Discover a Secret Weapon Against Panic Attacks

I was watching a favorite movie just the other day and in one of the scenes, something peculiar happens. A man, armed with a gun, robs a bank. The police chase him up some flights of stairs and onto the roof of a twenty-story building where they corner him. In desperation, he kidnaps a girl (who just happens to be on the roof) and holds her for ransom. He threatens to shoot her if she doesn't do what he says.

Now here's the peculiar twist to the plot, the girl was about to jump off the roof and commit suicide when he found her. She doesn't care if she gets shot. In fact, she even begs him to go ahead and shoot her to save her the hassle of jumping.

Because the girl is so bold about inviting him to pull the trigger, the kidnapper can't scare her into doing anything.

This strange sequence in a movie scene illustrated the principle of non-resistance. Because the girl doesn't resist her kidnapper's threats, he has no power over her.

The principle of non-resistance, or using an opponent's strength against them, has long been a part of Eastern philosophy and the martial arts. This same principle can be your secret weapon against panic attacks.

You can use the principle of non-resistance to take away the power of panic attacks in your life.

If you stop resisting panic attacks and try to force yourself to have a panic attack instead, the panic will lose its power over you. I know it sounds strange, but just try it. More times than not, when you try to bring on a panic attack, you will find it nearly impossible to have a panic attack.

The strategy of non-resistance is so powerful that many psychologists offer it to overcome panic.

Next time you feel panic coming on you can try it. Go ahead. Try to hyperventilate. Try to get dizzy and faint. Try to sweat and get your stomach tied up in knots. Try to make your mind spin out of control.

Guess what? You probably won't be successful. Trying to bring on a panic attack is probably the best way to avoid having one.

So why does this work?

Think about it - panic attacks rely on tension and anxiety to fuel them. Those of us with agoraphobia have a lot of panic attacks just because we are afraid of having them. In other words, panic attacks rely on tension between you and the panic to occur.

On the other hand, there are some steps to ensure that you will have a panic attack:

1) Worry incessantly about having a panic attack.2) Avoid all places in which you are afraid you might have a panic attack.

3) Set the goal of never, ever having another panic attack again no matter what.

4) Try to ignore any tension in your body that feels remotely like panic.

5) Try really hard to brace yourself against panic and actively fight off a panic attack through sheer will and determination when you feel one coming on.

If you do these things, you are sure to increase the number of panic attacks you have because you are increasing the tension between you and the panic.

To stop having panic attacks, don't resist them. If you start feeling panic just go with it. Accept what is happening. Face up to the symptoms and just let some time pass. Whatever you do, don't put up a fight against it.

When you give up the fight against panic, paradoxically, it will lose its power over you.