The First Step to Offering Good Support for Someone with Agoraphobia – Learning About the Disorder

Besides offering someone with agoraphobia your unconditional acceptance, a second vital key to offering good support is increasing your own knowledge and understanding.

In other words: Read all you can about agoraphobia and listen to the person who is suffering about their experience.

One of the problems people suffering from agoraphobia face when trying to find good support from others is that too many people overestimate their psychological knowledge. When I first decided to study psychology in college I had people say to me, "Isn't psychology all just common sense?" No one ever said that to my roommates who were studying bio-chemistry - yet psychological phenomena are just as complex.

If you had cancer or heart disease none of your friends or family members would presume to know what you should do for treatment. When you have an anxiety disorder like agoraphobia, everyone seems to think they know what you should do.

Psychology is not all common sense. Anxiety disorders like agoraphobia are just as complex as any medical problem. That is why it is important to read all you can to understand your friend or loved one with agoraphobia.

People with agoraphobia are likely to behave in ways that are hurtful or open to misinterpretation if you don't know what they are experiencing. For example, my family used to accuse me of not wanting to go to school, trying to mess up family vacations, or in general, thinking only myself and my own feelings. If you know someone with agoraphobia, chances are that you have probably thought of them as selfish or thoughtlesss at some point.

However, the more my family read up on agoraphobia - the more they realized that I wasnt trying to skip school or do anything intentionally to make the family miserable. They realized that I was suffering from a real disorder and wanted to recover, just as if I had been sick with cancer or a heart disease.

People with agoraphobia are famous for coming up with excuses to get out of things that scare them. They are also famous for becoming self-absorbed, in tune with their own emotions and out of tune with the feelings of others. The more you read up on agoraphobia, the more you will understand the reasons why and be able to support your friend or loved one with care and patience.

I can say from personal experience, your friend or loved one with agoraphobia probably doesn't want to be selfish or do anything to upset you, frustrate you, or hurt you. They are just sick and need you understanding and support to get better.

Remember, almost no one wakes up one day and decides they want to screw up their life. Most people with agoraphobia really do want to get better. They just need a little live and support from a few understanding people.

If you read up on agoraphobia - a little knowledge and understanding will go a long way in supporting your friend or loved one in their recovery from agoraphobia.

Why and How to Offer Unconditional Acceptance to Support Someone with Agoraphobia

If you want to be a support person for someone with agoraphobia, your first job will be to establish a therapeutic relationship with the person who is suffering. It can be tricky to offer a safe, supportive relationship with a friend or loved one with agoraphobia, even if you had a good relationship with them before.

It is important to build a therapeutic relationship before you start trying to help someone with agoraphobia. Thats because a safe, supportive relationship is the vehicle through which real help can be offered.

Offering unconditional acceptance to someone who is suffering from agoraphobia is critical to building a healing relationship with them. Those of us who have had agoraphobia know that we are often self-critical and have a hard time accepting ourselves. Its even harder to accept yourself when you have agoraphobia and can't function normally. That is why it is so important to have people who accept us no matter what we do or go through. Experiencing the acceptance of others helps us to accept ourselves.

Offering unconditional acceptance means being non-judgmental and non-critical. It means not thinking of agoraphobia and the behaviors that go with it in terms of good and bad or right and wrong. It means not putting the person down or voicing disapproval when they do things you don't understand. It means letting the person know that you love them, care about them, and will not abandon them whether or not they recover from agoraphobia.

Offering unconditional acceptance means not only accepting the person with agoraphobia but accepting the condition of agoraphobia as well - at least for the time being. It means not trying to fix them all the time, refraining from constantly offering advice or suggestions, and not needing to always correct their irrational thinking. It means being able to relax and have fun with them - and talk to them about subjects other than what they need to be doing to get well. It means being willing to let the agoraphobic act agoraphobic - not that you don't want to help them get well - just that there is no pressure from you to hurry in doing so. Nobody wants to feel like a project or like they are letting someone down if they arent getting better fast enough.

