Prevent Panic Attacks

Today’s world is filled with fear and stress – a constant threat of terrorism, a volatile economy, a deluge of quickly changing information to absorb. Any experience that triggers an adrenaline rush in your body can lead to a panic attack, with frightening symptoms like dizziness, chest pains, and difficulty breathing.

But God can give you victory over fear, and He has provided natural means for you to cope effectively with stress, so you can prevent panic from attacking you.

Here are some ways you can prevent panic attacks:

• Confess your fears to God, and ask Him to give you the grace you need to face each fear with confidence and peace. Know that He is in ultimate control of all aspects of life, and strive to trust Him with each challenge you face. When a worry pops up in your mind, direct your mental energy toward praying for it rather than analyzing it. Ask the Holy Spirit to renew your mind and deepen your faith.

• Breathe fully, lifting your abdomen when you take each breath to ensure that you’re inhaling enough air. Then exhale slowly, being careful to breathe at a regular, calm pace.

• Maintain a healthy diet. Don’t skip meals, snack on healthy foods when you’re hungry, avoid foods with white flour and lots of sugar, avoid caffeine and alcohol, always eat protein at breakfast, and never eat a meal that consists only of a starch food (such as just bread or just rice).

• Exercise regularly.

• Laugh regularly.

• Spend time outdoors each day, to benefit from sunlight and fresh air.

• Don’t take any medication unless it’s absolutely necessary because medications can cause panic attacks as a side effect.

• Quit smoking.

• Don’t worry about pleasing other people. Concentrate just on being yourself as faithfully as you can so that God will be pleased. Never compare yourself to others.

• Think about what you have to look forward to each day, and thank God for blessings as He brings them into your life.

Adapted from Panic Attacks: A Natural Approach, copyright 1999 by Shirley Trickett. Published by Ulysses Press, Berkeley, Ca., www.ulyssespress.com.

Shirley Trickett is a trained nurse and the author of two other books.

Have you ever experienced a panic attack? If so, what was that experience like? Did God show you anything through that experience that helped you better cope with anxiety? Visit the Books Forum to respond, or read what others have to say. Just click on the link below.