How to deal with panic attacks

Here are five techniques that help to deal with panic attacks:

1. Meditation

Don't be put off by the idea that you have to sit crossed legged, Zen master style, and block out thoughts. It's simply a brain training exercise that changes the structure of your brain to make you more optimistic and calm. When you meditate regularly, you grow more gray matter in the frontal cortex (this improves emotional reasoning) and reduce the size of your amygdala (responsible for the fight or flight response).

Start with ten minutes a day and don't beat yourself up if you're not 'good' at it right away; it's called meditation 'practice' for a reason. 

2. Float, don't fight

Many of us resist and fight against the feeling of anxiety and panic, but as Carl Jung said, 'what you resist, persists.' Instead of battling to suppress your nerves, allow the feelings to be there, relax your body and float with the sensations. 

3. Name it to tame it

Brain scans have shown that when we put our feelings into words, it calms down the fear center of the brain. Try to label your emotions and either write them down or tell a loved one or a therapist. 

4. Anxiety is a teacher

We often treat anxiety as the enemy and try to get rid of it at any cost. We'll use alcohol, drugs, shopping, sex - anything to distract and numb us. But our feelings are there for a reason, and if you listen to them, they let you know what your needs are. What could your anxiety be trying to teach you? What does it want you to change, learn or heal? 

5. Shake it off

When animals in the wild have experienced a fright (a near miss between a gazelle and a lion, for example), they will shake their bodies vigorously for a few seconds. Scientists recognise this as the animals way of discharging the tension and fear from their bodies. Us humans? We tend to carry that fear around, stewing in our stress hormones at our desks. So whether you shake your body, dance it around the living room, or go for a brisk walk or jog - it will help you to burn off excess adrenaline and release tension in your body.