People with agoraphobia need people around them who accept them just as they are. Just like someone suffering from a physical illness or injury - it takes time to heal. If you are able to show your loved one with agoraphobia that you care without conditions and will stand by them through the ups and downs - you will have taken a big, first step towards building a relationship with them that will contribute to their recovery from agoraphobia.

How to Be a Good Listener for Someone with Agoraphobia

Being a good listener is another important quality in being a good support person for someone with agoraphobia. Being a good listener makes you someone the person with agoraphobia can share their feelings with. This is important because much of the anxiety someone with agoraphobia experiences could be coming from holding feelings in and not expressing them.

As someone who has suffered from agoraphobia I can tell you that one of the reasons people with agoraphobia (or anyone else for that matter) don't share their feelings with others is because most people are not good listeners and will just hurt your feelings even worse by not really listening or not validating them.

Probably the most crucial element to being a good listener for someone with agoraphobia or an anxiety disorder is being able to hear and validate someone's feelings or emotions by making reflective statements to let the person know that you heard and understood.

For example, if a friend with agoraphobia tellls you they are afraid they might have a panic attack and embarrass themselves if they go out on a date the best response would be:

"It sounds like you are really scared."

This lets the person with agoraphobia know that you heard their feelings. It lets the person know that you have heard their initial feeling and invites them to share more about it.

Some bad responses that do not show that you heard their feelings (and responses the average person would give) are:

"If you weren't so worried about having a panic attack you probably wouldn't have one."

"Maybe you won't have a panic attack and there's nothing to worry about."

These responses let people know that you think its silly for them to be worried about having a panic attack. They do not let the person know you have heard their feelings.

Hearing and making reflective statements about feelings is part of a skill called active listening. Active listening is a way of listening to someone that lets them know you care about them and are really hearing them. Since many people with agoraphobia say that what they need most in a support person is someone who will listen to them, here are some guidelines for active listening:

Be attentive. You have to make an effort to listen carefully. Don't daydream and don't talk.

Think about the main point the speaker is trying to make. Also, don't be thinking about what you are going to say the whole time the other person is talking.

Make reflective statments at first by paraphrasing or restating in your own words what the speaker is saying. Especially when they share a feeling (fear, anger, sadness, regret, guilt, etc.)Good phrases to use when making reflective statements are:"What I hear you saying is.....""It sounds like......""So in other words....."

Try to leave your own emotion out when you're listening. Try not to argue back in your mind. These things detract from what the speaker is saying. In other words, be objective and try not to let your own judgments and biases cloud what you are hearing from them. Try to really see things from the other person's perspective and wait to hear their whole message before forming a response.

Ask for clarification if you don't understand a point the speaker is making. Ask questions to invite them to elaborate on points that seem important.Avoid distractions. Sit close to the speaker, if possible.

Be aware of more than just the person's words. Look for body language, gestures, tone of voice, posture, etc. See if you think the persons non-verbal communication is congruent with what they are saying. (For example - some people smile when they are telling you they are upset). If the person's words and body language don't match, ask for clarification about what they are really feeling but be gentle about pointing out the descrepency.

When you do offer feedback, try to do so honestly but without passing judgment or expressing approval or disapproval of them as a person.As you can see, good active listening is more than just not saying anything and nodding. Good listening is a skill that may take some work to develop if you don't come by it naturally. However, developing good active listening skills will make you a good support person for your friend or loved one with agoraphobia.

Plus - being a good listener will help you in your other relationships, too, even with people who don't have agoraphobia.

How to Take Care of Yourself as a Support Person for Someone with Agoraphobia

A person with agoraphobia may be prone to having a lot of needs or placing a lot of demands on the people they are close to. If you are going to be a good support person for someone with agoraphobia - then you may need to know where and when to draw the line. In other words, if you are going to support a friend or loved one with agoraphobia, you'll need to also be good at remembering to take care of yourself.Here are some things to do to take care of yourself:

1) Keep up with your friends. Don't let the person with agoraphobia isolate you to the point where they are the only person in your life.

