You know you are not alone with your panic attacks and anxiety when the coolest man on the planet, who looks like he never succumbs to pressure has been reported to be having panic attacks.

Tiger Woods, typically cool under pressure, focused and in control of his game has been asked to take a lie detector test as part of his rehab for sex addiction. Tiger reportedly went “ballistic” when he was told he would be hooked up to a polygraph machine and started having symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks.

He also began having trouble sleeping and requiring medication to ease the stress.

As we know from our research, medication can ease the cycle of stress and poor sleeping in the short term but long term it is so important NOT to rely on medication.

The only long term anxiety treatment and cure for panic attacks is learning to control your thoughts, relaxation and breathing techniques. Obviously for Tiger, his cure will involve a lot of communication, honesty, therapy and family counselling sessions.

Deep issues of guilt, subconscious turmoil and intense media scrutiny never make for a good night’s sleep!

Positive Thinking is a crucial part of beating panic attacks.

You need to replace negative thoughts with an abundance of positive thoughts. Every panic sufferer knows they find themselves in a downward spiral of fear and negativity more often than not. As negative thoughts pop up during your daily life, you issue a “stop” command which acts to stop the negative thought in its tracks.

Once the unnecessary, negative or burdensome thought is stopped, you immediately redirect your mind to a more positive thought about the situation you are confronting.

The process of redirecting your thoughts is an important component of successfully using this process. However, the challenge is following through because when you are under pressure from the potential anxiety you are facing, it is hard to redirect your thoughts to a more positive framework because you can´t think of anything positive.

As a beginner, what I suggest is to create a list of positive thoughts that you can use. Write down a list and keep it handy. Then your mind wont be blank at the time you need it most.

Here are some examples of positive thoughts:

1. I have been anxious before and have survived
2. I am a wonderful person with great talents and gifts
3. I am in control of my anxiety and it will not control me
4. I will have a great time at work/the party
5. I am safe and feel loved and valued
6. I am looking forward to …..

Keep going with this list and make it specific towards you. Think about the situations you have coming up that you may feel anxious about. Think of all the positive outcomes that might happen. Force yourself to feel happy and confident when you visualize them. Do not for one minute allow yourself to spend any time thinking about having an attack or feeling anxious. Know you will have a great time.

If an unwanted thought appears, consciously tell yourself to STOP! Once you have firmly told the thought to stop you then use your handy little list to redirect your mind to a more positive state.

This may sound too simple to some but engaging your mind in actively combating your negative or detrimental thoughts actually works. The key, to success is practice. Practicing this process will not only improve your ability to engage in positive thoughts but it will also give you greater self confidence that you can survive anxiety ridden situations. Confidence is half the battle in dealing with anxiety.

Best regards

Rachel

Email me: info@panictool.org

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