Personification and how it can defeat Panic Attacks

[anxietyslayer]

I want to share with you guys a technique I learned from a book when I was pretty much at my lowest, I had been suffering from severe GAD and reoccurring panic attacks for a few years and even with meds and psychiatrists I was still not feeling "normal". Something that helped me immensely was to personify the Panic attack, give it a face, a character, and a name. Make it something silly (hear me out), something you are def not afraid of. Perhaps a funny looking turtle with big eye glasses and big buck teeth. (If you are deathly afraid of turtles, I would pick a different animal lol) Now, whatever silly, harmless, comical character you've come up with in your head I want you to call it "panic attack" and start associating that character with your panic attacks.

Whenever you feel an attack starting to come on, I want you to imagine yourself standing over your silly, harmless, and comical panic attack and it cowering at the very sight of your towering self. You know that this character can not in any harm you, well you being so big and strong, and it being so small and hopeless. Keep using this technique until the character image in your head becomes ingrained whenever you even think of the words "panic attack". If it helps, you may even draw the character which will help you visualize it even better. Once you do this enough you will train your brain that there is nothing to fear, it will become an innate quality in your psyche that whenever you want to you can squash that silly looking panic attack before it even begins.

Hope this has been helpful to you all, feel free to PM me with any questions or suggestions :-)


P.S I did not come up with this technique myself , I read this in the Panic Away system and added my own twists to it.

[Fourteen14]

I want to share with you guys a technique I learned from a book when I was pretty much at my lowest, I had been suffering from severe GAD and reoccurring panic attacks for a few years and even with meds and psychiatrists I was still not feeling "normal". Something that helped me immensely was to personify the Panic attack, give it a face, a character, and a name. Make it something silly (hear me out), something you are def not afraid of. Perhaps a funny looking turtle with big eye glasses and big buck teeth. (If you are deathly afraid of turtles, I would pick a different animal lol) Now, whatever silly, harmless, comical character you've come up with in your head I want you to call it "panic attack" and start associating that character with your panic attacks. Whenever you feel an attack starting to come on, I want you to imagine yourself standing over your silly, harmless, and comical panic attack and it cowering at the very sight of your towering self. You know that this character can not in any harm you, well you being so big and strong, and it being so small and hopeless. Keep using this technique until the character image in your head becomes ingrained whenever you even think of the words "panic attack". If it helps, you may even draw the character which will help you visualize it even better. Once you do this enough you will train your brain that there is nothing to fear, it will become an innate quality in your psyche that whenever you want to you can squash that silly looking panic attack before it even begins. Hope this has been helpful to you all, feel free to PM me with any questions or suggestions :-) P.S I did not come up with this technique myself , I read this in the Panic Away system and added my own twists to it.

Hi anxiety slayer.

Welcome to the forum.

It's certainly a positive step towards devaluing the effects of anxiety on the body. I would say though that for many people it's the hurdle between outright panic and getting to a level place where they can begin to visualise it as a character.

What I'm kind of saying is, the fear and resulting process of full blown panic, is often greater than the will to intervene.

Do you have any tips to help with getting to the point where rational belief gets a look in?

Regards

[anxietyslayer]

Hi anxiety slayer.

Welcome to the forum.

It's certainly a positive step towards devaluing the effects of anxiety on the body. I would say though that for many people it's the hurdle between outright panic and getting to a level place where they can begin to visualise it as a character.

What I'm kind of saying is, the fear and resulting process of full blown panic, is often greater than the will to intervene.

Do you have any tips to help with getting to the point where rational belief gets a look in?

Regards

Well Fourteen14, Rationality is the peak of the mountain for an anxiety and panic attack sufferer. It is one of the things we most lack, and also one of the things we have to work towards in order to be fully cured. You have to use several techniques to work towards rational belief. Think of it as a puzzle, use techniques like the one I described above and others as puzzle pieces, eventually with enough puzzle pieces you will see that the puzzle was spelling out "Rationality" the whole time. I would say it is also a situation where I think the more panic attacks you have, the less you fear them because your body knows what to expect. For me personally, it got to the point where when I would feel one coming I would just say "ok here we go, just do it and get it over with" and guess what? It never came, I guess once my mind figured out I did not fear it, it became......rational :-)

[anxietyslayer]

Thats actually very good, Funny, I love harry potter and didn't even know what a Boggart was until now lol

[GeneAllen]

I like this.

Peace