2) Keep up with your job if you have one. Also keep your outside hobbies and interests. Although you may make lots of sacrifices to spend time with your friend or loved one with agoraphobia, its good to remain functional with your normal responsibilities and participate in recreation.

3) Get the sleep, nutrition and exercise you need to stay healthy. If you get too stressed then pamper yourself with a hot bath, a massage, or a good glass of wine. Don't feel like you have to be suffering all the time just because your friend or loved one with agoraphobia is suffering all the time. It doesn't help them if you let yourself get unhealthy.

4) Don't blame yourself or take responsibility for their condition or lack of progress if recovery is slow. Remember that it is their job to recover and your job to be there for support. If a bad day for them always means a bad day for you, you may be taking too much responsibility for their disorder.

5) Know your limitations and don't put unrealistic expectations on yourself to fix everything. Its ok to rest when you need to or ask for someone else's help in taking care of your friend or loved one with agoraphobia if you need a break.

6) Do something to express your own emotions and receive support for yourself. This could be in the form of a counselor, support group for people who support agoraphobics, or just a good friend you talk to often. Sometimes it can be almost as hard to watch someone you care about suffering as it is to suffer yourslf.

To use an analogy from lifeguarding - you are not going to be able to save someone from drowning if you start to drown yourself. This holds true if you are supporting someone with agoraphobia. To be a good support person, you've got to remember to take care of yourself.

How Do you Help Someone with Agoraphobia Practice Systematic Desensitization?

Before helping someone with agoraphobia practice systematic desensitization, there are a couple things to learn.

First, get familiar with the anxiety scale. Ask the sufferer to rank their anxiety level at periodic intervals during practice and under no circumstances encourage them to persist in confronting a feared situation if their anxiety level gets beyond a three. While discomfort is necessary for desensitizing themselves to a feared setting, feeling anxiety beyond a level of three is likely to reinforce the very associations between the feared setting and anxiety feelings that the sufferer is trying to break. Staying below level three during practice will help the sufferer form new associations between the setting and lower anxiety levels.

Second, learn the following steps, referred to as five R’s, as a framework for guiding the sufferer through the systematic desensitization process. These steps are recommended by Dr. A. B. Hardy in Karen Williams’ book, How to Help Your Loved One Recover From Agoraphobia:

React: Confront fearful situations until the anxiety reaction is slightly uncomfortable, a #3 (or below) on the anxiety scale.

Retreat: Back away from the fearful situation. Walk toward the door, take a few steps away, or turn around and face the other way.

Relax: Distract mind and let self relax and calm down.

Recover: Completely recover from the anxious reaction.

Repeat: Approach the fearful situation again, repeating the five R’s process.

Here are some suggestions for preparing the agoraphobia sufferer for practice, adapted from Karen Williams’ book:

· Find out what the agoraphobia sufferer would like you to do if they get highly anxious or panic. Different people have different preferences. Some people will like for you to talk them through it or touch them. Others will like you to be silent and stand back while they work through it on their own.

· Remind the agoraphobia sufferer that risk-taking and discomfort are a necessary part of the recovery process and that you will be with them no matter what they experience.

· If the agoraphobia sufferer starts to back out of practicing and give excuses, confront the excuses with encouragement to go ahead and practice. If the sufferer absolutely refuses to follow through with practicing, don’t force them, but lead them to set another time and place for practicing in the near future.

· If practicing is going to take place in a social setting among others, agree upon a signal for leaving that the agoraphobia sufferer can use to communicate with you if they get too anxious and need to leave. This will prevent the agoraphobia sufferer from getting trapped in a situation in which their anxiety gets beyond a three and from embarrassing themselves or having to explain anything in front of other people.

