Badass Ways to End Anxiety & Stop Panic Attacks! Page 2

  I was free. The lights started to reappear in all of the areas of my life that had gone dark years before.

  If you still suffer from panic attacks, anxiety, or phobias, your victory moment will come. That will be a feeling you’ll never forget.

  You might wonder why I called my site “I Love Panic Attacks.” Well, although they’ve made me feel very dark and depressed, I feel so blessed and grateful each and every single day since 2004 when I overcame it all. I’m much happier than I would have ever been if it weren’t for the panic attacks. I don’t take anything for granted.

  In 2005, I started to help a couple of people who suffered from panic attacks. I wanted to figure out if what I had done would work for other people as well. When that test was successful and my first clients were able to get on with their lives too, I felt confident that the methods I had developed and used on myself didn’t just work on me. I then recorded everything I did and created the first edition of my audio course. Thousands of people from all over the world have followed that audio course, and it is still very successful to this day.

  Not everyone could afford it, so I decided to write my first book in 2010 to help an even broader audience. Then, many years later and with more experience under my belt, I updated the audio course and decided to write a new book, the one you’re reading now.

  No matter what type of anxiety you have, you’ll find lots of techniques in this book that you can start to apply right now. They will make you stronger than you’ve ever been before. I mean that.

  I hope you enjoy this book. I’m not a native English speaker, but I found it important to not use a ghostwriter. I wanted to put my heart and soul into it. I wanted to connect with you, personally, through these words. I’ve been where you are now. I found the way out, and now I’ll show it to you.

  Are you excited yet? I hope you are. You’re about to embark on a journey that will do a lot more than just help you with anxiety and panic attacks. Let’s dive in.

  Good luck!

  Geert

  Part 1: The Counterintuitive Truth about Anxiety and Panic Attacks

  I’ve divided this book into three major parts. First, we’ll go over the different forms of anxiety and what causes them. We’ll need to deal with those causes. In part 2, you’ll learn new techniques to tackle unwanted anxiety and stop panic attacks. Then, part 3 will blend everything from the previous sections together so you can feel the full force of it all. Because the goal is achieving lasting results.

  Finally, the addendum will go over some specific symptoms and situations you may be plagued by and how to deal with them in detail. This is where you’ll get the step-by-step blueprints.

  Don’t skip ahead though.

  I understand you are driven to get your life back right away; that’s obviously why you bought this book. But please, bear with me. Devour part one first. We’ll need to understand anxiety in order to then deal with it.

  Let’s go!

  Meet Brian, Debby, Charles, and Monica

  Brian, a 34-year-old manager, had a difficult time at work. He had started out his career as an ambitious guy trying to achieve greatness and was well on his way. About seven months ago, while attending a meeting, Brian felt the sudden urge to get out of the meeting room.

  His heart rate went up significantly; he got a dry mouth and started to sweat heavily. It felt as if someone had greatly raised the temperature in the room and turned it into a sauna, which didn’t make any sense to Brian. Who in their right mind would to this? And why did his colleagues seem unplagued by all that he was feeling? As he tried to pay attention to the presentation, his mind kept worrying about what he was experiencing, how he could excuse himself from the meeting, and what his colleagues and boss would think. He didn’t want to ruin the seemingly perfect image they had of him. He had worked hard on that image, for years.

  After that one traumatizing moment, his first panic attack, Brian started to dread meetings and desperately tried to avoid them, often coming up with the most ridiculous excuses. If he had to give a presentation himself, he would lie awake at night—days, often weeks in advance. His career was starting to suffer, causing him to miss a couple of promotions. He was no longer on track.

  Brian continuously checked in on how he felt and started to suffer from a generalized anxiety disorder. He was anxious from the moment he opened his eyes in the morning till the moment he kissed his wife goodnight.

  His wife and friends advised him to “just get over it.” They told him he was worrying too much about it all. Although this advice was well intended, it didn’t serve him at all.

  Debby, on the other hand, had another problem. She’s a 41-year-old single mom who used to travel all around the world while she was in her twenties. She drove her car to far-away places, took planes as if they were cabs, and enjoyed the freedom that came with it all. After giving birth to her first daughter, Debby started to notice a reluctance to drive her car. She couldn’t pinpoint why, but she began to feel dizzy while driving. While behind the wheel, Debby often felt some nausea and experienced some heart palpitations too. This was frustrating to her since she was starting to lose faith in her ability to get the car, with those in it, home safe.

  As the weeks progressed, Debby noticed she had anxiety specifically on highways and bridges, in tunnels, and while stuck in traffic jams. It felt like some form of claustrophobia, but Debby didn’t understand why. Her car wasn’t an elevator or a cave filled with angry bats and rattlesnakes.

