HOW TO CONTROL

ANXIETY
-------------and the----------
PANIC ATTACKS
Effective secrets to be yourself again
and enjoy life in a relaxed way

HOW TO CALM ANGUISH, SYMPTOMS AND

ANXIETY ATTACKS
RONNA BROWNING
How to Control Anxiety and Panic Attacks

Ronna Browning
 Warning:
This book has been developed for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute
for professional diagnosis or treatment of any health condition. If you think you are
in danger or are developing symptoms that require immediate attention, consult your
doctor or call your local emergency medical services.
 Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
THE CRUEL AND TERRIBLE ANXIETY
WHAT WILL YOU FIND IN THIS BOOK?
SEVERAL THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE STARTING
PART 1. THE METHOD
UNDERSTANDING ANXIETY
STEP 1. DON'T RESIST ANXIETY
STEP 2. ACCEPT ANXIETY
WELCOME, ANXIETY
UNDERSTANDING WHAT ACCEPTANCE IS
OBSERVE YOUR ANXIETY
STEP 3. GET EXCITED ABOUT YOUR ANXIETY
STEP 4. GET BUSY
CONCLUSIONS ON THE FOUR STEPS
RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE FOUR STEPS
THE KEYS TO THE FOUR STEPS
PART 2. THE “SYMPTOMS” OF ANXIETY AND HOW TO
CONFRONT THEM
TECHNIQUES TO DEAL WITH THE “SYMPTOMS” OF ANXIETY
FIRST: PHYSICAL “SYMPTOMS”
1. PANIC ATTACKS
ASK FOR MORE FROM PANIC
2. SENSATIONS IN THE HEART
PALPITATIONS
OVERTURNS OR EXTRASYSTOLES
3. ANXIOUS BREATHING – CHOKING – OPPRESSION
4. FAINTING - DIZZINESS - VERTIGO
5. NAUSEA
OTHER SENSATIONS AND SYMPTOMS
MUSCLE TENSION - TREMORS
SWEATING
I REALLY WANT TO GO TO THE BATHROOM
DIFFICULTY SWALLOWING
HEADACHES - MIGRAINE
BLURRY VISION
WEAK OR SHAKY LEGS
TINGLING - Prickling
SECOND: MENTAL DISORDERS
PART 3. HOW TO DEAL WITH PHOBIAS AND FEARS
1. FEAR OF DRIVING
2. FEAR OF SITUATIONS FROM WHICH “YOU CANNOT ESCAPE”
3. FEAR OF BEING PHYSICALLY TRAPPED
4. FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
5. FEAR OF DOCTORS OR TAKING YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE
6. HYPOCHONDRIA AND FEAR OF DYING
PART 4. RECOMMENDATIONS TO STRENGTHEN YOUR
RECOVERY AND PREVENTING RELAPSES
CONCLUSIONS AND FINAL MESSAGE
 INTRODUCTION

No matter how deep you are in anxiety, how bad you feel, or if even reading this
book seems like too big a challenge... If you read this book to the end and dare to
join us on this journey, you will be giving yourself the opportunity to get out of the
hole you have fallen into and from which you perhaps think you cannot get out.

Anxiety makes you feel like you want to escape from yourself, flee from your own
mind and body, but that is impossible and you fall into despair. So have faith: there
is a new current, a new movement that will help you regain the control you once
had.

This is a method that was devised by people who, like many of us, were plagued by
anxiety attacks for a long time, but who finally found the key to cure themselves of
it permanently.

And just as they achieved it, many others have done the same, being persistent and
following the steps explained here. Now it is up to you to decide whether to remain
trapped in the web of anxiety or to DARE to continue reading and find the way out
of the labyrinth.
 Before you start:
Much of the content I have prepared to help you is in the supplementary material
section, where I have included audiovisual relaxation techniques.

I invite you before you forget to visit the page:

www.alcanzatussuenos.com/ansiedad
Enter your details and you will have immediate access to the material and you will
also receive updates and other resources to help you overcome anxiety in the
comfort of your email.
 THE CRUEL AND TERRIBLE ANXIETY
To know how unpleasant anxiety is, you have to have suffered from it. Many people
talk about feeling anxious or stressed every day, but they will never understand how
awful anxiety is unless they experience it firsthand.

Only those of us who have been there know how our heads are flooded with
suffocating questions...

Will I be like this forever?

Is there something wrong with my brain?

Am I going crazy?

Will I end up in a mental asylum?

Will I completely lose control of myself? •

And much less could they know how terrifying it is to suffer a panic attack, to feel
that at any second their lives will end, to feel how they are left breathless and to be
horrified at the thought that they cannot breathe anymore.

It is precisely because of this lack of understanding that, when we fall into anxiety,
we feel alone in the world. Because no one can understand us; our friends, our
family, they downplay our fears because they don't know what it's like to be like
that.

They do not know the terror of thinking, of feeling in the mind and on the skin as if
something very bad is about to happen, something that perhaps we do not even know
what it is, but that fills us with infernal fear and anguish.
They don't know what it's like to lose the will to do the simple tasks you need to do
every day, they don't understand why you avoid certain activities and situations or
why you act so strange. They do not see themselves lost, misplaced and disoriented
in the streets they walk through every day, just like you do.

They also have no idea how tired you can feel, the physical and mental exhaustion of
spending day and night repeating fatalistic thoughts, worrying, suffocating yourself.
But... Even if you feel alone, know that you are not alone. We understand you. We
know what you're going through and we want to help you solve it, just like we
already did.

And just like you, there are surely other people close to you who also suffer in
silence: anxiety is a very common condition that affects millions of people around
the world. But although it is very common these days, it is not an incurable disease.

Maybe you've had dozens of medical tests looking for a rare disease that explains all
your “symptoms,” or maybe you've already been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
Believe it: There are millions of people who are just like you. But not everyone is
lucky enough to find a tool like this to cure themselves permanently.
 WHAT WILL YOU FIND IN THIS BOOK?
With these lines, our intention is for you to recover in the shortest time possible and
to return to living your daily life as you did before.

In the simplest way possible, we want to teach you how to put an end to your
anxious, repetitive and fatalistic thoughts. We will help you eliminate those
annoying (but harmless) panic attacks. We will help you get back to those activities
you used to do but now avoid at all costs. And even if you have been immersed in
this state of anguish and anxiety for a long time, we are going to help you recover
your true self.

In addition, you will discover how to turn this problem into a personal triumph and
awaken a hidden power within yourself: by leaving anxiety behind, you will be
stronger than before.

This approach will eliminate costly visits to psychiatrists or psychologists and the
use of harsh drugs. This method simplifies recovery, since its key is to teach you not
to “manage” or “control” anxiety, but to cure it so that you can live your life to the
fullest.

And the key to this is here: we will teach you how to get rid of the FEAR of anxiety,
rather than the anxiety itself.

This method provides you with a four-step technique that will lead you on the path
to healing and will achieve:

- Space out the appearance of panic attacks more and more, until they disappear
completely in the shortest possible time.

- Reduce and eliminate generalized anxiety.

- Reduce fatalistic thoughts and recurring toxic ideas and replace them with positive
feelings.

- Begin to feel comfortable with the “absence” of anxiety and start a

phase of getting used to the “non-anxious” state.

- React appropriately to possible relapses.

But that's not all; in this book we will also reveal to you which techniques you
should put into practice in the face of a series of situations, symptoms and sensations
that you experience when you suffer from generalized anxiety.

What should you do if you have a panic attack?

How to react to insomnia?

How to act when you feel palpitations?

What should you do if you are terrified of leaving your house?

We will also explain to you in a very simple way the reason for these “symptoms”
that your body and mind experience, so that you understand that you are not sick,
that you are not dying, and that all these fears and sensations are creations of your
own fears.
 SEVERAL THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE
STARTING
1. It's normal to feel very bad. If you are stressed and anxious, your hormonal
chemistry changes and influences your body and brain, which are also exhausted by
this bombardment of negative feelings and thoughts. But that doesn't mean you're
sick.

2. Do you think this happens to you because you are weak? False: You are braver
and stronger than you imagine.

3. Are you wondering “why is this happening to me”? Nobody knows the answer.
Some people are more sensitive to stressful situations than others, and you may be
one of them. But it doesn't matter that there is no explanation for your problem,
because the solution is still the same. Don't rack your brain trying to find an
explanation, it's useless.

4. Wondering how long it will take to heal? The answer is within you. It will
depend on your disposition, your desire, your understanding and your effort.

5. It may seem strange to you, but the main obstacle to overcoming anxiety is
yourself. But the solution is within you. You are in control, even if you don't know
it. Others can help you. This book can guide you. But in the end, the cure is in your
hands. You must have faith in yourself. Believe in yourself. Just as you got yourself
into this without realizing it, you can get yourself out of it at will.
PART 1. THE METHOD
 UNDERSTANDING ANXIETY
You must start by understanding that anxiety is a survival tool. Anxiety is not a
disease, but a defense mechanism.

Remember that human beings originally lived in constant danger, so our minds are
naturally designed to be alert to any situation in which we must decide whether to
flee or fight. Our ancestors lived in an environment full of risks, wild animals and
nature that was often against them. In a dangerous situation, the mind went into a
state of alert.

For example, if an individual suspected that the shadow behind a tree was a wild
beast that might attack him, then his heart would begin to beat faster and his mind
would become altered.

“What if the beast behind the tree attacked me?”

So there, with adrenaline pumping, the subject makes the decision to run as fast as
he can or look for an object that he can use as a weapon to confront his potential
enemy.

During these types of situations, the body and mind experience a completely
justified, natural anxiety. The chemistry in the brain changes to make the individual
more capable of coping with the moment. But once the problem is solved,
everything returns to normal, the brain and its chemistry stabilize, the body and
mind stop receiving warning signals.

Nowadays, the threats are very different... Maybe it's not a beast behind a tree, but a
highway with traffic jams... "I'm going to be late for work..." I could lose my job...
They're going to reprimand me... If they fire me, I won't be able to support my
family... Due to the constant repetition of this type of worry, perhaps some trauma or
many other causes, anxiety levels can get stuck at a high point and never return to
normal. That's when it becomes a disorder.

Well, that's what happened to you. At some point your anxiety level, for whatever
reason, rose, but it has not gone down again or it remains in a permanent up and
down, so your brain is sending the wrong signals all the time... It makes your heart
beat faster, for no apparent reason... It makes you sweat, it makes your hands cold...
It makes you tremble. And it immerses you in the feeling that something bad is
going to happen... Just like our friend in front of the shadow behind the tree, but with
the difference that in your case, there is no shadow and there is no beast.

There is just one mismatch.

Of course you feel bad and as time goes by you start to get desperate. Now that you
know this, you just have to learn to perceive your anxiety in a different way.

To achieve this, we will show you the four steps that this method consists of.
 STEP 1. DON'T RESIST ANXIETY
Anxiety is a nervous energy that rises and falls, just like the waves of the sea.
Suppose you are at the beach and from time to time a wave rises in front of you.
When you resist the wave, it throws you around, it rolls you around in the water and
you end up scared and upset, maybe you swallow water and start to fear the waves
and resist them.

But if instead of resisting, you move to its rhythm, you jump and go up with it when
it rises, you go down with it when it falls, you will finally lose your fear of the
waves.

Anxiety is like that, like waves. Sometimes they go up, then they fall again... But
they will always fade away. There is no reason to fear the next wave that comes
along, because you already know that just by not resisting, by not thinking that it
will roll you around in the water and by going at its pace, it will be enough to keep it
from harming you.

Anxiety becomes a problem when instead of going up and down with it, instead of
going at its pace, you start to resist it. You must stop resisting anxiety, downplaying
it, because in the end, it is always destined to fade away.

When you resist, fear begins to grow inside you and you lose control. The important
thing about our method is that you begin once and for all to stop resisting and stop
being afraid of the next time you begin to feel an anxiety attack coming on.
 WHAT IF...
The essence of this first step is to retrain the immediate way of responding to anxiety
when you see it approaching. It is a very quick and easy step to implement and you
should put it into practice from the very moment you feel it appear.