· Don’t set any preconceived expectations for what the agoraphobia sufferer will accomplish during any one practice session. Allow for bad days and for progress to go up and down. Let the sufferer set their own goals for each practice session and never say anything to make them feel like they are letting you down if they don’t meet their goal for that day.

· Make some encouraging comments to give the person with agoraphobia your vote of confidence before beginning. Tell them you believe in them.

· Also let the person with agoraphobia know you will be there for them no matter what happens and that they are in control. Tell them they will be in control of the situation at all times and that you are simply there to help. State that when they want to leave, you will.

Agoraphobia Recovery Tip: Sharing Your Feelings with a Friend

Many people with anxiety disorders like agoraphobia have a tendency to bottle up their emotions. Expressing your true feelings to a caring friend can bring short-term relief from anxiety.

Also, agoraphobia can leave you feeling lonely, and loneliness only increases anxiety. There is research to suggest that social support helps people reduce their anxiety levels. When you are feeling anxious, one of the best things you can do is to reach out and connect with a close friend or family member. Share what is bothering you. Share your anger, frustrations, worries and doubts.

Most of us assume that no one would want to listen to our feelings, but I am not suggesting that you talk someone's ear off with lots of whining or complaining. I am just suggesting that you let someone know what is really going on with you, then find out what is really going on with them.

Making an emotional connection with another human being is probably one of the most healthy responses to anxiety. It gives you an outlet for your emotions so they will not build up and cause more anxiety later. Plus, it helps you to focus outside of yourself and your circumstances as you listen to the other person.

Most of us turn to something when we feel anxious. Some people turn to destructive things like drugs, alcohol, or overeating. Next time you are feeling anxious, turn to a person. While this is not a long-term cure for agoraphobia, see if talking to someone and letting your feelings out doesn't relieve some anxiety in the meantime.

How to be a Good Listener for Someone with Agoraphobia

(This post appeared in the 'Agoraphobia Newsletter' on July 18, 2006).

Being a good listener is an important quality in being a good support person for someone with agoraphobia. Being a good listener makes you someone a person with agoraphobia can share his or her feelings with. This is important because much of the anxiety someone with agoraphobia experiences could be coming from holding feelings in and not expressing them.

As someone who has suffered from agoraphobia, I can tell you that one of the reasons people with agoraphobia (or anyone else for that matter) don't share their feelings with others is because most people are not good listeners and will just hurt your feelings even worse by not really listening or not validating them.

Most people just try to fix you by pointing out what is irrational or wrong with your feelings. If you have agoraphobia, this just makes you feel stupid and/or misunderstood.

Probably the most crucial element to being a good listener for someone with agoraphobia or an anxiety disorder is being able to hear and validate someone's feelings or emotions by making reflective statements to let the person know that you heard and understood.

For example, if a someone with agoraphobia talks about being afraid of having a panic attack and being embarrassed when going out on a date, the best response would be: "It sounds like you are really scared."

This lets the person with agoraphobia know that you heard his or her feelings and invites the person to share more. Some bad responses that indicate you are not really listening to a persons feelings (and responses the average person would give) are:

"If you weren't so worried about having a panic attack, you probably wouldn't have one."

"Maybe you won't have a panic attack and there's nothing to worry about."

These responses let person know that you think its silly to be worried about having a panic attack. They do not let the person know you have heard his or her feelings.

Hearing and making reflective statements about feelings is part of a skill called active listening. Active listening is a way of listening to people that lets them know you care about them and are really hearing them. Since many people with agoraphobia say that what they need most in a support person is someone who will listen to them, here are some guidelines for active listening:

Be attentive. You have to make an effort to listen carefully. Don't daydream and don't talk.

Think about the main point the speaker is trying to make. Also, don't be thinking about what you are going to say the whole time the other person is talking.

