Treating panic attacks with NLP

Panic Attacks

We have all had a moment of intense fear that could leave us grounded to the spot or running for the hills to get away.

The increased heart rate, the dry mouth, tingling hands, shortness of breath and also the bodily temperature increasing to a very uncomfortable heat level, almost like waking up on a sunbed where you have inadvertently fallen asleep!

Combined with this the cognitive thoughts and statements that can increase this very unpleasant experience.

It might be that you are saying to yourself “I’m losing control” or “I’m going to pass out” – at the worst “I’m going to die“.

The good news is that there is hope for those who have suffered and those who still do with this very unfortunate and also inconvenient “reaction” to an event or outside stimulus.

Using NLP to overcome fear

In my terms, and as an NLP Practitioner, this reaction has started off somewhere. It isn’t merely and inexplicable turn of events.

The fear that one might feel at such a time at not knowing what is happening is like the catalyst for the explosion of feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.

Imagine the “event” is like a small flicker in a fireplace – the perceived and learnt reaction is like throwing paraffin over the flame and before you know it is no longer a small situation but seems totally unmanageable and there you now have a blazing inferno!

One way I like to think of FEAR is as False Evidence Appearing Real. A REACTION to a past event that we have catapulted into the now and can project into the future.

In that moment, what are the body and the mind telling you? What are you afraid of and where have you learnt to be afraid.

NLP tools for overcoming panic attacks

In NLP (or Neuro Linguistic Programming for those who like the long version) there are many tools that you can use to overcome panic attacks

Disassociation
By “stepping outside of ourselves” we are no longer engaged in the intensity of the situation – we could imagine floating up above ourselves looking down on “us” in the situation – by doing this at the time we remove the emotional intensity by not engaging in the actual triggering stimulus.

Anchoring
By using a preferred method to elicit a desired emotional response. This could be using an image, a physical touching of an item of jewellery or part of the body or even a word we use which has been preprogrammed using NLP to bring about a desired and overriding emotional response in the triggering situation.

These are just two of the wonderful and transformational techniques that the world of NLP has to offer for those affected by panic attacks.

The great thing is it can give you a freedom to “choose” how you feel and no longer be trapped by that overpowering sense of acute fear and anxiety that is part of the panic.

NLP frees you from the chains of panic

In NLP we can go back to the initial and original event that could have caused the panic response and by re-programming our original reaction to the circumstance we can use this new found and preferred reaction in the panic causing situation, the outcome of which is that it no longer turns into a burning rage of fear but rather stays as the small flicker. We are no longer engaged in the emotional intensity but merely notice what could happen and choose to react differently.

This new found freedom can greatly improve your live and you can be freed from the chains of panic.