Anxiety comes suddenly and grows quickly, and it will grow even faster if you fall
into the worst of mistakes.. That you get caught up in thoughts like... “What if”
...........................................”.

Let's remember our prehistoric friend... “What if... the beast behind the tree attacked
me?”

The poor man probably had a beast to face, but most likely all the "What if..." you
keep repeating are the wrong ones. There is no beast waiting to attack you.

Perhaps these are the kinds of thoughts that come to your mind when an anxiety
attack is approaching:

“What would happen if my heart stopped beating?”

“What if I have a panic attack while driving?”

“What if this anxiety never goes away?”

“What would happen if I fainted in the middle of the street?”

“What if I get so agitated that I can't breathe anymore?”

Generally, the answers to all these questions are the most catastrophic and negative
possible. You will rarely come up with encouraging and positive answers.

Well, that's what you should do from now on. Avoid thinking of dire answers to
your anxious questions... Because by repeating them so much, you will raise your
adrenaline, you will raise your heart rate... Your brain will believe that something
bad is about to happen and will send out warning signals. Anxiety will attack you.

Don't do it anymore. From now on, answer those questions with happy, encouraging
answers.
What if my heart suddenly stops? An appropriate response would be:

"And... My heart is strong, it's just getting a workout. No problem".

“What if I have a panic attack while driving on the highway?”

"And! I will continue to drive, just like I always have, and I always get home
safely.”

“What if these horrible thoughts keep coming into my head?”

"And! They are just thoughts and they cannot harm me. My mind will calm down
and thoughts will fade away.”

Chances are that when you start answering the questions with positive answers,
answers that dismiss the scary statements, you will feel like you are fooling yourself.
It doesn't matter! Keep doing it. As time goes by, your mind will settle down, the
anxiety spectrum will go down as you realize that the positive answers are true...
Because at the end of the day, it's true... Nothing bad happens to you!

DON'T RESIST! The key is to quickly deactivate the buildup of fear.

Do it every time you feel it coming. This way, you quickly dismantle the buildup of
tension and get your mind moving in step with your nerves and anxiety, rather than
resisting them.

STEP 2. ACCEPT ANXIETY

You have already learned that the most important thing is not to resist anxiety, but
that will not be enough to overcome it. The second step is ACCEPTANCE. When
you accept what you feel, accept the “symptoms,” the thoughts, or whatever comes
with it, you give more power to the strategy of not resisting.

There is still anxiety within you, but you must dispel it by accepting that it is there.
When we say accept, we mean let it be... let it be. To downplay it. It doesn't matter
that it's there, it doesn't matter what it makes you think or feel. Let her be.

Almost all of us have a wrong initial response when an anxiety crisis appears. Our
nature as human beings leads us to avoid unpleasant experiences, and that is why we
prefer to avoid the situation, block it, escape from it.
Don't try to block your anxiety, don't try to escape from it, because as hard as you
block it, that's how hard it will attack you. As fast as you run, he will run after you.

As long as you run away from anxiety, as long as you block it, you will be wasting
energy on it... You will grow tired of blocking and escaping, and eventually
succumb.

This happens because it is not possible to escape from it, nor block it, nor avoid it.
ACCEPT IT. Move with it at its own pace, until it stops being important. When it
stops being important, it will lose all that power. You give it the strength by running
away and blocking it.

Enough of wasting energy to give it to anxiety. It may work for a while, but then
you'll get tired and fall into their trap. You better accept it. A good way to train your
brain for acceptance is by repeating phrases like this:

“I accept and allow my anxiety. I accept that it is there. “I let her be.”

When you accept her, the internal struggle between you and her stops and your
nervous system has a chance to relax.

The strange sensations it makes you experience no longer matter, nor do the macabre
thoughts it brings to your head. It's just nervous excitement. Accept that those
feelings are there... Well, they are just that, feelings. Don't resist them, they are
there, but they are not important. They will pass.

“What you resist, persists,” says a wise man. On the other hand, what we accept, we
can transform. When we fully accept our anxiety by letting it be, without escaping
from it or fighting against it, we begin to transform it.

You have to learn to be comfortable with your anxiety ailments.

The secret to recovery is getting to the point where you truly allow and accept your
anxiety. At that point, it will begin to collapse naturally.

Something very important for ACCEPTANCE is to stop being in a hurry to get out
of the hole.

It is counterproductive to be constantly thinking about how we feel or to wake up

and wonder how we are going to feel today, if we are going to be anxious, if we will
have palpitations. It doesn't matter. Let it be.

Instead of asking yourself if you will be anxious today, ask what level of anxiety you
will be able to accept and dismiss today.
 WELCOME, ANXIETY
You must understand that when we say not to resist and accept your anxiety, it is not
about feeding your fears, but about allowing them to be there to fall under their own
weight.

It is about building a new relationship with your anxiety, from another point of view:
as an external observer.

Notice how thoughts, symptoms and sensations appear. Don't walk away from them,
don't ignore them. Watch them. If you do it the right way, you will achieve a healing
effect on your nervous system. Because when you get to know them and move
around with them, you'll realize that they are harmless. You will accept them and
they will lose importance. Eventually they will lose strength and collapse.

Think of your anxiety as a door-to-door salesman. They're always around. But this is
a pretty persistent one that insists on showing up at your door all the time, knocking
and making noise that upsets and annoys you.

Days go by and you continue to avoid the salesman at all costs, running away so that
he doesn't catch you when you leave or enter your house. This foolish salesman will
only leave you alone when you invite him into your house and he tells you what he
has to say, while you simply look at him without giving any importance to his words
or what he offers you.

You just watch him, because you know that when he finally finishes saying what he
wanted to tell you, he will leave. Especially since you decide not to buy what they
came to sell you.

Because you don't believe in their product. The salesperson will lose his desire to
bother you and will walk away. Maybe one day he will come back, but you will no
longer find it so uncomfortable to accept his presence, and again, he will eventually
leave.

You must also invite anxiety to come sit next to you and tell you what it has to tell
you. When you see that it is nothing important, he will leave. You will not buy their
misleading offers.

You can practice saying phrases like the following:

“Welcome, anxiety: I’m not going to fight you anymore. Let's make a truce. Sit next
to me. Tell me what you have to tell me."

“I accept and allow this feeling of anxiety and these anxious thoughts.”

By accepting anxiety and inviting it to sit next to you, you will unleash a liberating
feeling.

By not resisting, you allow your body and mind to freely relax with all this nervous
energy. You have to do it convinced of it, that it will give the result you want.

Whenever you feel a surge of nervous energy, you should treat it like a friend who
visits you and sits with you.

Your anxiety will not grow if you receive her with such hospitality. Because it is
your fears, rejections and resistances that feed it.

Let anxiety manifest itself in whatever way it pleases, in your body or in your mind.
Does it give you a lump in your throat? Does it make your heart rate go up? Does it
attack you with chaotic thoughts? It doesn't matter. Let her be... Tell her she's
welcome. Let your body vibrate with nervous excitement without any resistance.
Then it will start to fade away.
While anxiety is there with you, you can say words like these to it:

“I accept and allow my anxiety. I accept and allow the sensations that it makes me
experience.”

But understand one thing: we know it's not nice. He is not a welcome visitor. It is
not nice to feel fear, anguish, palpitations, lumps in the throat. But you still have to
accept it all and welcome it because that is the only way these symptoms will go
away naturally. Think of it like taking medicine that tastes bitter. You know that's
not it.

It will be pleasant on your palate, but it will make you feel much better afterwards.

Always welcome him. Never be upset when anxiety shows up at your door. Be a
good host and smile at him. Invite her in, offer her some tea. You can even, while it
is there with you, give your anxiety a visual image in your mind. Perhaps a
ridiculous caricature. You can also give your anxiety a cute nickname. You can
imagine that he has a ridiculous, very high-pitched voice. Create in your mind a very
ridiculous personification of your anxiety.

The important thing about the previous exercise is to also give a touch of humor and
an absurd connotation to anxiety. This way, you will teach your brain that your
anxiety is just that, a ridiculous and harmless visitor.

And yes, it is harmless. You can't feel threatened by a character as dumb as that.
With a little practice, you'll find that you'll eventually take the onset of anxiety as a
crazy joke that might even make you smile. Practice this game, because even though
it may seem silly, it is excellent training for your mind and helps you relax during
anxiety attacks.

DON'T be afraid to do it, to welcome it and play with it. Don't feel like this will
make you lose control. On the contrary, in this way you begin to put control in your
hands. The more you do it, the better you treat your anxiety and the more ridiculous
you see it, the faster its intensity will decrease. Trust us. We did it and it worked.

Additionally, you must also dare to invite anxiety when you don't see it coming.
When it is hidden.
On your good days, call her. “Hey, anxiety. I invite you to come in. “Come today,
let’s see what you’re going to do to me.” Keep the doors open, stop worrying about
whether he comes or not, because you are already warned.

Don't forget that the fear of fear, the fear of anxiety and the fear of its sensations is
what keeps it there bothering you. If you decide to play with it, you begin to lose
fear and become free again.

This second step we propose may seem a little strange or absurd.

But you have to trust what we tell you. Trust us and at least try it for a couple of
weeks. When your anxiety starts to reduce, you will realize that this is the right way
to do things.

The difference between this proposal and others is that we go to the root of the
problem, the fear of fear and the resistance to anxiety. This method teaches you that
anxiety is just harmless thoughts, fears and feelings.

It is not about avoiding anxiety, distracting yourself from it through other practices
or exercises, but about becoming so aware of it that you accept it and stop resisting it
until you realize that it cannot harm you in any way, so that you can feel comfortable
and free of fear when you see it coming and even unconcerned or indifferent about
whether it will appear or not.
When you do this practice, in a few minutes you begin to lose your fear, you begin
to relax. The sensations are reduced. The nervous disturbance turns into another kind
of energy, perhaps an animosity similar to when you drink coffee. When nervous
energy reaches this point, it is much easier to work with. Now you can use it to get
up and do productive, positive things instead of being upset and paralyzed.
 UNDERSTANDING WHAT ACCEPTANCE IS
We hope that when you put this second step into practice you will be very clear
about what we mean by ACCEPTING your anxiety. It is not a magic word. It's not
that you just say: I accept it. And with this it will magically disappear. To master the
technique, keep this in mind: the key to our method is not to get rid of anxiety, but to
get rid of your fear of anxiety.

We're not going to directly address the crazy feelings that anxiety triggers in your
body and mind. We are going to put an end to the constant fear that these sensations
awaken in you. It's the only way to free yourself.

We know firsthand how annoying it is to live with our nerves on edge all the time.
We know all the reactions that our body and mind suffer when the brain sends
anxious signals. But understand this: Our goal is not to free you from those feelings.
We don't want you to achieve an artificial, tense calm. It is not a method to help you
relax quickly in the middle of a crisis and make your body stop shaking or your heart
immediately slow down. If we taught you that, we would be making the mistake of
teaching you to resist anxiety.

What we want to teach you is NOT TO BE AFRAID, no matter how many strange
sensations are moving inside you. When you ACCEPT, there will be no fear, even if
you experience the craziest “symptoms.”
 OBSERVE YOUR ANXIETY
When you invite your anxiety to come and sit next to you, you give yourself the
opportunity to observe it. You are a witness to everything he does to you. Instead of
being trapped and paralyzed by fear, become an observer of everything you are
experiencing. You go from victim to curious observer.

It takes some training to achieve this, but of course you can do it. Soon you will be
feeling those strange symptoms without feeling uncomfortable because you will be
busy studying them. Your thoughts change from fearful to curious.

And you can feel confident that nothing bad will happen. You already know... They
are just feelings and feelings don't kill. Doesn't it give you relief to know that you no
longer have to try to control anxiety but rather let its whims flow harmlessly through
you?