Make reflective statements by paraphrasing or restating in your own words what the speaker is saying. Especially when the person shares a feeling (fear, anger, sadness, regret, guilt, etc.) Good phrases to use when making reflective statements are: "What I hear you saying is....." "It sounds like......" "So in other words....."

Try to leave your own emotion out when you're listening.

Try not to argue back in your mind.

These things detract from what the speaker is saying. In other words, be objective and try not to let your own judgments and biases cloud what you are hearing the person say. Try to really see things from the other person's perspective and wait to hear the whole message before forming a response.

Ask for clarification if you don't understand a point the speaker is making. Ask questions to invite the person to elaborate on points that seem important.

Avoid distractions. Sit close to the speaker, if possible. Be aware of more than just the person's words. Look for body language, gestures, tone of voice, posture, etc. See if you think the person's non-verbal communication is congruent with what he or she is saying. (For example - some people smile when they are telling you they are upset). If the person's words and body language don't match, ask for clarification about what the person is really feeling but be gentle about pointing out the discrepancy.

When you do offer feedback, try to do so honestly but without passing judgment or expressing approval or disapproval of the person.

As you can see, good active listening is more than just not saying anything and nodding. Good listening is a skill that may take some work to develop if you don't come by it naturally. However, developing good active listening skills will make you a good support person for your friend or loved one with agoraphobia. Plus - being a good listener will help you in your other relationships, too, even with people who don't have agoraphobia.

The Victim Mentality

We all have people in our lives who have problems and are looking to blame them on someone else. This is called the victim mentality. People who are like this have usually been wounded early in life by a significant person or persons. As a result, they have adopted a passive approach to life and don't take responsibility for their own behavior or situation.

When you have agoraphobia, it is easy to slip into a victim mentality. It is easy to adopt a fatalistic mindset that you are powerless to do anything about recovery or making your life better. It is easy to start blaming other people for your condition.

Do not do this!

One of the keys to recovery from agoraphobia is taking responsibility for your own life. Maybe your parents scarred you emotionally. Maybe you have experienced a traumatic event that brought on panic attacks. Maybe you are in a relationship with someone who is abusive, overly controlling, jealous, or smothering.

No matter how someone has wounded you in the past, it is your responsibility to recover from agoraphobia and take control of your life. No one else can do this for you. You don't have to get other people to change to recover. It is your own thinking and behavior that you must change.

I would not be writing this if I had not suffered from agoraphobia myself - and recovered. Believe me, there are always people and circumstances to blame for your disorder - but no one has a perfect upbringing or perfect life circumstances. If you are in the mindset that someone else or something else needs to change for you to recover from agoraphobia, you may never.

Recovery is about acting on your environment - not allowing your environment to act on you. Recovery from agoraphobia is something that lies within your power, no matter how hopeless you may feel right now.

Its just about deciding to do the things that work (desensitization, changing irrational thinking, breathing and muscle relaxation exercises, visualization, etc..) , and doing them as if it were a second religion.

Nobody can do this for you but you.

Thoughts of an Agoraphobic on Independence Day

I must admit that when I had agoraphobia, July 4th was not my favorite holiday. That's mainly because the thought of flashing bright lights in the sky followed by the sound of explosions didn't excite me in my overly-anxious state.

I hid in the house for at least two Fourths of July.

However, as I reflect on the Fourth of July that is coming up in a few days, I see it in a whole new way. As a recovered agoraphobic, I find inspiration from its themes of winning freedom and independence.

The Fourth of July is a time to celebrate the people who fought for our freedom and independence at all costs. They wouldn't settle for living their lives under an oppressive regime. Nobody offered them their freedom. Freedom was something they created for themselves.

That's how it was with my recovery from agoraphobia. Freedom was something I had to find for myself. It was a decision I made. I didn't find a magic pill or quick fix. I didn't wait for agoraphobia to go away on its own. I just decided that I could no longer live my life under its oppression.

