The Prologue
What do you do when life is going as well as you think it can be
only to suddenly explode out of a dead-sleep, gasping for air
because unbeknown to you at that moment you've developed
a severe case of anxiety which would soon lead to MANY upon
many more panic attacks?
Well, if you're anything like me then you probably went to the
hospital first because during one of your panic attacks the
thought crossed your mind that you might be dying.
After hours of "chilling at the hospital" having a bunch of tests
performed on you, knowing all the while that all this stuff is
going to amount to one hell of a medical bill which you have
absolutely no idea how you're ever going to pay for because
you have no medical coverage but impending doom just didn't
seem like something to skimp out on a doctor visit for at the time...
After all that, and after getting a clean bill of health from the hospital
you do what you always do (if you're like me) and you research the hell
out of the subject.
I was told that I probably just have sleep apnea and that I'd need to get
a sleep test done but after looking up just how much that would cost I
said "hell no" and put it off for a week... and then another week.
This was both the worst and best decision I could have made for myself
at that time. Keep in mind that for the first couple weeks it didn't even
cross my mind that I was dealing with anxiety and panic attacks. The honest
truth is that I had dealt with a lung issue some years back and thought that
my lungs were just in really bad shape and I wasn't able to get any air into
my body when I took deep breaths and that my body was just panicking
because of that. It wasn't until about three weeks in that I came to discover I
was in fact dealing with a heavy case of anxiety which brought on VERY
frequent panic attacks.
Anyway, I could go on and on about all the details but there is a purpose to
this post and it's to hopefully help anyone who may be reading it who is currently
suffering from anxiety or who may know someone who is.
This Is How I Got Over My Anxiety
Consider this section a resource guide mixed with a few helpful tips.
I can't directly help you to overcome your anxiety, it's something that we each
must struggle with and defeat on our own in our own way.
That said, it helps to better understand just what you are facing so you can
go in with hope and determination... as well as something to grasp on to
for comfort to let you know that you are NOT losing your mind, you are NOT
going crazy, you're just dealing with something in the wrong way but it's not
your fault!
The Resource Guide
YouTube Videos I Found Extremely Helpful
This was the very FIRST thing I tried and I'll be damned if it honestly didn't help
a lot! Give it a try, it might do wonders for you... it might do nothing at all, but
it's worth a shot...
The very next day after using this idea to my advantage I felt my anxiety levels
decrease a lot. Why did it work so well? I don't know. People will say things like
"It's all in your head"
To which I say... "Yeah no shit!"
That doesn't make it any less horrible to go through.
Here is the link:
I no longer use the suggestion in the video above because I feel that I just don't need it. I do still use the pink salt in place of your usual table salt however as it seems to be a better alternative.
Another video I found helpful
This video may be a bit extreme for some, especially if you don't agree with all the views of the gentleman speaking. However, I must admit that if you watch the video and only extract the ideas and methods contained within it then you will not have waisted your time. I have a few similar videos to this I came across which absolutely helped me a lot... I didn't take them as gospel but instead only adopted what I needed from them in an effort to get over my struggle with anxiety and panic attacks.
Here is the link:
A quick note about this particular video... I discovered that in order to get over anxiety you have to adopt a way of thinking which is like taking steps or climbing a ladder. Every single day is meant to be a small improvement over yesterday, no matter how small that improvement is. It can even be something as simple as finding a revived hope in your condition and knowing that soon enough you will make it out the other side and all of this anxiety crap will just be a memory from your past.
The gentleman in the video above has multiple videos on the subject of anxiety and panic, you may wish to view them all if you have the time... they are easy to find as they're all labeled very similarly.
This is Part Two, check it out as it does go into further detail in a more technical way:
Here is Part Three for good measure:
Another video I found helpful
These videos on anxiety & panic attacks are very near and dear to my own heart as the gentleman in them is not only very soothing to listen to but he gives a great message of hope and practical advice which I personally used to kickstart me on the path to getting over my own disorders.
Here is the link:
He has quite a number of videos and I very highly recommend taking a look through his channel for more of his videos. It was thanks to him that I discovered the book I will share with you next which you can pick up for yourself at Amazon... that's where I got my copy and I read the entire thing in a single night.