You will soon be better and will have overcome this second step. You'll know when
you see the anxiety coming on and you no longer feel petrified or distressed about it.
You may be a little scared, but you won't be paralyzed by it.

It's time to move on to the next level.

 STEP 3. GET EXCITED ABOUT YOUR ANXIETY
Even if you have followed the steps above and are at the point where you accept
your anxiety, you probably still have some fears in your mind. They may not be as
intense anymore, but deep down you may still perceive anxiety as a threat, as
something really harmful.

Now in this third step you must destroy those fears forever by changing the way you
perceive anxious signals. You must change the “chip” in your mind to begin to deal
with anxiety in a positive way.

To understand the above, look at this experiment that some psychologists did.
Participants in two different groups were told that they were testing the effects of a
drug to improve eyesight. What they didn't know was that they were actually being
injected with adrenaline. Adrenaline causes an increase in blood pressure and heart
rate. It gives a lot of energy to the body and mind.

The two groups were separated into different rooms. In each one of them, they put
an actor. In the first group, the actor pretended to be euphoric, full of joy, lots of
energy and excitement. In the second group, the actor took on an attitude of fear,
frustration and anxiety. I'm sure you already guessed what happened... In the
euphoric actor group, all participants became euphoric and excited, while in the
anxious actor room, everyone became anxious and fearful.

What did this experiment prove? Everyone had an extra charge of adrenaline, so
their minds and bodies were charged with great nervous excitement. But the way
they developed their nervous disorder changed depending on what they perceived
through the actor. Each group interpreted what they felt differently, thanks to a
stimulus that led them to perceive what was happening to them in a different way.

The test made it clear that it is not the bodily sensations we feel that trigger our
emotional responses, but rather our perception of those sensations that determines
our feelings and responses.

The same thing happens with anxiety. The way you perceive it influences the way
you channel it. If you perceive something terrible that scares you, your body and
mind will become in tune with anxiety and fear. If you perceive that you are full of
euphoria and energy, then your body and mind will also channel it that way. If you
get excited about anxiety, your body and mind will be excited, but not scared.
At this stage, you need to start changing the way you perceive anxiety in your mind.
You must receive it with emotion, excitement and a certain euphoria. Mind you,
we're not asking you to become addicted to it or anything like that.

What we are looking for is that every time anxiety appears, you let all the energy
that it injects into you flow, from a different perception, and use all that energy to go
in another direction, a direction contrary to fear and anxiety and closer to joy and
activity.

Remember that anxiety is a wave of energy flowing through your body. This energy
is not going to harm you in any way. It is your interpretation of this energy that
makes it a problem for you and traps you in the vicious cycle of being afraid of fear.

After all, fear and excitement are different sides of the same coin. The key is to learn
to turn the perception of these sensations from negative to positive. Put the coin on
the right side. When you have learned to perceive your anxiety as a manifestation of
a high level of energy within you, which you can manipulate at will, the feeling of
threat will collapse.

When anxiety is there, the entire nervous system is filled with that energy. Let it
flow within you fully, but change the “chip”. From fear to excitement, from anguish
to joy and EMOTION.

A good practice within this third step is to repeat in your mind something like this:

“I am excited by these sensations.”

Repeat this several times until you begin to feel a change in how you are perceiving
this nervous energy.

But you don't just have to say it. Take advantage of the energy that is flowing in
your body. Shake it, dance it, jump it. Do something joyful and intense that makes
you release all the energy that flows inside you. If you are at the office, you can go
to the bathroom or somewhere where you can do it alone. This is in case you are shy
and don't want people to look at you strangely.

The point is to prevent the brain from misinterpreting feelings of anxiety, from
perceiving them as a threat. Instead, you have to “trick” your anxious mind, playing
with it so that it experiences different sensations.
In this way, you will be teaching your emotional brain the following: “There is no
threat.
I'm not worried about these feelings. It's just nervous excitement. “I welcome it, let it
flow within me and transform it into something exciting and joyful.”

As we mentioned before, it doesn't matter if repeating these phrases or doing these

exercises seems false to you. In the end, by repeating it over and over, you will
achieve the results you want. It doesn't matter if you have to pretend at first.

Do it!

As time goes by you will see how you finally change the direction of all the
sensations that accumulate inside you. It is very important that you do this, because
when there is anxiety, there is energy and energy and more energy flowing into the
body, mind and nervous system.

All that energy needs to be transformed, because if it gets trapped inside you, if you
become paralyzed with fear, it will make you feel worse. That's one of the reasons
why you always feel tired.

So from now on, GET EXCITED about your anxiety!

Let out everything you have inside, but with euphoria and joy.
 STEP 4. GET BUSY
By now you should have applied the previous three steps of our method and should
be heading in the right direction. But your anxious mind may want to betray you and
find a way to make you fall back into that state of paralysis and fear you once were
in.

This fourth step is short, but extremely crucial, because it represents your arrival at
the GOAL. You've already gone almost all the way, but you still have a little bit left.
This final phase is designed to keep your anxious mind far away from the wrong
path so that your nervous system can finish relaxing and stabilizing. This stage is
what teaches you not to RELAPS.

The key right now is to occupy your mind with something productive, something
useful that will keep your attention and keep your life flowing despite any anxious
threats.

It's not about distracting yourself, or avoiding anxiety through distraction. It is very
important for you to be clear that this is something very different from distraction.
The point of GETTING BUSY is to show your mind that anxiety will not keep you
from your real life, your occupations and your activities. Show anxiety that even
though it is there, your life goes on.

She's not going to paralyze you. You don't care about her, so you insist on taking
care of her.

The most important thing here is not to be idle. Idleness works against recovery. If
you are inactive, idle and just thinking, it is most likely that anxious, fearful and
threatening thoughts will try to regain an important place in your head.
When you are unoccupied, you will surely start to “check” if you are okay, “check”
your entire body and mind looking for any indication that something is wrong or
trying to convince yourself that everything is fine. And that's not the idea.
Remember that all of that should no longer matter to you, but the anxious mind is
foolish and tends to relapse.

There will be times when anxiety, disturbance, and fear will want to appear to
torment you. But you must not relapse. Don't worry, let her be. Remember that anxiety is a
natural mechanism, so it is always latent.
The key here is to not give it any importance and, being aware that it is not harmful,
keep yourself busy with your daily activities and not paralyze yourself.

Suppose you are in your office, at home or in any public place and suddenly you feel
a wave of anxiety approaching. Maybe your heart skips a beat or your mind fills
with negative thoughts.

If anxiety appears at this moment, you already know how to deactivate the initial
fear by not resisting it, by moving with it and letting it be.

You already know that you must allow anxiety to be present, accept that it is there
with you. You already know that you must channel and release the energy that it
brings with it in the form of positive emotions.

But at this point in your “training,” what you need to do next is focus on a specific
task.

Focus again on what you were doing. If you were at work, apply yourself to a
specific task. If you are at home doing any task, do it again, get busy with it. Don't
paralyze yourself. If you were inactive, find something to do.
Call a friend, go for a run, clean out your closet. Keep yourself busy with something
useful and show your anxiety that your life goes on and that you don't care about it.

If you don't take care of it, you'll be at risk of falling into self-scanning,
overthinking, checking to see if something's wrong, analyzing every little sensation.
Keep yourself busy, do something useful for yourself, while at the same time dealing
a final blow to anxiety by telling it that your life continues and is full and that you
are the one in control. Not her.

CONCLUSIONS ON THE FOUR STEPS

If you dared to follow the path with us and have already put the four steps into
practice, we are sure that you feel much better. You are probably already in control
of your anxiety rather than it controlling you, and the fear has certainly diminished,
if not disappeared altogether.

But we know that there are people who are more resistant to getting out of anxiety,
either by their own nature, because they block themselves, they are skeptical of the
solutions we propose or simply because the level of their disorder is already at more
advanced stages and it is more difficult for them to move forward.

It doesn't matter, don't faint. Keep repeating the steps over and over. And keep in
mind that this does not end here. In the next part we are going to give you more tools
to get the relief you need.

But first, let's refresh what you've learned so far, review the keys to what we've
taught you, and add some recommendations that will help you better understand the
four steps and make it easier for you to practice them.
 RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE FOUR STEPS

- Don't over-analyze each step. Just fulfill them, no matter what. Don't stop to ask
yourself questions like: “Am I doing this right? Should I try harder? “Could it be
that it is working?”

- Apply the steps every time you feel anxious. Don't stop doing it. Accustom your
body, your mind and your own anxiety to your new attitude.

- If you manage to relax with the four steps and after a few minutes you feel the
anxiety coming back, follow the steps again. We insist, do it every time. This
repetition will make the process faster, easier and more natural each time.

- Always keep this method “on hand” and use it whenever you need it. It's like a tool
that you may not be very good at using at first, but with practice you will become an
expert.

- Use your own phrases. When we tell you to repeat phrases internally or out loud to
manifest the ideas of the four steps to your brain, you don't have to take it literally.
Create your own expressions that you feel most comfortable with and that are more
familiar to you.
 THE KEYS TO THE FOUR STEPS
- Don't resist anxiety. Don't avoid anxiety. Don't escape from anxiety. She is a
natural mechanism that will always be present within you. Trying to block it and run
away from it will give it more strength. You must move with it as if it were a wave.

- Accept anxiety. Let her be there with you. Invite her in. Welcome him. No matter
how bad it makes you feel, just let it be there because you know it's harmless.

- Play with her. Play with the image you have of her. Mentally draw a cartoon that
represents your anxiety. Ridicule her, laugh at her. It's the best way for you to learn
to lose respect for her, to forget the respect you have for her and to be able to make
fun of her and thus your mind gets used to the fact that there is nothing to fear,
because she is ridiculously harmless.

- Get excited along with your anxiety. Use all the energy that infuses your body and
mind to express positive feelings. Don't waste all that energy by keeping it inside
yourself. Turn it into something positive. Make it come out. Remember that
allowing all that energy to get trapped in your body will make you feel sick and
tired. Move, jump, dance, turn all those sensations into positive emotions. Be happy
with the anxiety so that your brain learns that it is not a threat, that you should not be
afraid of it.
- When anxiety wants to come back, don't relapse. Get busy. Occupy your mind
with something useful. Continue the activity you were doing when it occurred or
simply occupy yourself with something new if you were doing nothing. But don't let
leisure time be an open field for anxiety to control you again. Show your anxious
brain that your life goes on and that anxiety doesn't matter, that it won't paralyze you
and that it will never control you again.

- Repeat these steps as many times as necessary until you are an expert, and when
any anxious signal approaches, do not feel afraid, do not feel fear or think that it is a
threat. Then you will have control over all those energies that flow within you and
anxiety will be something of such little importance that you will barely pay attention
to it.

Congratulations on getting this far. Now keep reading so you can better understand
what has been happening to you and learn how to deal with certain situations that
anxiety puts us in.
PART 2. THE “SYMPTOMS” OF ANXIETY AND
HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM
 TECHNIQUES TO DEAL WITH THE
“SYMPTOMS” OF ANXIETY
In this chapter we are going to explain in a clear and simple way what happens
inside our brain when we suffer from these annoying anxiety attacks. And what are
the appropriate reactions that we should put into practice, within the four steps
learned so far.

As we explained above, anxiety is nervous energy that flows within our body, but it
does not flow normally but rather at high speed and with great intensity. We feel like
we've been injected with adrenaline, just like our friends in the experiment we told
you about in Step 3.

You should also remember that when we have generalized anxiety or suffer anxiety
attacks, the brain is activated and begins to send wrong signals, because it is
deceived by anxiety. The brain “believes” that it should be put on alert as if there
were a threat.

These signals from the brain and all that energy flowing through us make our body
respond, and sometimes it responds in the craziest ways. Our confused body looks
for a way to react to all those stimuli and all those erroneous signals. This is when
we begin to experience a range of the strangest symptoms.

