A panic attack can be a very scary and humiliating experience, especially your first one! Three million Americans have experienced this -normally their first time being in their teens or mid twenties.

Many common questions and fears are ,”Why does this happen to me?”, “What if the next one sends me to the hospital?”, “How can I stop the next one?”

The true secret of how to control panic attacks lies in understanding what they are and knowing that they actually begin hours before you have them. How they begin, how they get worse, and why they can happen again. This is how many sites and products I’ve reviewed begin. But understandably, most people don’t want to sit and read all the scientific jargon explaining panic attacks. You just want to know what you can do right away to control them!

I’d like to share a few tips that I personally have practiced to control a panic attack. I did suffer from several of them in my early twenties, and did not want to take medication like those around me. Here are a few natural techniques.

-When you first begin to feel the fear that you are going to have a panic attack, remind yourself you’ve already had one and that you lived. Don’t dwell on the feelings. Breathe, and replay funny events in your head.

-Drink water. While you’re drinking, concentrate on the cooling effect it has on your body. Drinking water in a paced amount is like the IV they give you in a hospital and helps a lot.

-Don’t really fight. Fighting it will cause a struggle and your fear to peak and will make it even worse if it happens.

-If you need, go outside and get fresh air, or excuse yourself to a less populated place like the bathroom. Practice breathing and meditating exercises while there, and go back when you feel more confident.

These are a few of the basic techniques I’ve used to stop my anxiety. With these and some other techniques, after about 11 years, I have been free of panic attacks. I really hope these techniques help you learn how to control panic attacks as well. Anxiety is truly debilitating, and hinders you from living a happy life.