You can make the same decision.

I can tell you from both experience and years of study that there is no easy way out of agoraphobia. The good news is, you can recover.

The journey to freedom from agoraphobia is often taken one hard step at a time. There may be setbacks and discouragements. There may be days when everything seems dark, and that you will never live a normal life free of anxiety again. I felt these things, and I am writing to tell you there is life on the other side.

I started the Agoraphobia Resource Center because I would like to be a partner in your journey to personal freedom. My goal is to improve the quality of life for people who suffer from agoraphobia.

As a recovered agoraphobic, I would like to bring you both information and inspiration to help you on your way to recovery.

I am still working on getting all of the information I would like posted on the site. I have shared my personal story with you in an e-book available in the resources section. Next, I am working on another e-book, "The Agoraphobia Treatment Guide" that will help you make informed decisions about your own recovery.

These things are just the beginning. If you have any ideas of how the needs of people suffering from agoraphobia could be better met online please let me know. You can email me any time at:
stephen@agoraphobia.ws

There is a link to the Agoraphobia Resource Center on the sidebar of this blog.

Here's to your freedom and independence. I wish you all my best this Fourth of July!

Sincerely,
Stephen A. Price
Recovered Agoraphobic

Breathing Away Anxiety

On the road to full recovery from agoraphobia, sometimes we need ways to get short-term relief from anxiety just to get through a period of the day or even the next few minutes.

One of my favorite ways to get a short break from anxiety is by breathing it away. To do this:

1) Breathe in deeply through your nose.

2) As you breathe in, put one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. Make sure the hand on your stomach rises first. This means you are breathing deeply and from the diaphragm.

3) Hold your breath for a slow count of five.

4) Breathe the air out very slowly. As you breathe out, make a slight sighing sound, as if you were trying to fog a mirror. Also, picture the tension leaving your body as you exhale.

5) Repeat these steps for a total of 10 breaths.

This simple technique should help relieve tension and anxiety because the way we breathe has a lot to do with how we feel. Quick, shallow breaths from the top of the lungs are associated with insecurity and anxiety. Deep slow breaths from the diaphragm are associated with confidence and well-being.

Could Amino Acids Provide a Natural Remedy for Panic and Agoraphobia?

Natural Treatments Offer New Hope to Relieve Depression and Anxiety

by John Salerno, PH.D. and Lauren Salani (originally posted by Asbury Press, 6/15/06).

(Note: I have included this article because an imbalance in neurotransmitters, as discussed below, plays a role in the development of anxiety and agoraphobia).

Medical research has shown that fast foods, fast-lane living, inadequate sleep and genetics significantly affect the brain's ability to keep levels of neurotransmitters in adequate supply and balance.

Neurotransmitters, in specific amounts, are vitally important because they are the substances that create our moods, define our behavior, and establish the state of our overall health.

You may have heard some of their names. Serotonin, Norepinephrine, Epinephrine, GABA, Dopamine, Histamine and PEA are a few neurotransmitters with excitatory or inhibitory effects.
The brain extends communication to the organs of the body through nerve cells that "talk" with these substances.

The brain tells the heart to beat, the gastrointestinal system to digest, and the lungs to breathe.
Thus, the list of clinical conditions that could arise from neurotransmitter levels either being insufficient or exorbitantly high is extensive and includes both mental and physical health.

Addressing neurotransmitter imbalances may be the key to getting illness under control. The following is a list of commonly occurring neurotransmitter imbalance symptoms:

— Fatigue
— Chronic muscle and joint pain
— Inappropriate food cravings
— Irritability/hostility
— Inability to focus/concentrate
— Depression or agitation
— Excessive body fat
— Obsessive/compulsive behaviors
— Sleep disturbances
— Physical and emotional stress
— Recurrent diarrhea/constipation
— Headache/migraine

Many people are being treated with medications that either alter neurotransmitter release or imitate their function in the body.

