One of the most common symptoms that someone having a panic attack will experience is difficult and constricted breathing.
Sometimes the breath will feel totally constricted with the sufferer is unable to draw breath.
And other times the breathing will become rapid to the point of hyperventilation.
When you consider this, it seems appropriate that most methods of dealing with panic attacks incorporate some form of breathing technique.
The most useful breathing technique that can be used in a panic attack situation is abdominal breathing.
Most people in times of stress, and this would be particularly so in the case of someone experiencing severe anxiety or a panic attack, start to breathe in a very shallow fashion and high in the chest.
It is almost as if they are rapidly panting and unable to catch their breath.
This is exactly what happens when the body goes into a fight or flight response.
What further compounds this problem and what can ultimately lead to a full on panic attack response is that the person having the breathing difficulty begin to focus on their inability to take a deep breath.
Our nervous system obviously recognizes that breathing is essential to our survival and sends feedback that how we are breathing is not adequate for our needs.
When a panic attack sufferer becomes aware of this physical and mental feedback, they literally start to panic which further amplifies the feedback in the hope that it will be heard and the breathing adjusted accordingly.
This is the vicious cycle of a panic attack.
The practice of deep controlled abdominal breathing will provide options the panic attack sufferer can use at the time of their attack.
But a regular training program of controlled abdominal breathing must be undertaken if the ability to apply it during the extreme nervous system responses of a panic attack is desired.
It is not unlike training for athletic event where the body over period of time begins to get used to the activities that you are engaged to the point that they become virtually automatic when they need to be performed.
By practising regular deep abdominal breathing at non-stressful times it allows the body the chance to get used to the technique itself as it becomes conditioned to breathe differently.
Once a certain familiarity has been gained with the technique it is very useful to begin using it during periods of moderate stress and anxiety.
As you can see we are taking the breathing technique we have learned in a neutral environment and slowly increasing our ability to use it in the field.
In a very short time with regular practice you will have access to this breathing technique and be able to use it to help you handle your panic attacks.
However the real benefit of regular deep abdominal breathing is how it changes your nervous system making it less prone to stress and anxiety and thus over time preventing panic attacks from occurring in the first place.
Practising controlled abdominal breathing is very easy.
If you have not used this technique before, like any exercise start practising in a slow and easy fashion gradually increasing the length of time you practise this form of breathing.
Also keep in mind that this form of breathing is normal and natural.
In other words this is how we are supposed to breathe.
If you want proof look at how very young children breathe and notice that they belly breathe more often than not rather than breathing with their chests.
So rather than think of this as learning something new we are simply re-familiarizing ourselves with something we already know how to do.