Hello,

It was really kind of you to respond to all the comments, that fact itself tells a lot about the greatness of a person! Thanks about all the wonderful links you shared…

I am sorry to hear that panic attacks were involved too… I used to have 3-4 per day in March, I went through hell with those 🙂 This link provides a really effective guide based on CBT about panic attacks, extremely helpful

http://paniccure.com/CoachNeal/Intro-1/1-1.htm

The key with those is when they happen, to distract yourself and bring yourself in the present (grounding),cause your mind can’t focus on two things at once. It’s as simple as that. Prepare mental exercises like: count how many blue things you can see… Describe 2 things you can smell. Solve sudoku. And learn how to breathe in order to prevent hyperventilation (hold your breath bit and exhale slowly, to stabilize the carbon levels). Everytime you deflect a panic attack, your mind learns new copying mechanism and forms new paths. So congratulate yourself again.

This link provides good explanation of how our brain works (neuroplasticity), of the fight and flight response that is responsible for anxiety and panic attacks, and our negativity bias… It helps to identify our old habitually formed pathways that shaped our ‘anxiety brain’, and by that to slowly substitute those with new ones, also through new habitual actions..

http://my.moodsmith.com/courses/free-anxiety-class

I can see you are already familiar with mindfulness, here is a link of a free 8 week program, if you can join a live course, even better

http://palousemindfulness.com/

And if you are interested more in how to boost your happy, relaxing hormones (Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin,& Endorphin), I recommend the book ‘Habits of a happy brain’ by Loretta Graziano.

There are also many supplements on the market like 5-HTP and inositol that are really helpful to many people (haven’t tried any though, but be careful with 5-htp). Magnesium, b-vitamins and omega 3 are also a must… I am not saying they will solve the problem, but deficiency of those is not good, especially magnesium (80% of the people have deficiency of it, and it helps the muscles to relax).

And sugar, caffeine, alcohol, spicy and greasy food are your enemy. Not joking.. I used to have panic attack everytime after I ate sweet chilly sause, imagine 🙂

And ALWAYS trust your heart and intuition… You got so many lovely advises (I tried to be practical and to share the helpful stuff from tons of research I’ve done and practiced). But it is simple- if it makes you feel good- do it. If it freaks you out-it’s not for you 🙂 There are many ways to heal, and you can find your own by doing what feels right and helpful. Some people can’t meditate.. Some people feel worse after psychoanalytical therapy.. Some people can’t do vigorous exercises (in the beginning cardio exercises were trigger for panic attacks for me). Some choose spirituality. Some laugh at it. Just stay positive and determined (practice on daily basis), and do not googly scary stuff about anxiety.. 🙂 It can be battled. There will be bad days always, but they will become fewer and fewer. You will trust life again!