay put when your body is telling you that you’re going to die, that you can’t breathe, or that there’s impending doom. It can really help