Here is the link to the book which is called:
"The Panic Switch: A Scientist and Former Sufferer’s Method for Instantly Stopping Panic Without Medication"
by Jeffrey L. Hammes
https://www.amazon.com/Panic-Switch-Scientist-Sufferers-Medication/dp/1493608258
This is the website which was created and maintained by Jeffrey Hames on the subject covered in his book. You can actually find a lot of great FREE information on his site and the book is just an elaboration of the information which is already on the site for free (he does state this in the book too). Jeffrey's work on the subject of anxiety and panic attacks is nothing short of remarkable and if you're serious about getting over anxiety and panic attacks then this man's work is well worth checking out.
Here is a link to his website:
http://panicend.com/index.html
Richard Bandler Videos
Below this is a link to a YouTube playlist which I've compiled of all the videos in one of Richard's best seminars to date. If you are unfamiliar with Richard Bandler then you can look him up for yourself online. Some people disagree with his methods, other's praise his work, how you feel about him once you learn about who he is and what he does is completely up to you.
I would however suggest that you not bother with all of that and just watch the videos as they have really helped me a lot.
What I would do on those nights that I couldn't sleep due to panic and anxiety is just put the first video on the playlist on and let the entire playlist run through all night on my phone via the YouTube app. I'd just prop my phone up somewhere and watch it until I eventually passed out as this was basically the only way I was able to get any sleep at that time... every time I would try to sleep my mind would shoot a jolt down my spine and instantly snap me out of sleep and this went on for weeks, I would sometimes be up for 2, 3 and even 4 days at a time. It was so bad that I was constantly feeling what I learned is called disassociation which is where you no longer feel like you're in reality, like you're not in your own body anymore, it was worst than "zombie mode" which is what I used to call a lack of sleep due to typical insomnia.
Here is the link to the Richard Bandler Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcfHRwf_X_VtpDnUiJuxTcl22et5tk00B&disable_polymer=true
Now, a lot of people actually can sleep when they have anxiety, I couldn't.
It got so bad that I was up for days at a time, I felt sick all the time and I was constantly delirious. I looked into disability and how to file for that because I was no longer able to work and basically I just thought my life was over. At one point I got hit with really bad depression and if not for my strong resolve to never look at suicide as an option for myself personally I probably would have considered it as I was basically trapped in a perpetual cycle which felt like barely-living hell.
I tell people now "I understand suicide... I get it now" because where my mind went during my bout with anxiety disorder was so dark and painful that I hit a point where I just wanted it to end and I didn't care how.
Not anymore though, I'm "back to normal" as I like to call it and I'd even venture to say I'm way better than I ever was!
I do still struggle with sleep from time to time but now it's more like it was which is "just insomnia".
I don't know what it is with me, I've always had trouble sleeping since I was a very young child but it doesn't bother me nearly as much as when my mind would basically force me to stay awake for days at a time... I'm able to sleep every night again, just that sometimes it takes me a while to finally fall asleep but I'll take that anyday over hell I went through and finally came back from.
The Epilogue
Diet and exercise count for a lot.
It's important to know that your in decent health (though I'll admit it's not exactly necessary) but it lets your mind cope and puts it at ease more quickly so you can get past anxiety faster.
If you are dealing with other health issues you don't have to worry about that as long as you were once doing okay before your own struggle with anxiety and panic.
I'm not a doctor and this is definitely NOT medical advice or anything of the sort, you will always want to seek the help of a professional if you feel the need for it. This is just a long article I'm writing about some helpful resources I used to get over my own anxiety and panic attacks in a fairly short period of time so that I could get back to living a much better quality of life.
I hope this helps someone, if you feel anyone could find relief from anything shared here then please don't hesitate to pass them this page. I've done my best to share nothing but free resources, the only thing that wasn't free is the book because I couldn't find it anywhere else but on Amazon.
Feel free to comment on this post and I'll do my best to respond where necessary. Anyone else is very welcome to enter into the conversation. I'm open to whatever you have to share be it in agreement with what I've shared or otherwise. All I ask is if you feel you have anything helpful to contribute to this then please do.
Thank you-