Relaxation from your Panic Attacks and Anxiety: Panic Attacks and Hypnosis 

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Particularly Dr. Benson observed that during this period of relaxation physiological changes such as levels of chemicals in the blood which serve as indictors for stress decreased, oxygen consumption decreased, breathing rates decreased, heartbeat decreased, and skin resistance increased - all indicative of relaxation. 

Dr. Benson surmised: “The relaxation response is a physical state of deep rest that changes the physical and emotional responses to stress... and the opposite of the fight or flight response." 

Yes this is a good thing indeed because the “relaxation response” induces the opposite effect of the physiological processes that occur during a panic attack.

Here are some simple steps you can follow today to begin inducing the relaxation response:

• Sit down in a comfortable position and close your eyes.
• Imagine the muscles of your feet relaxing all the way up your body to the top of your head
• Focus your attention on your breathing.
• Breathe in deeply and then let your breath out.

Do this for ten or twenty minutes.

While the above exercise is helpful, I would recommend starting out with hypnosis.  I’m not talking about being put into a trance where you’re trapped and can’t wake up.  I’m talking about relaxation.  Hypnosis meant for stress reduction can be very helpful for panic attacks. 

Obviously relaxation is very important for anyone who suffers from anxiety, panic attacks and agoraphobia.  You can reap many of the benefits experienced during the “relaxation response” and hypnosis is easier when starting out (in my opinion) than meditation.  

When I discuss hypnosis I’m referring to a simple process in which someone with a relaxing voice leads you through a relaxation induction. One way to think about a relaxation induction is to think of getting a mental massage.  That’s why it’s particularly helpful to have someone whose voice relaxes you. 

Please don’t get me wrong: meditation is not necessarily difficult; but I think initially the anxiety sufferer can better benefit from hypnosis because hypnosis does not require one to remember or focus on any particular technique as is the case with meditation.  That certainly is my perception anyway.  I like to think of hypnosis as meditation but with training wheels.  It’s a way of taking a nice time-out to relax, especially for someone suffering from anxiety or panic.

I know when I started get better, hypnosis was one of that really helped me.  It was relaxing and felt good.  Also, knowing this relaxation was good for me made the process more even more enjoyable.  One can learn to induce some of the same benefits as the “relaxation response” through hypnosis and this, in my opinion, is the primary reason why it is so valuable. 

You can actually get started relaxing today with high quality hypnosis tracks and my personal recommendation would be hypnosis tracks by Dr. Larry Deutsch, M.D.  He’s a medical doctor who is also a trained hypnotist.  

His site allows you to securely purchase and instantly download any of his hypnosis tracks.  You can also purchase any of the recordings in CD format if you choose to do so.  In particular, his track called “Breathe Easy and Conquer Anxiety” is designed for anxiety sufferers.  It’s one of the effective things I used when overcoming my anxiety and panic attacks.  I really liked his track because I found that listening to them not was very relaxing at the time, but this relaxation sometimes lasted into the day. 

The “Breathe Easy and Conquer Anxiety” recording is only about 20 minutes long; however, it’s something you can listen to throughout the day, as many times as you wish, and it’s certainly a great way to fall asleep for the night.  Finally, if you’re skeptical about the process then go to his site and download a sample.  The sample is free.  You can also watch a video on his practice and access more information about him and some of the work he has published.    

In summary, here are some of the reasons why I recommend Dr. Larry Deutsch’s hypnosis recordings:

• He’s a licensed medical doctor, licensed in both a Canadian and a US jurisdiction, which means that he is required to practice and follow certain standards; standards which are enforced by a licensing body (Many of the other hypnosis tracks that can be found on the internet are produced by unregulated persons.)

• He’s a trained hypnotist (Many of the other people out there producing such recordings do not have same level of specialized training as Dr. Larry Deutsch.)

• Since he is both a trained hypnotist and medical doctor he is able to combine abilities from both backgrounds and produce a unique and effective product (more so I think than other persons who do not have the same unique combination of backgrounds).

• I’ve used his tracks for many years and found them to be very effective (as have many other people) and found them to be much better than the many other hypnosis tracks I’ve tried.

• He offers a money-back-guarantee.  If you’re unsatisfied for any reason, just send him an email outlining the reason and he will cheerfully refund your money.

• These tracks are extremely inexpensive and you can get started immediately.

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