Each person manifests or externalizes different symptoms, depending on their

personality, the level of anxiety they are suffering from, what their fears are, their
physical or health condition, their level of fatigue, etc. However, while many people
with anxiety experience the craziest and most outlandish feelings, there are certain
general “symptoms” that most anxious people experience.

Below we are going to present you with a series of tips and techniques that you
should apply every time one of these symptoms appears. These techniques are based
on the four steps, but will add certain variations or details.

Although it may seem repetitive, it is necessary to reinforce the concept of the

method in particular situations.

We are also going to try to make you understand why your body makes you
experience these sensations. We want to clarify that when we say symptoms, we are
referring to sensations, and that these are not “symptoms” of a disease.

We must also make it clear that it is always positive to go to the doctor for an
examination, but as a preventive measure and not to follow hypochondriac impulses,
which are very common in people with generalized anxiety.
 FIRST:
PHYSICAL “SYMPTOMS”
 1. PANIC ATTACKS
Panic attacks occur in people with high anxiety levels. Let's say that on a supposed
scale of 1 to 10, a person with an anxiety level of 8 and above probably suffers from
panic attacks.

To understand what it means to experience something as unpleasant as a panic

attack, you have to experience it yourself. Panic attacks are unforgettable, sometimes
difficult to explain. But if you've already suffered it, you know what we're talking
about.

What is a panic attack?

Remember when we said that anxiety is a defense mechanism. The man in our story,
threatened by a beast or some element of nature, was on alert and his body and mind
were preparing to give a fight or flight response.

When a person with anxiety has a panic attack, it is due to a false and unnecessary
activation of that fight or flight response.

Panic attacks appear suddenly and these are some of the sensations they make us
experience:

• Palpitations, extrasystoles and tachycardia

• Numbness and tingling
• Heavy sweating
• Tremors
• Chest pain and feeling of suffocation or choking
• Nausea and dizziness
• Feeling of unreality
• Chills and hot flashes
• But above all, an intense feeling that we are about to die or that
something very bad is going to happen.

When a person suffers their first panic attack, an uncontrollable fear that it will
happen again immediately sets in their brain. The first thing we need to tell you is
that no matter how unpleasant they are, no matter how horrible they make you feel,
and no matter how much you fear them, panic attacks are harmless.
Nobody dies from a panic attack. Nothing horrible happens when you suffer a panic
attack, beyond the fear and sensations it makes you experience.

Panic attacks are not your enemy, they are your body and brain's responses trying to
keep you safe. It's an ancient biological protection mechanism that releases a bunch
of stress hormones so you can fight off a threat or have the ability to run away as fast
as you can.

The mechanism was very useful when we had to escape from a beast behind a tree,
but if you are only on the subway, on the bus or at work, you do not need all those
hormones and responses.
WHAT TO DO IN THE EVENT OF A
PANIC ATTACK

When you feel the impending terror approaching, you probably ask yourself the
typical questions from Step 1, such as:

“What if... I have a heart attack?” “

The first thing you should do is remember the following:

What happened each time you had a panic attack?

What happened after you felt like you couldn't take it anymore?

The answer is going to be this: “So what... Nothing ever happens.”

And it's true. It peaked and then nothing happened anymore.

No matter how intense the next panic attack you see coming, it will eventually go
away without harming you.

You must keep in mind that all doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists and many
people who have already suffered panic attacks know that they are harmless. So you
should be sure of it too.
 ASK FOR MORE FROM PANIC
To fix this knowledge in your mind, to convince it that the panic attack is harmless
and that nothing ever happens, you must put this technique into practice.

The secret is to get rid of fear, to stop being afraid of sensations. When you have a
panic attack, you have to “get excited” about the anxiety more strongly.

Remember when we said in Step 3 that you should get excited, release all that
energy?

When you feel a panic attack coming on, get excited, run towards him, ask him to
give you more, rush him, pressure him, demand more from him, ask him to become
more aggressive.

You can internally say phrases like:

"Come on! What are you going to do to me?

I want more!

“Show me more!”

At the same time that you speak to your panic, you can “throw yourself in and die.”
Lie down on the floor, fall, demand that the panic attack do its worst, that it “kill”
you.

Perhaps when you read this you feel fear or rejection and say to yourself: “I'm not
crazy to ask panic to give me more. “I’ve had enough of him.” But don't resist. We
will not ask you for anything that could harm you. This is the fastest way to kill
panic attacks.

Do it!

As you practice this part, your adrenaline and stress levels will rise, but they will
peak and eventually begin to decline. In the meantime, you should be aware that by
doing this, you are not in any danger. You will also be going through the process
with full awareness of what is happening to you, understanding it logically.

You may start to feel the rush of panic coming again after it has subsided in
intensity. This is because those substances that produce nervous excitement are still
running through your blood. You must wait a few minutes for them to disappear, and
while you do, move, jump, sing, do something that helps you release energy and
finish draining.

By acting this way you will cause a kind of short circuit that will turn off the fear
switch. The rational part of your brain will be sending a signal to the emotional part
of your brain. It will teach you that there is really no danger. The emotional brain
will turn off the alarm signals and begin to dismiss the idea of turning them back on.

Most people never have another panic attack after practicing this technique two or
three times. And when panic attacks go away, it means that the anxiety level is now
on a lower scale.
 2. SENSATIONS IN THE HEART
Most people who suffer from anxiety or panic attacks have at some point feared for
the health of their heart. This is because they constantly experience sensations such
as palpitations, tachycardia, pins and needles, or changes in heart rate.

You are probably one of those who has gone to the doctor to check on your heart
health and has probably been told that everything is fine. But since you continue to
feel these strange palpitations and movements in your chest, even tightness, you fear
that you have some pathology that the doctor has not been able to diagnose.
 PALPITATIONS
Palpitations are moments when the heart suddenly starts beating faster than normal,
for a short period of time. This makes you set off alarm bells because you think you
might have a heart attack. When you start to feel fear, your heart may start to beat
faster and then tachycardia occurs.

You should know that palpitations are completely natural and happen to most
people. Sometimes they are caused by exhaustion, other times by stimulants like
coffee. Sometimes the heart just tries to find a way to readjust itself. Don't be afraid
of palpitations. Your heart is a very strong muscle and it's not going to suddenly stop
or explode just because you had a palpitation.
 OVERTURNS OR EXTRASYSTOLES
These are missed beats, meaning that the rhythm suddenly changes and there is an
extra beat between the normal beats. When you feel this, your heart may also
become more excited and start beating faster. You may freeze in terror. But fear not.
Generally these types of heartbeats are harmless.

Remember that your heart, no matter how strong and healthy it is, is not a perfect
machine, it is not a Swiss watch. Sometimes the pace will change. It's going to speed
up or it's going to slow down. Maybe you have one beat too many or one beat too
few. It doesn't matter. No problem. These are just normal changes that occur in
everyone's hearts.
WHAT TO DO IN THE EVENT OF PALPITATIONS AND
EXTRASYSTOLES
When palpitations, tachycardia or extrasystoles appear, questions immediately come
to mind. “What if my heart doesn’t stop beating fast and suddenly stops?

And the answer must be something like: “So what! I know my heart is in good
health. “He’s just having a different time.”

The important thing is to deactivate from Step 1 the initial fear that comes when you
wonder what would happen. He just downplays the matter. Let your heart beat at
whatever pace it sees fit. Don't try to control your heart rate. Let your heart rate
flow, rise and fall with your heart. Trust him. Your heart knows what it's doing.

From now on you can make a verbal agreement with your heart. You're going to tell
him: “Sweetheart, I trust you 100%. I'll let you do whatever you want to do.” By
allowing your heart to do what it wants, you will free yourself from the anxiety that
comes from checking your heartbeat.

If these palpitations want to turn into a feeling of panic or a possible panic attack,
you already know what you should do. Run towards the panic attack. Get excited
and ask Him to give you more. After you have deactivated the fear, activate Step 4.
Continue what you were doing. Get busy with something. Let your heart be and
exist. Don't check your pulse, don't check your palpitations. Your life goes on even
if your heart is doing things that seem strange to you.
 3. ANXIOUS BREATHING – CHOKING –
OPPRESSION
When you are anxious you breathe badly but you don't realize it. An improper way
of breathing causes all kinds of sensations. Shortness of breath, chest tightness,
dizziness and many more. When this happens, you start to fear that you're going to
have a heart attack or that you'll suffocate from not being able to take the next
breath.

If you hyperventilate, all your “symptoms” will go into overdrive and you may
become desperate. But don't do it. You're not going to drown or have a heart attack.
 WHAT TO DO IN THE FACE OF OPPRESSION
Chest tightness is one of the most common complaints among anxious people. So is
tightness in the throat, but like all others, these discomforts are harmless. Many say
they feel as if they have a weight or band pressing on their chest. Others say they
feel as if someone is squeezing their neck.

Chest and throat tightness are caused by both inadequate breathing and digestive
problems resulting from stress. If you are anxious, your nerves tend to “grab” you by
the stomach. Stress can cause acid reflux or poor digestion. This puts chemicals at
risk of entering your digestive system.

These substances touch the nerves in that area, and these in turn send signals of pain
or discomfort, which then radiate and are perceived as "pain" or tightness in the
chest if it occurs in the stomach, and if it occurs in the esophagus, as tightness in the
throat. When this happens to you, you tend to think that you are drowning or that
there is something wrong with your heart. But it's nothing more than the digestive
system sending responses to the stress levels you inject into it.

You might be wondering...

“What if I have a heart attack?”

What if I have heart disease?

“What if my throat closes up so much that I choke?”

Answer: “So what... Nothing has happened to me so far when I have had this
feeling. It's not my heart and I'm not going to suffocate. “It’s just my stomach.”

Next, accept the sensations and let them be there... In the end they won't do anything
to you. You can even ridicule, in Step 2, your view of those sensations. There will
come a point where they will no longer be so uncomfortable. Just make fun of them.
If you downplay them, you will stop being so tense and

they will disappear.

Don't paralyze yourself thinking that your throat will close up completely or that
you're having a heart attack. Get on with your life. Tomorrow you will still be there
and most likely you will not feel that way anymore.
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE DROWNING AND
HYPERVENTILATION
Stressed and anxious people breathe poorly. His breathing is shallow. You may not
realize it, but when you're anxious, you breathe faster, taking in air more frequently
than a relaxed person. This causes your brain to take in more oxygen than it needs
and causes an imbalance between oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood and
brain.

This imbalance sets off the well-known alarms and all kinds of sensations begin to
bother you. You feel like your lungs are not providing you with the oxygen you
need, although it is quite the opposite, you are filling your brain with more oxygen
than it needs.

These types of sensations make you keep checking the way you breathe. When you
have anxious breathing you can even hyperventilate, that is, your breathing is so
short and so fast that the imbalance we are talking about is much more violent and
you end up stressing yourself out even more.

But we insist, that is not going to kill you. You just have to learn to breathe
correctly.

In the meantime, apply Step 1 immediately when thoughts come into your head.
“What if... I faint from lack of oxygen or get to the point where I can't breathe
anymore?” Don't let this worry you. You might spend hours and hours fearing that
you won't be able to breathe, but trust us, you'll always end up breathing.

The correct answer should be something like: “So what! All the times I've
hyperventilated I haven't passed out. And if I faint, someone will pick me up or I
will just get back up.” Also, you need to understand this: no matter how hard you
try, you're not going to stop breathing.

Breathing is not voluntary, no matter how hard you try to hold it, you won't be able
to do it. You will always end up breathing. Breathing is natural, it happens on its
own, it doesn't need you.

Once you have convinced yourself of the above, you will be able to continue
applying the steps even if your breathing is still labored, but having this knowledge
will give you some peace of mind and you will finally have to relax or at least
maintain a level that does not lead to a panic attack due to hyperventilation.

Try to downplay this point as well. Forget about the way you breathe and continue
with your life, with the activities you were doing (Step 4).

