If fear creates obstacles in your life, performance or business, I hope that these 10 tips are valuable during times of feeling extreme anxiety and panic.
1.
If you feel frightened, unreal or unsteady – it does not matter. These
feelings are nothing more than an exaggeration of your body’s normal
reaction to stress.
2.
Just
because you have these sensations doesn’t mean you are very sick. These
feelings are just unpleasant and frightening, not dangerous. Nothing
worse will happen to you.
3.
Let your feelings come. They have been in charge of you. You’ve been
pumping them up and making them more acute. Stop escalating the
feelings! Don’t run away from panic. When you feel the panic mount, take
a deep breath and as you breathe out, let go. Keep trying. Stay there
almost as if you were floating in space. Don’t fight the feelings of
panic. Accept it. You can do it!
4.
Try to make yourself as comfortable as possible without escaping. If
you are on the street, lean against a post or store wall. If you’re in a
store, tell the sales person you don’t feel well and want to sit
awhile. Do not jump in your car and go home in fear.
5.
Stop adding to your panic with frightening thoughts about what is
happening and where it might lead. Don’t indulge in your feelings and
think, “Why can’t I be like all the other normal people? Why do I have
to go through this?” Just accept what is happening to you. If you do
this, what you fear most will not happen.
6.
Think about what is really happening to your body at this moment. Do
not think, “Something terrible is going to happen. I must get out.”
Repeat to yourself, “I will not fall, faint, die, or lose control.”
7.
Now wait and give the fear time to pass. Do not run away. Others have
found the strength. You will, too. Notice that as you stop adding to the
frightening thoughts to your panic, the fear starts to fade away by
itself.
8.
This is your opportunity to practice. Think of it that way. Even if you
feel isolated, one of these days you will not feel that way. Sometime
soon you will be able to go through the panic and say, “I did it.” Once
you say this, you will have gone a long way toward conquering fear.
9.
Try to distract yourself from what is going on inside you. Look at your
surroundings. See the other people on the street, in the store. They
are with you, not against you.
10.
When the panic subsides, let your body go loose, take a breath, and go
on with your day. Remember, each time you cope with panic, you reduce
fear.
