Anxiety disorders affect tens of MILLIONS of Americans. This list is meant to educate and offer help and direction to both the sufferer and their family and friends. It is meant to be a simple, accurate overview of anxiety/panic disorder.It is NOT meant to use soley on it's own, without being assessed by a trained doctor or therapist.

1. See Your Medical Doctor First!!
To rule out any possible *physiological* cause (thyroid disease, etc.) for your racing heart, profuse sweating, jitters, agitation, and other common anxiety and panic symptoms, get a complete physical from your doctor. Tell him your symptoms, and let him know you want to make sure your symptoms are not due to a current disease or physical problem. For *many* people, it also gives them some peace of mind knowing they do not have a deadly or terrible physical disease.

2. Contact and Go See A Trained Therapist (M.S.W., Ph.D., etc.) If The Symptoms Last Longer Than 1-2 weeks, Especially If You Have No Idea Why.
Because anxiety disorders are one of the most prevalent of conditions people have when they see a trained therapist or counselor, many advertise that they specialize in anxiety, phobias, and panic disorder. It is important to get help at the earliest point you can, since anxiety and panic disorders tend to "snowball" in their severity if left untreated. Some people who wait too long to seek help end up debilitated and unable to get out of their home to seek help. Don't wait for it to just "go away." Don't be embarrassed. These disorders are very common, and can be very treatable.

3. Think About Whether Your Anxiety/Panic Feelings Have Any "Pattern."
Sometimes, if there is a "pattern" to the anxiety or panic feelings related to a time or a certain activity or a thought, that is an important clue to alleviating and later eliminating the symptoms.

4. Realize That Anxiety "Attacks" and Panic Attacks Affect Many Millions Of People, And If You Are Otherwise Healthy, It Is Very Rare For A Person To Die From An Anxiety Or A Panic Attack.
Granted, it *feels* like you are smothering and can't get enough air, or like you are going to pass out, or have a heart attack due to your racing heart. The truth is, after many years of study, by numerous doctors and scientists, a person who is otherwise healthy is very uncomfortable, but rarely will have anything more than temporary discomfort, even though it feels like more.

5. When Feeling Very Anxious Or Panicky, Do Not Add MORE Fear To It!
Okay, you feel REALLY rough. And you KNOW you have felt that way before and survived after the severe symptoms pass. Talk *positively* to yourself. Sit down or lie down if possible and let the feelings subside, as you breathe slowly from your diaphragm, not the higher chest area. Remind yourself that the feelings and sensations WILL pass once the "fight or flight" hormones like adrenaline and cortisol diminish from your system. To panic or say "Oh no, not again!" merely will add more adrenaline or "secondary" fear hormones to your bloodstream, prolonging the symptoms.

6. *Accept* The Feelings And Wait For Them To Pass; They Will!
Perhaps the hardest thing to do is to "accept" terrible feelings. However, with anxiety and panic feelings, fighting them mentally or verbally will merely add to their severity by increasing your adrenaline output. Accept them, "go with the flow," breathe low and slowly, distract yourself with anything handy, and *let time pass.* The more accepting you become and the more you distract yourself and talk positively to yourself, the more quickly the symptoms will subside. Practicing this will help make the "episodes" less severe and make them of shorter duration.

7. Learn Some Relaxation Techniques To Use At Home Or When Out.
Relaxation tapes, music, meditation, and prayer are among the tools people can develop and practice to help them deal with anxiety or panic feelings. They can work to prevent the attacks themselves, as well as to make them less severe and of shorter duration when one occurs. Our mind can be trained to relax our body when we practice one of the many modes of relaxation and stress management techniques on a daily basis. There are thousands of tapes, books, CD's and other items on the market and in national bookstores and catalogues which can work wonders in eliminating the "fight or flight" snowballing sequence so often experienced when one suffers an anxiety or panic attack. Simply stated, find one you like and that works for you. Practice/use it daily especially when you are NOT anxious. Over time, you will be amazed at how you will be able to calm your mind and body *at will* when unpleasant feelings first begin. This practice will benefit you a lifetime.

8. Keep Your Body and MIND Busy!
When we are busy, our mind is usually concentrating on whatever we are doing and not on how we look, how our body feels, or if we "might" have another anxiety attack. The more we distract and concentrate on projects we like (at work or at home) and can really "get involved with," the less likely we are to have the super quick subconscious or conscious thoughts of doom or ill that many professionals who study and deal with anxiety and panic disorder feel cause or "trigger" each episode. If you find your mind wandering and thinking the "what ifs" or other "negative" thoughts, go back to your work, or get something else to do. Stop the thought by focusing your mind on something else. Some people find it helpful to simply say to themselves internally or aloud, "Stop!" whenever they find themselves thinking about something awful or scary that might make them anxious or panicky.

9. Start and Continue A *Daily* Exercise Regimen.
Exercise can serve several purposes in your life. In relation to dealing with anxiety or panic disorders, exercise helps to prevent the attacks due to the stress release benefits, as well as to help burn up the adrenaline and other stress hormones in the body that have accumulated due to stress or an anxiety or panic episode. Research by scientists, psychologists, and other professionals over many years has shown that exercise is truly beneficial in the prevention and treatment of anxiety, depression, and many other physical problems. The exercise needs to be something you can realistically do all year around. Treadmills, stationary bikes, and other at-home equipment will assure you that no matter what the weather is or how you are dressed, etc., you can benefit from using exercise as a way to burn up adrenaline and to increase your general health. When you are very physically fit, you will be *much* less prone to the effects of stress related symptoms, such as anxiety.

10. Educate Yourself And Your Family/Support People About Your Disorder.
There are basic paperback books, on anxiety and panic disorder written in laymen's terms which are very beneficial for the sufferer and their support people to read. One of the first people who studied and wrote about anxiety disorders and panic disorders was Dr. Claire Weekes, an Australian doctor. She has several books on the market still, and they are very easy to read, to understand, and to help people help themselves and others in dealing with anxiety or panic disorders. In reading one or two books which show how many people have the same frightening, confusing, often debilitating symptoms, a person can get a sense of "It's not just me!" "I have those same symptoms!" or "Gee, there really is a lot of help out there for me!" There are many books on this subject, but Dr. Weekes' are not only concise and inexpensive, but they are still, after 25 years in print, valid and very helpful for the sufferer and the family or support people of that person.

By Dennis Tesdell