Anyway, at the end of the book we add some tips that can help you with this and
other problems. But in the meantime, remember to approach each attack by
following the four steps.
 4. FAINTING - DIZZINESS - VERTIGO
The dizziness and vertigo experienced by people with high levels of anxiety or panic
are usually caused by their breathing problems. It is one of the most uncomfortable
discomforts because it makes you feel vulnerable. When you feel dizzy and light-
headed or unsteady, you fear that you might faint. You get the feeling that something
bad might happen to you when you are in a public place surrounded by strangers.

Hyperventilation is one of the main triggers of this type of fainting or instability.

You may even want to avoid facing certain situations because you feel that
something bad could happen to you while you are not in a place you consider “safe.”

Now pay attention: it is very rare for an anxious person who experiences these
dizziness and fainting spells to actually faint. Fainting is also a defense mechanism
when a person has very low blood pressure. The body falls to the floor so that blood
flow to the brain is easier.

Do not be afraid. Fainting is an extremely rare event. We highly doubt your brain
needs any more blood than is flowing through it, so don't be afraid of passing out.
This feeling is also due to the fact that there is a lot of adrenaline and stress
hormones flowing through your bloodstream, as your anxious brain thinks there is a
threat. But you know there is no such threat.

Going back to our friend, the prehistoric man, imagine that he had fainted every time
his blood ran faster or his adrenaline was pumping because he felt threatened. The
history of humanity would have been different. Humans wouldn't have survived then
if they fainted all the time.
 WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU FEAR FAINTING
When you feel dizzy, weak, light-headed, harmful thoughts come to you and you
start to get scared because you think you are going to faint, immediately deactivate
them with a resounding answer: “So what... If I faint, I faint. I couldn't help it. “I’ll
wake up again in a little while.”

If you feel dizzy, we recommend that you find a place to sit down to stabilize
yourself. If you feel dizzy or lightheaded while driving, it is always a good idea to
stop for a while to try to stabilize and orient yourself before continuing to drive.

In the meantime, accept these sensations by saying something like, “I allow my body
to feel dizzy.”
When the fear of fainting is persistent and is leading you to a possible panic attack,
then you should get emotional along with that feeling, just as we recommended
before for panic attacks.

Challenge your anxiety. Tell him to make you faint. Ask him, tell him something
like:

“Are you going to make me weaker?” OK. Make me faint now. Come on! Make me
faint.”

At this point you can also lie down on the floor. Of course you're not going to lose
consciousness. So keep challenging your anxiety: “Aren’t you going to make me
faint?” “So I'll get up and get on with my life.”

It's clear that your anxiety is not going to make you faint, no matter how much you
ask it to. The fear will eventually fade away after practicing it several times. After
doing this you should start to get busy again, keep your interest in something useful,
continue with your life even if you feel a little dizzy, as long as the dizziness does
not represent a risk for that activity (driving, for example). In these cases, you know,
stop for a moment to stabilize yourself and then continue.

Caution: It is important that you do not avoid situations in which you commonly
begin to feel dizzy or faint. Keep doing those activities even if it scares you. Don't
avoid them, get on with your life.
 5. NAUSEA
We have already mentioned that anxiety has a great impact on the digestive
system and the abdominal region. Sometimes, anxious people may feel a
nervous feeling in the pit of their stomach, something like when we talk about
“butterflies in the stomach.” Many times, this discomfort causes us to fear
vomiting and the fear increases the feeling of nausea even more, making it
even more likely that we will vomit.

Surely this fear of vomiting and this nausea are more intense when you are
away from home. At home you feel safer and think you can just go to the
toilet and throw up. There is less stress about this issue and you just don't fear
it. By not fearing, the stomach relaxes. However, if you are in other places or
situations, your fear increases because the urge to vomit represents a much
greater and more uncomfortable nuisance. In any case, we will tell you what
we always tell you: vomiting or feeling nauseous is not a danger. It's not
going to kill you, and if you throw up it's not the end of the world.
 WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE AFRAID OF
VOMITING
You know that the first thing is to eliminate the thoughts of “What would
happen?”

Perhaps thoughts like... “What if I throw up?” come to mind. Overcome that
fear with answers like this: “It doesn’t matter. I have a bag here that I can
vomit into if I need to. Or I'll go to the bathroom and get this over with. It's
not a big deal, it makes everyone want to throw up."

After this, allow that sensation to flow into your stomach in any way it wants.
Don't resist the feeling. This will lower your stress level, and your stomach
will most likely relax and stop sending those urges to vomit to your brain,
while your abdominal muscles will begin to relax and the nausea will
decrease.

If even after doing this you are still worried about feeling like vomiting, use
this well-known and valuable tool: Challenge your anxiety. Ask him to make
you vomit. At first you may need to carry a paper bag with you that you can
vomit into if necessary. You will probably never use it, but having it there
will give you some relaxation.

The truth is that whether you vomit or not, you must then continue with your
life and resume the tasks you were doing. Remember, don't pay attention to
these episodes. As you relax and lose your fears and anxieties, that feeling
will disappear forever.
 OTHER SENSATIONS AND SYMPTOMS
Below we will present another series of sensations, “symptoms,” discomforts
and responses that your body experiences when you suffer from anxiety or
panic attacks. In the previous points you were able to see how you should
apply the four steps when these discomforts arise. It's basically the same
thing, but we wanted to break down the most important ones so you have a
clearer idea of how to do it.

However, we will only explain these other problems that we will talk about
later so that you understand why they happen to you, although we will add
some brief advice. But by now you should know exactly what to do when
these and other symptoms appear. You simply have to apply the four steps,
adapting the phrases, ideas and responses to the discomfort you want to treat.

We want to present this additional explanation so that your logical mind

understands the mechanism that leads you to experience these strange
sensations. By becoming more aware of this, the emotional part of your mind
will relax and you will lose the fear of feeling any ailment.
 MUSCLE TENSION - TREMORS
When your body prepares to fight or flee, your muscles tense up. Especially
those on your neck and upper body.
Since you ultimately do not make any physical effort, this tension remains
trapped in your muscles for too long, making your body feel tense and stiff.
Sometimes even the muscles begin to shake or tremble. But don't worry, you
know it's just a reaction to excess adrenaline.

You can try stretching. Walk, shake yourself up a bit to release the pent-up
energy. It is also positive to perform self-massages or ask someone to give
you massages for muscle relaxation. You can search for tutorials on this
subject on the internet.
 SWEATING
Sweating is a mechanism to keep our body cool. In a fight or flight situation,
your body needs to maintain an adequate temperature so as not to overheat
when escaping or facing danger.

The bad thing is that since it is a false alarm, you start to accumulate sweat
unnecessarily and this can even cause you some social embarrassment when it
becomes noticeable. And it can become a vicious cycle, because the anxiety
of sweating can make you feel more nervous and cause even more sweating.
You should relax. Try to cool off and don't think about it too much.
 I REALLY WANT TO GO TO THE BATHROOM
Anxious people feel the urge to go to the bathroom more frequently. It may
seem very strange, but it is also a defense and survival mechanism. When a
person, like our prehistoric friend, had to run away from a threat, he needed to
go as light as possible and unload all unnecessary weight on his body.

The answer is that the urge to pee or even to have a bowel movement
increases. That's why when we're scared or nervous, we feel the urge to go to
the bathroom. Of course you don't need to download anything because you
are not in a real threat. But in the end it's also harmless, although a little
annoying. Try to relax and shake off your fears so this doesn't happen to you.
 DIFFICULTY SWALLOWING
We already told you that anxiety can cause a feeling of tightness in the neck
area. This lump in the throat often makes swallowing difficult, meaning it
makes it harder to swallow when trying to drink or eat.

Inside the throat there are muscles, and if you are stressed and tense, those
muscles are also stressed and tense. That's why you have that feeling like
something is choking you. As with everything else, the key to this is to relax.

If this lump in your throat is a very annoying problem for you when eating,
try doing the following. Chew, chew and chew. In the end, swallowing, that
is, the act of swallowing, is a natural reflex so you will undoubtedly end up
swallowing. Your throat is not going to close up to the point of not letting you
eat.

Remember that you should always try to relax. You know that oppression is
not a disease. A good exercise to release tension is to sing a lot. Sing and sing
to reduce muscle tension around the neck and throat.
 HEADACHES - MIGRAINE
High levels of anxiety and stress cause headaches that can turn into migraines.
When we say migraine we mean a headache that is felt much more intensely
and that makes you more sensitive to light, sounds and movements.

For example, if you work in front of a computer, a migraine can be triggered

because you constantly stare at the lights on your monitor.

Tension headaches are the most common. These pains are caused by the
tightening of the muscles in your neck, head and upper back. People with
chronic migraine often also suffer from stress, anxiety and even depressive
disorders.

Anxiety can trigger tension headaches because by keeping you stressed and
anxious, muscle tension is always present.
Although your doctor should be the one to give you instructions on what to do
in the event of persistent headaches or migraine attacks, we recommend that
you try to gently massage your scalp and the back of your neck with your
fingertips to release the tension that is radiating pain to your head.
 BLURRY VISION
Situations of stress, fear, anxiety and panic cause the pupils to dilate rapidly.
This causes blurred vision, although this can also be the result of eye strain if
you strain your eyes for too long or when the muscles in your eyes begin to
lose elasticity with age.

Anxiety often causes blurred vision, but if it occurs with other symptoms such
as tearing or discharge, you should have your eyes examined by a doctor.

Remember that when you are in an anxious state you tend to get more tired.
The eyes also become tired, which can cause blurred vision. Nowadays, many
people strain their eyesight due to their jobs in front of a computer.

If you are an anxious person and work in front of a computer, you are very
likely to have blurred vision. We recommend that when you feel like you are
straining your eyes too much, try to relax a little, close your eyes and let them
rest for a few minutes and then continue with what you were doing.
 WEAK OR SHAKY LEGS
Another strange experience that comes with anxiety is the feeling that your
legs are like jelly. You feel that they become fragile, weak. You get the
feeling that they might bend and make you fall.

This is due to the adrenaline that is released in your body. Excess of this
substance can cause a sensation of weakness in the muscles, especially in the
legs. When people are nervous they tend to feel like they can't get up, that
their legs don't have enough strength to keep them standing.

But it's quite the opposite. It's a sign that your legs are being prepared to
move, to run, flee or whatever. That's why you shouldn't be afraid of getting
up and walking. If you're walking and your legs start to feel like jelly, keep
walking. Still standing. You don't need to find a place to sit, because doing so
will reinforce the idea that your legs are weak.

You have to practice this part and keep walking. It doesn't matter if you feel
like your legs are weak or that they will fail you at any moment and make you
fall.

The more you do it, the more your brain will learn that your legs are actually
prepared to support you as much as you want.
 TINGLING - Prickling
Tingling sensations often occur at the beginning of panic attacks, although
they can also occur simply when you are anxious. It is a strange sensation as
if small needles are pricking you all over your body.

In medicine this is called paresthesia. You should know that this phenomenon
is not dangerous and has no physical effect, so do not be alarmed. It's
perfectly natural, and once your anxiety levels are low, it will go away.
 SECOND: MENTAL DISORDERS
All the sensations, anxieties, recurring negative thoughts, states of anxiety,
fear or false threats that you experience when you suffer from anxiety exhaust
your mind.

In this part of our book you will learn that all the mental disturbances, those
fears of losing control, those negative and catastrophic thoughts that flutter
through your mind over and over again, are not signs of a psychiatric illness
or anything like that.

It's simply that your mind is very exhausted and sends wrong responses and
signals, just as your body does when faced with the stimulus of fear.

Recurring, catastrophic thoughts come and go. You start to feel afraid of
losing control, of going crazy. You start to feel desperate thinking that you
will be like this forever. You fear that you might end up in the asylum.

Hypochondriac thoughts come, you think you are sick and that you could die.
Maybe you get depressed. You feel sad, overwhelmed and hopeless. You are
afraid to go out and do the activities you used to do normally.

You see the world in a different way: the lights, the colors, the people,
everything seems different to you. You feel like you're trapped inside an
unreal world. Sometimes it seems like you don't know yourself, that you are a
stranger to yourself.

