I would like to share with you the Coping Techniques that I carried along with me on 3x5 index cards.
 
 

• Stay out of the "what if's..."

• Do not fight the feelings - sit them out - watch them come on and then watch them go away.

• Feelings - are frightening, but are not dangerous or harmful. They are a normal, exaggerated body reaction to stress.

• Do not add frightening thoughts or panic thinking about what might happen - one of your major concerns is that you might lose control. In all of the years that you had panic attacks, you have never lost control.

• At all times keep your thinking in the present of what is really happening to you - not what might happen. What is happening is that you are doing the exposure and that you may be feeling bodily sensations, but you have to ride them out.

• If you find yourself focusing on a fearful thought, try to tend to it by focusing on something manageable. Pay attention to your breathing - at a slow, even pace. Check to see if your shoulders are tense. Reduce the tension by tensing up and then releasing.