fbpx

How to Overcome a Panic Attack With the AWARE Method

How to Overcome a Panic Attack With the AWARE Method

All of us experience anxiety from time to time but this is most severe by far when it evolves into a full blown anxiety attack of panic attack. This is something that most of us will experience at some time in our lives and that can ultimately become crippling as you worry that heading out into public spaces could result in fainting, or that falling asleep could trigger an attack.

Fortunately, there are ways to treat panic attacks and with the right approach, these methods can be highly effective at getting the problem under control and even preventing them altogether. One such option is to use the ‘AWARE’ strategy.

What is AWARE?

AWARE is an acronym that stands for:

Acknowledge and Accept
Wait and watch
Actions to make yourself comfortable
Repeat
End

The key to this is essentially to accept that the attack is happening and not to try and ‘fight it’. Instead, you simply acknowledge it and then ‘watch’ it as you go about your business as usual. The very best way to fight a panic attack? To continue acting as though it’s not happening.

Why Ignore a Panic Attack

When you first notice a panic attack begin, you will find that the symptoms can be somewhat similar to what you imagine a heart attack to be like. As you may expect, this in itself can be a highly distressing prospect and actually creates much more anxiety. Other people are actually afraid of anxiety attacks themselves because they dislike the experience so much.

Thus it’s common to start worrying about the panic attack itself as well as whatever triggered it. It’s this subsequent panic that can lead to escalation and ultimately result in the individual passing out of collapsing.

And this in turn is why it’s so important not to try and ‘combat’ the effects of a panic attack through sheer will. Instead, by ignoring the panic attack, by recognizing it for what it is and by being comfortable and allowing it to run its course you can actually find that it goes away much more quickly. What’s more, is that once you lose the fear of the symptoms, it will eventually stop happening altogether.

Of course it is still important to try and remove yourself from any potential danger – which may mean pulling over if you are driving or removing yourself from a public space.

About Us

We’re Confident Voice Studio. We are a team of nurturing teachers who can help with voice, piano, guitar, violin, and songwriting. Our expertise ranges from preschool to adult. From the first lesson to nailing an audition or preparing for performances we've got your back.

Recent Post

You May Also Like…

Top Tricks for Killing Procrastination

Top Tricks for Killing Procrastination

Procrastination is something that can ruin your day, damage your career and negatively impact on your relationships.

Often, we laugh about procrastination as though it were an amusing habit and sometimes it can be. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t also incredibly destructive. Imagine it’s 4pm and you have work you desperately need to finish by 5pm but you can’t stop browsing Facebook or making trips to the kitchen for cups of coffee.

What happens? One option is that you end up going home very late and lose out on time with your family. Another option is that you end up not finishing the work and starting the next day incredibly behind.

Either way, this is a serious problem.

read more
Secrets of Fearless Performers

Secrets of Fearless Performers

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what stands in the way of reaching our musical goals besides the actual musical training.
Often discomfort and fear are the only things holding us back. It’s true for kids and adults. It’s okay to feel that way, because courage requires vulnerability.

read more
How to Speak With Confidence When You’re Really Nervous

How to Speak With Confidence When You’re Really Nervous

Are you a confident speaker or performer who commands the stage, or do jitters get in your way? Here’s how to overcome your nerves and speak with confidence.

When dealing with anxiety and stress, one question you could ask yourself is why does it matter?

Why does it really matter if people can tell that you’re anxious?

Does it really matter if you’re understandably nervous during a big presentation or event?

The answer is probably not but the reason it impacts us is that it undermines our social standing. When you sound anxious or nervous, it suggests that you don’t have confidence in what you’re saying. In turn, this makes other people less likely to trust you and it makes them less likely to think of you as a good leader, as a good employee, or as someone they’d like to date. If someone is nervous around you, it suggests that they perceive you as their superior.

So you don’t necessarily need to be able to completely remove nerves – you just need to sound as though you don’t have any!

read more

0 Comments