We know how unpleasant and devastating it can be. But don't worry. Keep in
mind that all this is the product of an anguished and tired mind.

When questions like “What if I go crazy and end up in an asylum?” come to

mind, don’t allow yourself to give a chaotic answer. Apply the method.
Follow the steps. Create a response that breaks down that fear and
hopelessness.

It can be a joke about your madness, your straitjacket, or anything else that
makes light of the matter.

Remember that you also have to get excited and run towards the sensations,
no matter how uncomfortable they may be. If necessary, challenge your
anxiety to go “crazier.” He won't make it. You won't lose control or get
locked up. Follow the four steps and all this will fade away.
Just like in the previous part, below we are going to describe some of the
sensations or alterations that most frequently “attack” the mind when you are
in an anxious state. This information will help you understand the nature of
the problem and realize that it is nothing serious and that everything has a
solution.

We will give you some recommendations for when these situations arise, but
don't forget: if you follow the method, your level of anxiety will decrease
until you return to normal and all these discomforts will be a thing of the past.

1. EARLY CONCERN
Surely since you are in an anxious state, you are constantly worrying in
advance and anticipating any event that may occur. You worry too much,
because you think too much. You think ahead to what you are going to do
tomorrow and you fear unforeseen events that do not exist and probably will
not occur.

You feel anguish about every step you take and you are filled with doubts.
For example, suppose you are away from home, at some work or social
activity. Everything is going well, but it may take a little longer than you had
anticipated.

Then the anticipated concerns are unleashed. “What if the last bus leaves?”
And if I can't find a taxi, how am I going to get home? You think about
making hasty decisions like leaving before finishing what you were doing. Or
you go about your business without any serenity because you are getting
ahead of yourself.

Let's go back to our prehistoric friend's fight-or-flight mechanism. Something

was supposedly threatening him, so he had to be alert for any eventuality that
might arise while he was trying to survive by fleeing or fighting.

The same thing happens to you. Your defense mechanisms are on alert and
your mind tends to anticipate any situation that may occur. But you already
know that you are not under threat, so all those thoughts are unfounded. You
probably already know this: these thoughts are not harmful, they just maintain
your anxious state. But as the anxiety subsides, the absurd worry will
disappear.

In the meantime, address these concerns by offering answers that will dispel
them. “I can't worry about everything. “It’s absurd.” Make fun of early
worries with absurd statements like this: “What if a meteor hits me on my
way home?”

Sooner or later they will stop bothering you.

2. FEAR OF LOSING CONTROL

After having suffered panic attacks, having kept your mind occupied with
thoughts of catastrophe and having experienced all kinds of strange
sensations, you begin to fear the worst: you feel like you might lose control of
your own mind.

Maybe you're afraid you'll end up doing something crazy, like killing
someone or crashing your car into a wall. Suddenly the thought comes to your
head that you could go out and scream like crazy in the street or run away for
no reason.

The ominous idea arises that you might end up in a mental hospital and that in
the end you won't even know who you are. Believe what we are going to tell
you: you are not going to lose control or end up in the asylum. You are not
going to commit any crazy act.

When you feel like this, you must put your mind at rest. Rest your mind, do
not torment yourself with those fears. You must understand the reason for
those fears. You feel like your body is out of control. Thanks to the stress
hormones in your system, you've been experiencing all sorts of feelings.
Therefore, you believe that your mind will also escape your control, just as
your body is “out of control.”

One clear way to know that you will not lose control is to review what has
happened so far. You have most likely experienced panic attacks, tremors,
fears and all kinds of ailments while in public. But at that time, no one around
you realized you had a problem. You knew how to maintain appropriate
social behavior when that happened to you. You were in control of your
actions.

And so it will continue. Always repeat in your head: “I am in control of my

mind and my life.” When your anxiety levels go down, you will remember
this phase as a joke.

3. CATASTROPHIC THOUGHTS

During anxiety attacks, it is very common for people to have dark,

catastrophic thoughts, as if something very bad is about to happen. It is
common to worry too much when situations arise that did not previously
warrant even a little bit of anguish.

For example, you lose contact with a loved one for a few minutes and
immediately start to think that something very bad may have happened to
them. Macabre thoughts may also come into your head in certain situations.
Suppose you are waiting for the subway on the platform and suddenly you
imagine yourself throwing yourself onto the tracks or against the moving car.

Maybe you are driving and feel like you might have a fatal accident. Or you're
heating something in the microwave and you think it might explode.

Ignore these thoughts, dismiss them, and dismiss them. They are useless and
harmless. All they do is perpetuate your fears, if you let them.

Knock them down with a suitable response. “I'm already tired of all these
catastrophic and fearful thoughts. They are useless, they are false, they are
unreal.” Or something like this: “Anxiety, you are welcome. If it makes you
happier to send me those dark, catastrophic thoughts, do so. I already know
that they can't hurt me." With the passage of time and practice of the method,
these crazy ideas will stop attacking you. We know because we've been there.

4. DEPRESSION

When anxiety drives you so crazy that you fall into a state of depression, the
important thing is not to become paralyzed by sadness. The physical and
mental exhaustion of a person with anxiety disorder makes him or her more
likely to lose his or her temper.

By visualizing a present and a future full of worry and uncertainty, you can
become very vulnerable to falling into depressive states.

Once you start putting into practice the method we are teaching you and your
anxiety levels begin to decrease, we assure you that if you have fallen into
depression, you will be able to get out of it. Because you will see a light at the
end of the tunnel.

You should always apply the four steps, and these also serve to deal with
depressive and sad feelings. Don't stop throwing out happy responses, clever
practices that break down anxious and depressive thoughts. Repeat happy
phrases and ideas in your mind or out loud.

“I am happy, my life is full, I have control over it and I feel better every day.”
It doesn't matter if you feel it's a false statement. Convince yourself that it is
true by repeating it over and over again.

You must keep in mind that within the anxiety crisis, depression is usually a
false sadness. There really is no real reason for you to feel like this. Cheer up.

5. SENSATION OF UNREALITY

Many will agree that the feeling of unreality, after panic attacks, is the most
difficult discomfort to cope with during anxiety crises.

Due to a lack of synchrony generated by stress, the way we perceive the

world changes. It's as if a fog distorts the way your senses perceive reality and
how you perceive yourself. Some describe it as seeing the world through a
veil.

This sensation can be recurrent, persistent and even permanent. There are
those who have spent days and even weeks immersed in a feeling of unreality.
We know how distressing it can be. You feel that something is out of balance
in your brain and it does not allow you to see things as they really are, as if
you were not part of the outside world.

At some point it must have happened to you that you were interacting with a
person close to you, a family member or a friend, and suddenly you feel like
the channel has changed, like something has moved and you no longer see
this person as someone familiar but rather you perceive them as someone
unfamiliar. You look at your surroundings and it seems alien to you too. You
perceive yourself as something strange and alien.

There are two elements that trigger this phenomenon. First, you are anxious,
distressed, worried. Your brain chemistry is in turmoil and the stress hormone
lingers in your system. Second, because of this chemical change, there is a
delay in the transmission of information from your senses to the
neurotransmitters in your brain and body. There is a delay in this process and
a lack of synchrony is generated between sensations and perceptions.

It's kind of like when people are drunk or have consumed marijuana. These
substances “slow them down.” They see everything slower, differently. But in
these cases, they do not react with fear because they know that it is these
stimulants that make them perceive distorted reality.

However, when the sensation reaches you, you do not know that there is a
slight and harmless delay in your perception and so you worry that you have
some brain damage and you torment yourself with the idea of being like this
forever. The most important thing is that you know that the feeling of
unreality or depersonalization does not cause you more harm than the fears
and discomforts that it brings with it.

The worst thing you can do is pay too much attention to it. Don't resist it and
accept it. Let it be. Apply the four steps with patience. The more you try to
check how you are perceiving the sensations and signals coming from the
outside world or the more you check how you see yourself, the more your
anxiety will deceive you and the more this small imbalance will remain in
your brain.

As your anxiety levels drop and your system is freed from stress hormones,
your senses will begin to send information in synchronicity and you will
begin to perceive the world as you always have.

Don't try to remove the "veil" that clouds your senses, because this generates
more anxiety and stress and ends up putting off what you want to get rid of.
Forget it, it's of no importance. And just as drunks “wear off,” you will too,
once you have calmed down. Then the veil will be lifted.
6. INSOMNIA

How easy it is to suffer from insomnia when we go through anxiety crises.

Worries and physical discomfort cause insomnia, insomnia causes worry and
physical exhaustion. It is a terrible vicious circle. But this cycle can be
broken.

When we suffer from insomnia, sleeping becomes an obligation that causes us

stress. That's why the main idea is not to force sleep, not to feel pressure to
sleep. You just have to let what happens, happen. When you go to bed,
consider it as a new opportunity to sleep, don't see it as if you are forced to
sleep. If you go to bed with this worry, your anxiety levels will skyrocket and
it will be more difficult to fall asleep.

If you torment yourself with thoughts of: What if I can't sleep tonight? “I will
be very tired in the morning.” You can repeat phrases like this: “I'm going to
bed. If I can get some sleep that would be great, but if I can't, it won't be the
end of the world. “I will survive.” Don't get frustrated or angry when you're
up all night, because this will increase your stress each night. Take it easy, no
one suffers from insomnia forever.

Challenge your insomnia by saying, “I’m going to stay up as long as I can

tonight, thanks, insomnia.” Try, try to hold on as long as you can. Chances are
you'll fall asleep at some point.

Recommendations against insomnia:

- When you go to bed, don't think about the activities you have to do the next
day, just breathe relaxed.
- Take a warm bath with lavender drops or another relaxing scent before bed.
It will help you relax your muscles.

- Take 300 milligrams of magnesium before bed. Helps improve sleep and
overall health.

- Adjust your room temperature to the level that is most comfortable for you.

- If your mind is very excited, try reading for a while before turning off the
light.
- Use a sleeping mask to cover your eyes. Anxious people are more sensitive
to light than other people.

- If you wake up in the middle of the night, don't get out of bed, as this will
give your head the signal that it's time to sleep. Stay there as relaxed as
possible.

- If you are very upset or obsessed about the next day's events, turn on the
light for a moment and write down your worries. This way you will release
mental energy and stress.

- Find video tutorials on breathing to relax online. These exercises help you
achieve calmness when you are lying down in the dark.
 PART 3. HOW TO DEAL WITH PHOBIAS AND
FEARS
During an anxiety attack, it is very common for you to develop fears or
phobias of particular situations and activities that previously seemed normal
to you, but which now frighten you, so you avoid them at all costs.

Some people may start to feel afraid of driving, being in crowded places,
traveling by plane, etc. These fears do not appear overnight, but they can be
triggered by a first event that caused you a lot of anxiety.

You may have experienced your first panic attack while driving your car.
Then little by little you start to be afraid of driving. Other people may have
had an unpleasant experience in a crowded place, and when they have to be in
crowded places again, they feel extremely anxious. There are those who have
always been used to being alone, but since they suffer from anxiety they are
afraid of loneliness.

There are many phobias that can develop when you are anxious, but here we
are going to review some very common ones and see what techniques you
should use to return to undertaking those tasks as naturally and calmly as you
did before.

The most important aspect that you should take into account if you are
suffering from any phobia is that the only thing you should AVOID at all
costs is AVOIDANCE. Fears must be faced. If you avoid doing that activity
or being in that place that scares you so much, you are reinforcing the fear.
Many anxious people look for the most unusual excuses to avoid the situation
they are so afraid of. They create a kind of comfort zone that they don't want
to leave. If you are one of them, you should know this: a comfort zone that
you never leave, eventually becomes a prison. Don't be a prisoner of your
phobias.

