Coping With A Panic Attack Instead of Running Away

Question: “How do I cope with a panic attack? How do I stay on the bus, etc. without jumping off and walking home?  How do I calm myself down?"

Note: You can also print this document in Adobe PDF format by clicking  here. (It requires Adobe Reader which you can obtain for free  here.)

Answer:

I would first like to thank all those of you who commented on previous pages that dealt have with specific thoughts utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).  It can indeed be helpful to look at examples of thoughts from others so we will continue to include this type of analysis, among other things, throughout the website. 

I think the reason it’s beneficial to look at other persons’ thoughts is threefold: 1. It can be a relief for the panic attack sufferer to see that that other people have such thoughts too.  2. Sometimes it easier if we imagine ourselves giving advice to someone else (but in this case we can benefit from such advice too!).  3. One can start to see patterns emerging in the thoughts of other sufferers.  

For the purpose of the example in this installment let’s say that the above questions was made by an individual with the name Jane (obviously the person’s true identity will be held in confidence). 

Jane’s question really deals with two issues: 1. Needing strategies for dealing with panic attacks and anxiety, and, 2. Dealing with one’s anxiety in day-to-day tasks.

With the above statement, the thoughts in the background are not that clear so we have to look at little further before doing an analysis with CBT.  This is the often the case.  To do so, one should first ask the question: What could be the thoughts in the background?

I’ll show you what I mean.

Well if Jane is concerned about needing strategies for anxiety this is pretty clear.  Great news in this regard: there are many things that Jane can do to calm herself.  In this case further analysis for distortions on this key point is unnecessary because there really isn’t any distortion present.  Not to worry I will make some recommendations in this regard at the end of the installment.

However the second part of Jane’s question deals with the aspect of conducting day-to-day tasks such as riding the bus.  Do you think there might be cognitive distortions lurking in the background?  There certainly is an overall thought that Jane has which is: I cannot take the bus home because I get too anxious.  We can work with this. 

Before reading directly below, I recommend that you click here (don't worry a new window will open up so you won't lose your spot) and look at the list of Cognitive Distortions and then try to locate what possible distortion(s) might be present in Jane’s thinking.  Once you’ve done this, write the distortion(s) down and then come back to this spot.

Okay, welcome back.

If you guessed that the following four distortions are present, then you’re right: 1. Disqualifying the positive; 2. Jumping to conclusions – fortune telling; 3. Magnification, 4. Emotional reasoning.

Let’s look specifically how each distortion is actually present and then look at some alternative, more realistic, thoughts.

Let’s analyze the thinking behind the question: “How do I stay on the bus, etc. without jumping off and walking home?”

1. Disqualifying the positive - By asking this question Jane is very likely overlooking many times that she rode the bus or did other tasks and she did just fine.

2. Jumping to conclusions – fortune telling – Jane is predicting in advance that she will not be able to ride the bus or other things – while she may feel anxious it does not necessarily follow that she will be unable to ride the bus.

3. Magnification – This distortion refers to the tendency to exaggerate the seriousness of something.  In this case, while Jane stays on the bus she may feel anxious, while she might feel some anxiety, but she will not die of her anxiety or panic attack.

4. Emotional reasoning – While, again, Jane may certainly feel anxious when she rides the bus, just because she feels anxious, does not mean anything really bad will happen.

Now let’s try to generate some alternative, more accurate thoughts that Jane substitute in place of the ones containing distortions.  Again, before reading on, try to generate some on your own. Once you’ve done this, write them down or type them out and then come back to this spot.

Okay here are some alternatives:

Just because Jane feels that she cannot ride the bus does not make it so.  While she may feel anxious on the bus nothing really bad will happen.

Jane cannot know for certain that she will absolutely have a panic attack on the bus.  Again while she might feel anxious it does not follow that she must jump off the bus and walk home.

While it is likely that Jane will feel anxious on the bus, if she can continue to expose herself to fear overtime she will be able to work through her anxiety.  This exposure will allow her to work through her panic attacks.  The tendency to avoid the bus actually makes her anxiety worse – in the overall grand scheme.  So doing some exposure therapy can be helpful.

Jane can continue to learn many strategies that can help her cope with panic attacks.  She may also consider the suggestions I’ve made previously on how to reverse a panic attack. These suggestion we're made in another section and are available by clicking here.

As you can see, after we identify the cognitive distortions causing our anxiety, we are then in a much better position to generate healthier thoughts that not only make us feel better but can lead to useful ideas and strategies.

Take care and bye for now,

Matthew Wagner
PanicAttackRecovery.com

Join the Panic Attack Recovery Newsletter: get "real" help with your Panic Attacks now!

Just enter your email address below and click the button. We promise not to share your email address with anyone and you can unsubscribe at any time.