  Not long after, she started to feel the same range of sensations in airplanes and other forms of public transportation. This limited her freedom to a great extent as Debby decided to stay home as much as she could. She wanted to avoid feeling like that. Driving her kids to school was all she could do and even then her anxiety was extraordinarily high. She feared getting into an accident, especially with the kids in the car.

  Charles was only 28 when he was convinced he was very sick. He felt a whole range of strange sensations on a daily basis and couldn’t understand why. His doctor and hospital visits didn’t help.

  “You are in good health, Charles. Go home and stop worrying” was all they said over and over. Charles even called for an ambulance a couple of times because he was sure his heart was giving up on him. Afterward, all of the doctors and nurses told him it was just anxiety. He was too stressed and had to relax more. They tried to prescribe anti-depressants, but he always refused to take them; he was not depressed.

  The uncertainty of what he had and what was going on kept him continuously anxious. Charles was certain he was sick. He searched the web for answers. When Charles found stories of people who were actually sick, he was confident he was also suffering from the same illnesses. This uninformed realization resulted in anxiety spikes that often led to panic attacks. His “illness” was all Charles could think about, and he was searching for reassurance wherever he could. This was starting to weigh heavily on his wife and son, too. Even doctor visits where he was declared to be in great health didn’t reassure him like they used to. His wife tried to support him, but she was starting to get frustrated considering nothing she did or tried seemed to help. Charles might as well have been training tigers, because that’s what his life was starting to look like—a circus.

  Monica only had a few friends, but she enjoyed going out when she was a teenager. As she became older, Monica noticed she felt good when people she knew well surrounded her. People she didn’t know, however, made her feel uneasy. Social settings involving large crowds were not at all possible. She had tried it once but immediately became nauseated and lightheaded; her heart raced and her bowels became overactive. Doctors called it “irritable bowel syndrome.” Monica started to escape crowds because she always felt like she was about to faint or get tummy troubles in front of others. Avoidance seemed like a good option to keep the anxiety at bay.

  As the years went by, avoidance proved to be a bad plan because her anxiety always found her when she tried to play hide-and-see
k. The anxiety gradually increased and took over more and more aspects of her life until it was clear she had a social phobia combined with agoraphobia. When too many other people were present, Monica had to run home or at least seek a safe place. Waiting in line, networking, going to weddings, and other seemingly normal activities were no longer possible for her. She was too afraid of feeling bad and didn’t want other people to notice her obvious social distress. She was ashamed and frantically tried to uphold the image of a strong woman everyone previously had of her.

  These are four stories of people whose lives were seriously limited by the consequences of anxiety. After years of coping with their anxiety and trying to find help, they came to me. They all fully recovered after putting in an effort and mastering the set of powerful techniques presented within this book that can help you overcome unwanted anxiety, panic attacks, and even phobias.

  There may be a negative voice in your head saying, “Sure, but my case is different. I’m probably not going to get any results. I never do, and I’ve tried so many times.” I already warned you about this. That’s just your negative voice talking, and that’s exactly the reason why you should read this book. It’s one of the causes of anxiety.

  And if your anxiety is different from what I just described, please don’t despair. These are just a couple of real-life stories out of the thousands I have from my clients.

  The Four Stages of a Full Recovery

  Recovery always happens in stages.

  The first stage you will reach is the one where your intolerance to anxiety will be gone. You’ll be participating in whatever it is that currently still makes you uncomfortable. You’ll still feel some anxiety, but for many reasons that will become clear when you get to this point, the anxiety won’t bother you. The fear of the fear will be gone. That’s the first liberation. Feeling the anxiety and no longer letting it rule your life.

  Stage two appears when you’ll partake in something that previously gave you anxiety, and you’ll realize the anxiety and the accompanying sensations simply aren’t there. Your anxiety may not be linked to locations or events, and in that case you’ll just notice that you haven’t had to think of your anxiety for some time. No checking in was needed.

  It will feel as if you’re forgetting something, forgetting to freak out, that is. This will be a very liberating moment, as I’m sure you can imagine.

  Then, stage three arises. As you start to enjoy many activities again and can finally go on with your life, you’ll arrive at a point where you will become aware of what’s been happening, “Huh? I haven’t felt anxious for a long time. I don’t even remember when the last time was. I’ve really been enjoying life again. Is it all really in the past now?”

  Then comes a very important moment, stage four. This may be months or even years down the road. The moment that the anxiety tries to return. It will. Up until that instant you may have been living your life fully, with clear skies and sunshine every day. Then, a little cloud of anxiety tries to appear. That may sound scary, for now. However, since by that time you’ll have finished this entire book, you’ll know exactly how to respond and the anxiety won’t take over. It won’t be able to, because you cannot unlearn what you’re about to learn. It will be like seeing a long-lost friend passing by, making you remember the past, without going back to it.

