how to prevent panic attacks

. Walk around with a big water bottle I love this because it’s cheap and easy. The next time you’re worried that you might be on the verge of having a panic attack, drink a full bottle of water (or TWO full glasses of water) – one gulp every three seconds. This is a great way to slow down and normalize the pace of your breath, which will naturally calm down your heart. 2. Cut down on stimulants A lot of people I’ve talked to who have panic attacks are either consuming too much caffeine (1 cup per day is enough to push you over the edge), too much aspartame (diet soda = poison), or smoking marijuana regularly (weed can crank anxiety up to 11). And of course, they overlook these facts and wonder why their body is freaking out. When your body starts tweaking out, that’s its way of signaling that something is wrong and you need to SLOW DOWN. I love coffee, but I had to cut it out of my system. I was drinking 3-5 cups per day, and wondered why I felt so awful. Within one week of removing caffeine from my system, my hands stop shaking. I stopped feeling jittery. I calmed the hell down. Now, I only have a maximum of one HALF cup of coffee (I pour the other half out), or I just drink water. Take stock of what’s going into your bloodstream every day. Are you consuming caffeine? Aspartame? Marijuana? Other drugs? If your body is freaking out, that means something is wrong. Kick that stimulant out of your system for a week. Assess how you feel at the end of the week, and then reintroduce the substance by taking a normal dose you’re used to taking. If those panicky feelings return with 1-2 hours, you’ve found the culprit. Limit or eliminate that substance as much as you can. 3. Daily PLAY As my mentor Tim Ferriss told me, “Getting daily exercise is 80% of the battle” for reducing your anxiety. And I agree. The problem is that most people associate “exercise” with “chore” or “punishment.” But it doesn’t have to be that way. Exercise can and should be fun! Set aside just 20 minutes each day to move around and get your heart pumping. I like running around outside while playing a game with a friend (I love playing catch with the Aerobie flying ring – it’s a fun, social toy that naturally forces you to exercise). If you can’t do that, go lift heavy weights at the gym for just 20 minutes (three sets of 8 reps -- deadlift, squat, or kettlebell). Just do SOMETHING each day to get your body moving and your heart pumping. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to look good. You just need to MOVE and have fun for 20 minutes (just 1.2% of your day!) 4. Get better sleep If I had to recommend just ONE change that will improve the quality of your sleep (apart from daily play and eliminating caffeine), it would be this: Stop looking at screens past 9:00pm -- NO EXCEPTIONS. Seriously, the internet will still be around tomorrow. I know the temptation to be connected 24 hour a day is strong, but don’t you truly want to overcome your anxiety? Well, it requires some sacrifice. That means NO MORE SCREENS OR BRIGHT LIGHTS AFTER 9:00PM. I use the Commit app ($2.99) to remind me, every night, to stop looking at screens. It works. Don’t worry -- you’re not going to miss anything important. No calls, no text messages, no emails are going to come through after 9:00pm that will change your life. Plus the light on your screen is just going to wake your right back up again if you check it at night. Value the good night’s sleep more than being connected. Make the choice to take care of yourself. 5. Vitamin-B and fish oil People who are super stressed out (i.e. people who have panic attacks) have vital nutrients in their brains that are being rapidly depleted. That’s what happens when we’re stressed – we drain our body’s resouces. Fortunately, you can replenish your brain within a few weeks by taking a Vitamin-B complex pill (I prefer TwinLab) and a few servings of fish oil (I like Coromega squeeze packets) every day. It only costs like $2 per day to take this stuff, and you can buy them at Whole Foods or on Amazon. Just remember: It takes a week or two to feel the effects, so stick with it. Trust me, your brain will thank you. 6. Mock your worries This one is kind of tough, but 100% worth practicing… Ever notice how much you resist your “bad” thoughts? How much you want them to change into perfect silence, or perfect peacefulness? It’s your RESISTANCE to your own thoughts that’s making your mind seem like such a scary place. You’re trying to run away from yourself, instead of leaning in and playing around with your thoughts! It might be hard to remember this sometimes, but it’s just YOU up there. And even though you’re scared of bad things happening (going crazy, death, “the end is near”), the fact is that those bad things ARE NOT ACTUALLY HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. They are just a string of words and images swimming around in your mind. And you don’t have to take them so seriously. How you respond to your own mind is a choice.... Your thoughts aren’t “good” or “bad”; they’re just thoughts. You don’t need to resist them or make them perfect, or even assign them any value. You can treat them with detached indifference. They are background noise – a petulant child that’s screaming and trying to distract you. And instead of frantically trying to get the child to shut up and leave you alone, you can choose to PLAY WITH IT. This might seem crazy, but it worked for me...