Some medications such as Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft act to increase the time a neurotransmitter, such as serotonin, will stay in-between the nerve cells to increase the action.

Problems arise when serotonin levels are so low that the quantity is insufficient to make drug levels effective.

The study of the synthesis and metabolism of this and other neurotransmitters has led to the discovery of methods for detecting functional levels of these substances.

Subsequent treatment includes targeting the amino acids which are the building blocks of these excitatory/inhibitory neurotransmitters and providing these amino-acids at therapeutic levels so the body can start synthesizing its own supply and self-correct it's own imbalances.

This is very exciting news. Many patients seeking treatment for a variety of medical and psychological conditions are actually suffering from symptoms of an underlying neurotransmitter depletion or imbalance.

Discovering the root of the problem makes treatment efficient and true relief a reality.
John Salerno, Ph.D. and Lauren Salani, BCIA,C are members of the Behavioral Medicine and Psychophysiology Team at Physicians for Alternative Medicine, P.C.

Physicians for Alternative Medicine, P.C. offers free consultations to those who want to learn how natural medicine can best treat their medical and mental health problems. For more information about neurotransmitter (brain chemistry) testing or to make an appointment call (732) 542-2638.

Discover a Secret Weapon Against Panic Attacks

I was watching a favorite movie just the other day and in one of the scenes, something peculiar happens. A man, armed with a gun, robs a bank. The police chase him up some flights of stairs and onto the roof of a twenty-story building where they corner him. In desperation, he kidnaps a girl (who just happens to be on the roof) and holds her for ransom. He threatens to shoot her if she doesn't do what he says.

Now here's the peculiar twist to the plot, the girl was about to jump off the roof and commit suicide when he found her. She doesn't care if she gets shot. In fact, she even begs him to go ahead and shoot her to save her the hassle of jumping.

Because the girl is so bold about inviting him to pull the trigger, the kidnapper can't scare her into doing anything.

This strange sequence in a movie scene illustrated the principle of non-resistance. Because the girl doesn't resist her kidnapper's threats, he has no power over her.

The principle of non-resistance, or using an opponent's strength against them, has long been a part of Eastern philosophy and the martial arts. This same principle can be your secret weapon against panic attacks.

You can use the principle of non-resistance to take away the power of panic attacks in your life.

If you stop resisting panic attacks and try to force yourself to have a panic attack instead, the panic will lose its power over you. I know it sounds strange, but just try it. More times than not, when you try to bring on a panic attack, you will find it nearly impossible to have a panic attack.

The strategy of non-resistance is so powerful that many psychologists offer it to overcome panic.

Next time you feel panic coming on you can try it. Go ahead. Try to hyperventilate. Try to get dizzy and faint. Try to sweat and get your stomach tied up in knots. Try to make your mind spin out of control.

Guess what? You probably won't be successful. Trying to bring on a panic attack is probably the best way to avoid having one.

So why does this work?

Think about it - panic attacks rely on tension and anxiety to fuel them. Those of us with agoraphobia have a lot of panic attacks just because we are afraid of having them. In other words, panic attacks rely on tension between you and the panic to occur.

On the other hand, there are some steps to ensure that you will have a panic attack:

1) Worry incessantly about having a panic attack.2) Avoid all places in which you are afraid you might have a panic attack.

3) Set the goal of never, ever having another panic attack again no matter what.

4) Try to ignore any tension in your body that feels remotely like panic.

5) Try really hard to brace yourself against panic and actively fight off a panic attack through sheer will and determination when you feel one coming on.

If you do these things, you are sure to increase the number of panic attacks you have because you are increasing the tension between you and the panic.

To stop having panic attacks, don't resist them. If you start feeling panic just go with it. Accept what is happening. Face up to the symptoms and just let some time pass. Whatever you do, don't put up a fight against it.

When you give up the fight against panic, paradoxically, it will lose its power over you.