anxiety/panic attacks

My friends husband suffers from those...and has been rushed to the hospital several times thinking he is having a heart attack.....but he is on meds now to try to control it. He also takes deep breaths when he feels it coming on.....if he does that is...sometimes they just happen. But he is much better since they put him on medication for it.

I have suffered from panic and anxiety attacks for years. The biggest things that I can suggest is simply learning how to sweat the small stuff. If it's not going to change your life, sweat it off. Also, I learned how to conjure up things that make me laugh insanely or really bring a smile to my face.

I've had panic attacks before. I find that tai chi helps a lot, as does meditation. The best meditation-type thing that I do is progressive muscle relaxation, where you consciously relax each part of your body in turn. It's also really helpful to take deep breaths, making sure you breathe through your stomach rather than your chest so that you're breathing the air into your stomach (ie. you stomach should inflate with each in-breath and deflate when you breath out. This is a good way of calming down and centring yourself. If you suffer from hyperventilation, you could also try slowly breathing in and out of a paper bag. I hope that helps!