Below we present the techniques you should put into practice to stop being a
prisoner of your fears. If your phobia doesn't appear in this chapter, it doesn't
matter. Remember that all the techniques, methods and advice we provide
here are applicable to any anxiety-related situation you may find yourself in.
Simply adapt our advice to your case.
 1. FEAR OF DRIVING
One of the most common fears among anxious people is driving. It could be
fear of being trapped inside the car when traffic is congested or fear of losing
control while driving and causing a fatal accident.

There are people who have gone years without driving a car because of these
fears. They imagine that they might have a panic attack or an anxiety crisis
and that this could distract them and cause them to crash.

The paradox is that most anxious people tend to be more cautious when
driving their car than other drivers. This is precisely because anxious people
have high levels of sensory alertness, that is, they are much more aware of
what is happening around them and their senses have a greater capacity to
capture everything while they are driving. So the first point you need to
understand is that if you've always been a good driver, the fact that you're
anxious now doesn't make you a bad driver, and if you've had an accident
before, that doesn't mean you're going to have another one either. Stop
worrying about it.

The other situation we mentioned is the fear of being stuck in the middle of
traffic, with no way to escape. In this case, the most important thing to keep in
mind is that traffic will eventually flow. You won't be paralyzed forever and
there will always be a way out.

The first task you must undertake to permanently eliminate your fear of
driving is to get behind the wheel. You can start with a very short and quiet
route, for example in a parking lot or on a quiet street on a Sunday. It all
depends on the degree of fear that driving produces in you. Surely when you
start driving, symptoms of anxiety and panic will appear, and the usual
anxious questions will come to your head.

“What if I have a seizure while driving and crash?” Or maybe... What if my

car breaks down and I'm stranded far from home? You could answer
something like: “So what. If I have a panic attack, I already know how to deal
with it.” You can also say to yourself: “If my car breaks down, I will call a
mechanic or a tow truck to help me.”
Go as far as you can, every time. If you feel panic signs, warning signs, or
have anxious thoughts, continue on your way. Demolish those fatalistic ideas
with appropriate responses. Allow anxiety to send you all the sensations it
wants and accept them. If you do not resist this nervous excitement while you
are driving, the disturbance will gradually decrease in level, because in the
end nothing will happen, you will not crash and you may not even have a
panic attack. By now you know how to deal with it. If you feel dizzy and
weak, you can stop the car for a few minutes until you stabilize and then
continue.

Continue to follow the four steps. Pay attention to everything you do while
driving. Look at other cars, take control of what you are doing and stop giving
importance to the anxious feelings and signals you may be experiencing.
Remember that the goal is not to eliminate those feelings, but to not be afraid
of them.

Important: If you don't feel any signs of anxiety while driving, you're
probably not leaving your comfort zone. Try to go as far as you can each time
you practice. The first few times you can go with another person if you wish,
but after that you should try it alone. Challenge yourself to the point where
you start to feel symptoms of anxiety, because the goal of this practice is for
you to be able to drive even when you experience anxious feelings. It's the
only way to get over it.

One tool you can use to help yourself and make this process more enjoyable is
singing. Add music to Step 3, get excited singing your favorite songs to make
you feel more comfortable and release energy. Complete the four steps until
the end. Do this practice until you feel you can handle any anxious symptoms
that may appear. Can!
 2. FEAR OF SITUATIONS FROM WHICH “
YOU CANNOT ESCAPE”
In this part we will refer to the phobia of being trapped. There are two types
of situations: those that you can leave, but that would be socially “frowned
upon” if you ran away (for example, work meetings, masses, lines to pay at
the supermarket, cinemas, theatres), and those in which you must wait to be
able to leave (going up or down in the elevator, travelling on the subway or
bus, flying on a plane).

Now we are going to deal only with the first case, that is, when you are
“socially trapped.” The real fear in this type of situation is not exactly the fact
that you will get stuck, but the embarrassment or social stress that would be
involved in “escaping” from that place, since you are not really obliged to
stay there and no one is holding you prisoner. You can leave the place if you
want, but this would mean socially “reprehensible” behavior, so you feel
social pressure and stress.

You start asking questions like, “What will people think if I just walk out of
the meeting suddenly?” You must respond appropriately: “So what! If I want,
I can make any excuse and leave, because no one has me chained here."
These types of responses are not giving you an excuse to avoid being in those
tight spots or to run away from them, but rather they prevent you from
generating more anxiety and fear without a justified reason.

To work on this problem, let's consider the following example. Imagine you
are at the beauty salon or at the barber. You know that you have to remain
seated in that chair for the duration of the service being performed, and that
generates stress and anxiety.

In addition to responding appropriately to your anxious questions, you must

accept all the signals that adrenaline produces in your body. She quells her
anxiety by saying to herself, “If I feel like I need to get out of here, I’ll tell the
stylist to excuse me for a minute so I can stretch my legs. What does it matter
what he thinks? If after a few minutes the adrenaline starts to rush, don't resist
the sensations it produces. You also don't have to worry about the person who
is doing your hair noticing that something is wrong with you. It doesn't really
matter. Just let time pass while you apply the first two steps. If you find
yourself becoming agitated, then it's time to get excited and internally "run" to
the rhythm of your anxiety.

You can close your eyes and mentally make fun of the situation and your
fears, imagining yourself getting up and dancing with everyone in the room.
Or any other fun idea you can think of. While the intensity is going down, try
to occupy yourself with step four, by reading a magazine or talking to your
stylist. The important thing is that the process follows its course without you
paralyzing or escaping. Next time it will be much easier.
 3. FEAR OF BEING PHYSICALLY TRAPPED
But... what if you're actually physically trapped? If you have to fly on a plane,
take a long road trip, or take an elevator up and down from high floors, you
have to wait until the end of the ride to “get out” of it. This is one of the
biggest fears of the anxious.

Let's focus this part with the example of traveling by plane. In this case it's
not like you can make an excuse and run away. You must wait to leave there.
We must clarify that here we are not referring to the fear of having an airplane
accident, but rather to the panic attack caused by being trapped inside the
plane.

The first thing you should do is plan your trip well. If flying already makes
you nervous, anxious and stressed, don't add fuel to the fire by leaving
everything to the last minute. Avoid rushing through the airport and starting
the flight with surprises. Also, get plenty of rest and sleep during the night or
in the hours leading up to your trip.

This way you won't be fatigued, which would be counterproductive, since

physical and mental fatigue would contribute to triggering your anxiety
during the flight.
Plan your way to the airport with enough time to do so. Pack your bags
calmly. The moments before the trip should be as relaxed as possible.

Once you board the plane, the anxious feelings will surely begin. Don't resist
them. What's more, you should travel expecting and knowing that the alerts
will go off, it should not be a surprise to you. Takeoff is often the most
stressful moment for most travelers.

During that moment he repeats internally: “I am excited to travel by plane, I

feel excited to fly.” Say it again and really get excited, flying is really
exciting.

When your head is flooded with distressing thoughts and you wonder if a
panic attack or intense anxiety crisis is coming while you are

“stuck” on the plane, you have to answer to yourself: “It’s just going to be
uncomfortable and unpleasant, but it’s not going to kill me and it will
eventually go away.”

If any concerns about possible turbulence come to mind, respond like this: “It
doesn’t matter. If there is turbulence, I will think I am on a roller coaster.
Furthermore, airplanes are very safe vehicles and pilots are trained for this
and it is a normal occurrence.”

When anxious feelings arise, accept them with the knowledge that they
cannot harm you. If your adrenaline is rushing so high that it threatens you
with a panic attack, think this: “There you are, panic. I was hoping you'd
show up during the flight. Welcome". Then you must get excited, demand
more from your anxiety, ask it to send you all the signals it wants. We know
it's not easy to put these recommendations into practice while you're stressed
out on a flight.

We know there are a lot of stress hormones in your system, but the more
excited you are and the more you push your panic in the middle of the flight,
the more confident you will feel in yourself, because you will have the power
and control over your anxiety.

If it's a long trip, the adrenaline surges will come and go several times. As you
face the attacks and follow the four steps, you will regain confidence, so that
in the next attack your fears will be less than in the previous one.
When your anxiety levels drop, turn your attention to something important or
interesting, keep yourself busy. You can read a book or magazine, watch a
movie, listen to relaxing music. The idea is that you continue as if nothing
happened.

When the trip is over, you will feel accomplished and better prepared for the
next time you have to board a plane, because your brain will have understood
that you don't have to be afraid of panic attacks during flights either, and that
even though you were somehow "physically trapped," this didn't last forever
and you reached your destination.
 4. FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
When we say public speaking, we don't just mean speaking in an auditorium
in front of a large number of people, but any situation in which you must
orally express your ideas to a group.

It could be a work meeting, the presentation of a student project, a job

interview. This type of situation can make a person with anxiety very
nervous, as they are afraid of having an attack during the speech. You may
get stressed out thinking that your viewers will notice that you are nervous
and think badly of you. Or that your nerves hinder your way of speaking.

You are probably wondering how to apply the four steps of our method while
you are speaking in front of other people, without having time or space to
mentally prepare yourself, as in other situations we have discussed
previously.

The first recommendation is that you prepare in advance a series of anxious

questions that could attack you during the event and give them the relevant
answers. This way, before the time comes to give your speech, you will
already have the answers in your head that will destroy your chaotic thoughts.

Make a list of possible questions and answers. For example:

“What if I have a panic attack while everyone is watching me?” "It doesn't
matter. “You won’t notice because I will use that energy to emphasize my
words.”

“What if they notice that I'm nervous?” "And... They must have been as
nervous as I was before and they know what it is like.” “What if I go blank
and forget what I'm supposed to say?” “That will not happen. My mind is
alert and very awake and will have all the information at hand.”

In this case, the variation in the steps is that acceptance must be prior to the
moment of the speech. When you arrive at your presentation location, you
should do so accepting and knowing that you will be anxious. This way,
anxiety won't be triggered right when you start speaking, but you'll already be
prepared to feel nervous. Don't try to remain calm and collected. Don't resist.
The effort to try to calm yourself down will only make you feel more excited
and anxious.

When feelings of anxiety appear, let them flow. After a few seconds
everything will start to calm down and you will feel more comfortable. If you
have a lump in your throat, your heart is beating fast, or your voice feels like
it might break, use that energy in another way.

Channel your feelings to liven up your speech. Think that if you were too
calm and relaxed, you might seem boring. If you transform your nervousness
and speak with emotion and emphasis, you will seem more convinced of what
you are saying and you will make the moment more interesting. Gesture with
your arms, walk and move around, don't look at the same person for a long
time.

Move. That way you release energy.

This channeling will allow your energy to be externalized as part of your

speech instead of being trapped inside you attacking your stomach or making
you sweat and shake. If while you're talking your red flag levels get too high,
move with them.

Run with the feelings. During the brief pauses between prayers, encourage
yourself internally with flash thoughts such as: “Come on!” or “Keep going!”
Even if you feel like you can't continue, do it. Yes you can! Push your anxiety
internally, ask it for more (internally) even if it is only for fractions of a
second.

Keep up with the anxiety and fears, keep talking, let the energy flow, move.
All of these elements will, before you know it, gradually relax you.

It must be difficult for you to manage all these tools while speaking.
Understand that every internal thought must be managed in fractions of a
second. There is always a time to do this. Trust us, your mind is capable of
thinking several thoughts about different topics while you speak.

If you pay attention, you will see that while you talk and look at someone, at
the same time you may be wondering what perception that person has of you
or making some mental “comment” about their physical characteristics.
While you're talking, you might wonder if the guy in the corner is falling
asleep or distracted. Instead of focusing your mind on those details, think
about the answers that help you flow with the anxiety and improve your
presentation.

Don't be afraid of forgetting what you should say or getting hung up. Your
anxious mind is constantly active and will always have an outlet or
connection to another new idea. You are alert and your thoughts are more
fluid, so you have a greater capacity to respond. Before you know it, your
message will be over and everything will be behind you. Have confidence in
yourself.
 5. FEAR OF DOCTORS OR TAKING YOUR
BLOOD PRESSURE
High levels of anxiety cause some people to become obsessed with their
hearts. When they have to go to the doctor, they feel very distressed. If this is
your case, it may have happened that when your blood pressure is measured,
it is found to be high. It is probably the so-called “white coat syndrome,” and
it is simply that, high blood pressure due to anxiety about seeing a doctor.