  Those, in all honesty, are the best moments. I don’t know what you’ll be doing then, but you’ll feel a form of gratitude that’s hard to explain.

  Those are the instants where you’ll realize how much your life has changed, how you’re able to enjoy it so much more and, like me, will not ever take it all for granted. You’ll know then that you became better than the old version of you, and there won’t be a way back.

  Myths about Anxiety and Panic Attacks

  “You Are Weak”

  I still recall the pep talks other people gave me when I suffered from debilitating anxiety. “Just get over it. It’s all in your head” or even “Man up!” Some would even ask, “Why do you get so worked up over nothing?”

  Other phrases I was offered were: “You’re just working too hard. You need to relax” and “You’re too stressed. Why don’t you try some yoga?”

  They had no idea what I was going through. They simply didn’t get it.

  Friends, family, and my girlfriend at the time didn’t understand. If I had severely cut my finger while practicing chainsaw juggling, then they would have at least seen something was wrong with me. But my brokenness was hidden. They often thought I was imagining it. They presumed I was weak, and some didn’t even hide their opinion.

  Imagine a soldier running through a terrorist-infested city somewhere in the desert. He’s alone and should wait for reinforcements, but he doesn’t, being the brave man he is. He keeps going.

  As beads of sweat run down his face, he hears gunfire coming from the left and right. He quickly looks up but can’t see the shooters. He can hear the bullets fly right by him, and he feels the subtle air stream they create as they swirl past his head, barely missing him. The soldier decides to be strong and to keep going, even though he’s terrified and panicking in every way possible.

  The question is: is this soldier weak?

  Of course not!

  This is a picture of what truly debilitating anxiety or panic attacks feel like. You’re under fire, but you have no idea where the danger is coming from. Doing whatever it is you fear, even if it’s something simple like boarding an airplane or giving a speech, is as brave as the soldier running through a war zone. It launches the same defense systems in your body.

  You are not weak. You are, in fact, very brave. What can be a walk in the park to them can feel like going to a war zone for you. Even my therapists and psychiatrists didn’t really understand. They wanted to help, and I respect them for that. They cared, but to me, it always felt as if they thought I was exaggerating, especially with the pointless techniques they kept suggesting. I got the feeling that they just didn’t get it. Even though they meant well.

  The longer your anxiety sticks around, the more other people will start to get fed up with your excuses to avoid doing that what you fear. Some might even take it personally and believe you simply don’t like them.

  This can happen to anyone by the way. I’ve helped people from all walks of life from the big-time CEO to the intern or student whose life is just getting started. I’ve helped people of all ages, from the 14-year-old whose mother had contacted me to the 84-year-old man who had been living with his anxiety for over fifty years.

  Some of my clients are psychiatrists or medical doctors. I’ve even had an airline pilot once who was afraid of flying. Yes, it happened. And I’m sure you can imagine how ashamed he was to admit this to anyone. “Welcome aboard. This is your captain speaking. Sit back and relax and enjoy the flight. And if there’s anyone with a fear of flying, don’t worry, you’re not alone. I’m scared to death as well!”

  You are not weak! Anxiety can strike anyone at any time. When the anxiety system starts to run afoul, it will take over your life... until you stop it. And that’s why I wrote this book. I want to help you deactivate your panic attacks and eliminate your unnecessary anxiety.

  The Power Is Already Within You

  You won’t need a miracle or a wish-granting genie to overcome your anxiety. The power is already within you.

  You won’t need to change your genes or hire the DeLorean from the movie Back to the Future to go back in time and fix something that went wrong. Even though the problem started in the past, we cannot and need not change the past. Talking about the past does not fix panic attacks or anxiety. There are things you are doing now, each and every day, that maintain the anxiety. Those are the true and current causes that you’ll have to remove.

  Four years ago, a man from France followed my course. He was 84 when he found my website and ordered the French version of my audio course. He had been suffering from severe panic attacks since the age of 29, that’s fifty-five years! Six months
after starting the audio course, he e-mailed me explaining he had overcome his panic attacks. About a year after, his wife thanked me for giving them the best time of their lives.

  Fifty-five years of panic attacks... can you imagine? I didn’t prescribe any pills (I’m not a doctor); I didn’t use any voodoo or magic spells, and I didn’t put on my angel wings since I don’t have any. The power was already within him, and it had been all that time. I simply showed him how to use it, just as I’ll show you now.

  How to Feel Totally Calm During Moments of Intense Anxiety

  I bet this title sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? What if I were to present you with a formula that would help you to be totally calm, cool, and collected during moments of intense anxiety? Would that be something you’re interested in?