The recommendation in these cases is that you explain to the specialist that
you are experiencing an anxiety crisis and that you need to relax before taking
the measurement.

Generally, just sharing that information with the specialist helps you release
energy and feel more relaxed. You can even talk to your doctor about the
four-step method. Doctors are always interested in these topics. By making
things more pleasant, you will lose your fear of the doctor and they will surely
be able to take an accurate reading of your blood pressure.
 6. HYPOCHONDRIA AND FEAR OF DYING
Hypochondriacs often suffer from anxiety, but it can also happen that an
anxious person who experiences many “strange symptoms” begins to appear
to be hypochondriac.

Hypochondria is a disorder that causes you to feel an excessive fear of illness

and to think that any minor sensation or physical change is a sign of an
illness. Hypochondriacs usually go to the doctor again and again to make sure
they have nothing wrong. However, they still fear that there is something that
doctors have not been able to diagnose.

It is common that if you suffer from anxiety you become a bit hypochondriac
and even begin to fear death. You are overwhelmed by anxious thoughts like,
“Why does my head hurt and my fingers tingle?” “Could it be a brain tumor?”
You might respond: “If every time I feel something strange it means I have a
tumor, then I am the most resilient patient in the world.”

Thinking so much about illnesses and symptoms can lead to a greater than
natural fear of dying. "What if I have a heart attack in my sleep and die?" You
might say to yourself, “Well, at least I won’t notice.” Or: "So what, nobody
dies except on the day it's their turn. In the meantime, I will enjoy my life.”

Forget about illnesses. Everything you feel is a product of excess stress

hormones. Let the sensations come and go. As time goes by and you see that
you are not “getting sick again”, you will end up dismissing those fears.
Regarding the fear of dying, you should know that death is inevitable. And
you can't control it. Go on with your life without worrying about something
that is not in your hands.

Important: Avoid at all costs searching the Internet for information about the
different “symptoms” that may occur. The results will scare you even more,
because almost any sensation that appears will be similar to the symptom of a
“real” disease. Don't feed your fears with irrelevant material that doesn't help
you at all.
 PART 4. RECOMMENDATIONS
TO STRENGTHEN YOUR RECOVERY AND
PREVENT RELAPSES
You are close to finishing the journey you undertook with us. If you have
followed our steps and techniques you should feel much more relieved than
when you started reading the book. We know that recovery is not easy and
that it will not happen overnight, and we understand that each individual case
should take the time it needs. But we also know that we can trust that you
have the ability to recover and that if you got this far, you have certainly made
progress.

To continue charting your path in the right direction, in this brief chapter we
will give you a series of recommendations and tools that you should use to
reinforce everything we have taught you so far.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Follow the four steps for each situation, but don't be rigid. Adapt the
techniques to your own personality and give the method a fun approach. Play
with the steps, add humor to your healing.

2. Take “baby steps.” Don't try to go too fast. Don't make changes abruptly.
Remember that the most important of all is always the first step. If you
manage to take the first step, the rest will become easier.

3. Find someone who supports you. If at first you feel unable to face your
anxiety on your own or to leave your comfort zone alone, you can find
someone you trust to support you and encourage you to keep going. It could
be your partner, a friend, a therapist. This will make you feel more
comfortable, but remember that you should not get used to having a crutch
with you all the time. Sooner or later you have to do it for yourself.

4. Don't get frustrated if you feel like you're not getting results as quickly
as you'd like. Continuous and repeated practice of the method will eventually
lead you to recovery. Don't force it or get impatient. Impatience creates
anxiety, you must take it easy.
5. Don't be hard on yourself. Don't blame or shame yourself for going
through this difficult time. You are showing that you are strong and that there
is a power within you that you didn't know was there. Use this experience to
feel empowered. Overcoming anxiety is not for the weak.

6. Drop the crutches. By this we mean those actions, people or objects

without which you do not feel completely safe. For example: always go out
with someone; carry painkillers in case you feel anxious; call or text someone
who makes you feel safe; take your cell phone with you at all costs in case of
an emergency; and carry out repeated medical check-ups to make sure you are
not sick. At first they are useful for getting out of your comfort zone, but there
must come a time when you give them up and learn to accept that you
yourself are enough to provide yourself with the security you need.

7. Love, forgive, be thankful. Free yourself from resentments and guilt.

These last two feelings weigh heavily and take away your peace of mind, and
you need peace of mind. Forgiveness, on the other hand, takes a weight off
your shoulders and helps you live a more relaxed life.
8. When you're in a hurry, take things more slowly than usual. Haste can
make you clumsy, and the results of clumsiness create stress. When you are in
a hurry, do things more carefully and you will solve them faster and without
mistakes. It is a very effective anti-stress practice.

9. Drink lots of water. Believe it or not, water boosts your recovery

potential. Not only does it quench thirst, drinking water also significantly
reduces anxiety levels. Most of the body's functions are related to the efficient
flow of water through our system.

It is through water that hormones, nutrients and chemicals are transported

throughout our body for vital functions. It has been proven that if you are
poorly hydrated, with a slight deficit of just two glasses of water, cortisol
levels, which is one of the stress hormones, skyrocket.

Try to drink 8 glasses of water a day, not one after the other but throughout
the day.

10. Watch what you eat. The symptoms of panic and anxiety attacks
resemble the symptoms of low blood sugar. For this reason, it is advisable for
anxious people to maintain a low glycemic index diet, that is, foods that keep
blood sugar levels constant.

You should eliminate foods high in sugar such as chocolates, cakes, sweets,
desserts, soft drinks and ice cream. It's not about torturing yourself by
eliminating everything you like, but rather trying to balance yourself. Include
lots of vegetables that help purify your system.

11. Avoid coffee and liquor. Caffeine and alcohol are stimulants and can
produce sensations similar to those triggered by your stress hormones. Avoid
them as much as you can. If you are a regular coffee drinker, limit your
consumption to mornings only. As for alcohol, never drink too much. Alcohol
is harder to remove from your system and overindulging in it can trigger
anxiety levels.

12. Exercise. Move your body. You won't find a more effective anti-
depression and anti-anxiety “pill” than this one. Exercising is not only
beneficial for your body, but also healing for your mind. It releases dopamine,
serotonin and norepinephrine, which are the neurotransmitters responsible for
regulating moods. It is scientifically proven.

Do the discipline that you like the most or that is most within your reach.
Always remember to consult your doctor before doing intense exercises.

13. Laugh! Laughter is an effective tool to break anxious states. It is also

scientifically proven. Laughter releases “happiness” hormones and reduces
levels of stress hormones. It lowers blood pressure, increases blood flow,
helps you resist pain, oxygenates and stimulates the heart, lungs and muscles.
Look for fun activities, hang out with happy and humorous people, watch
comedy shows or movies.

14. To complement the previous point, stay away from stressful news and
pessimistic and negative people who only see the dark side of things. And if
you can't avoid certain people with these characteristics, don't be infected by
their bad temper and defeatist attitudes. Always look for the positive side of
everything.

16. Boost your anxiety recovery potential through guided breathing and
relaxation exercises. Practice them daily. One of the main causes of anxiety
signals is bad breathing.
It is very important that you apply the relaxation techniques included in the
supplementary material.

If you haven't seen it yet, just enter your details on this page to access it:

www.alcanzatussuenos.com/ansiedad
If you don't have the time or the disposition to attend meditation sessions,
yoga or any discipline that helps you with this point, feel free to look for
video tutorials on the internet. There is a wealth of material on this subject.

Choose the ones that seem most reliable to you.

These exercises provide comfort, reduce tension and relax you. If you do it
with discipline, after a few weeks your body will have learned to stay in a
different tune.

17. Cleanse your system of anxiolytics. If you have been to a psychiatrist or

psychologist and have been prescribed drugs to deal with anxiety, you should
keep this in mind: There are no magic pills against nervous disorders. If you
follow the steps in this method, everything will work better if you free your
brain from those substances that sometimes cause more harm than good and
that can keep you in a state of lethargy. But do it the right way: Ask your
doctor to gradually reduce the dosage, until you eliminate the drug
completely. Never suddenly stop taking anti-anxiety pills because you may
experience withdrawal symptoms. This cleaning is progressive.
 CONCLUSIONS AND FINAL MESSAGE
After walking the path with us, you must have already realized something
very important: it was you, and only you, who saved yourself. It was you who
led yourself to the exit of the labyrinth. The book has only been a guide, but
the power and control have been there all along, inside you. We just gave you
a push.

Being aware of that is a revelation of all the liberating energy you carry with
you. And this inner strength will help you throughout your life.

Take advantage of this opportunity. Note that the last step of the method is
“occupation.” Mind your own business. Life goes on, no matter what.

But we have already achieved our goal: to help you get rid of the fear and
threat under which you lived until recently. That is the purpose of this book.
Free yourself, just like we did.

We want you to have a more optimistic outlook on life and attitude from now
on. And don't give up if at any time you feel like you're faltering. You already
know that you have four steps that effectively free you from fears. Keep
trusting in yourself, even more so now that you are stronger than before.

Remember that your recovery is not about eliminating those sensations that
terrified you so much, but about the fact that those sensations no longer pose
any threat to you, so you can get back to living life whether they are there or
not.

You may be feeling a little skeptical when you read these lines, perhaps you
are not yet completely free of fears, but if you continue practicing as you have
been doing, all those sensations will go so unnoticed that they will eventually
fade away.

We promise that any day now you will wake up with the feeling that the cloak
of anxiety no longer covers you as it used to and that, with the passage of
time, it will stop covering you completely and you will return to being the
same as before, although yes, stronger.

Now your most valuable weapon is self-confidence. Trust yourself. Reread

the book as many times as you need to tie up loose ends and understand the
ideas more calmly.

I would also like to make a recommendation to you:

I recently published my new book entitled “Mindfulness in Spanish,

Decongest your mind”.

The practice of Mindfulness has been clinically shown to reduce anxiety,

stress and improve mood. It is an excellent complement to this book if you
want to maximize results or as a maintenance therapy.

Also remember to use the supplementary material for this book by entering:

www.alcanzatussuenos.com/ansiedad
Where you will have access to meditations, updates of this material and other
resources to help you achieve the peace of mind you so desire.

Helping others is always positive. If you know someone who needs help
because they are suffering from anxiety or panic attacks, you can recommend
this book to them. Perhaps sharing experiences with this “colleague” will
make you feel better and fill you with satisfaction knowing that you were
helpful to someone who is going through the same thing you went through.

And something you should not forget: time is the most valuable resource.
Don't waste it on anxiety.

Be happy and free!

Finally, I would really appreciate it if you could leave a positive review about
this book on the platform where you purchased it, as that will help other
people receive it.

Thank you!
 Recommended Reading:

Self-help and personal development books:

Mindfulness in Spanish. Decongest your mind

Author: Ronna Browning

How to Overcome Fear.

Author: Elvis D Beuses

I can't sleep
Author: Ronna Browning

How to Quit Smoking

Author: Yazmin de la Cruz

How to Improve Self-Esteem

Author: Manuela Escobar

How to Get Over a Breakup

Author: Ronna Browning

How to Develop Self-Confidence

Author: Tisa Ledford

How to Change My Life

Author: Teresa Lundy
Books to improve your personal finances:

Not One More Boss

Author: Gustavo Adolfo Avila

7 Smart Habits of People Who Became Millionaires

Author: Gustavo Adolfo Avila

How to Get Out of Debt If I Have No Money

Author: David Emmied

How to Save Money

Author: Angel Miquel Pino

How to Discover Profitable Business Ideas

Author: Angel Miquel Pino

How to Make a Lot of Money Fast with Twitter

Author: Gustavo Adolfo Avila

Powerful Secrets for Effective Time Management

Author: Teresa Lundy