When things startle me or sometimes when nothing is going on at all I seem to have a flash image of the worst possible outcome. This includes seeing myself getting in car accidents when my husband breaks a little later than I would like. I was driving the other night and I was having a hard time keeping the car in my lane because I couldn’t help but look at the on coming lights. I am working on getting my license. Anyway I freaked out because I couldn’t stop veering towards them. Then like when I am a passenger I saw myself clipping a car in the other lane and I could hear my husband coaching me through the accident. I began hyperventilating and then as I pulled off the side of the road I began to cry. I don’t know why this happens. Like I said it happens in other cases too, this is just the worst panic attack I have had in years.
Please does anyone have advice how I can overcome these images?

At the first sign of one, employ an ANTI PANIC ATTACK breathing technique. Advice from a clinical psychologist is to breathe in to the count of 3: (one thousand one; one thousand two; one thousand three) each takes around a second to say to yourself, in your mind, and out to the count of 3. Keep repeating this until the panic subsides, which will deal with the hyperventilation aspect. Read: "Power Over Panic", by Bronwyn Fox, from your bookstore, or enter "panic attacks" in the searchbar at Amazon.com for more media. View http://deeplyrelax.com & www.deepsloweasy.com/html/intro.htm Note: the controlled breathing only helps with the symptoms, as do medications/herbal remedies. Address the underlying cause, which requires some form of therapy; see your-mental-health.8m.com, below, re anxiety, on pages 1, h, & i. Page h shows the difference between panic, and anxiety attacks.

Imagine that the cause of your panic; your anxieties, fears, your self doubts, self recriminations, all the agonizing "I’m-so-Stupids"; every painful "I-can’t-do-it" are huge raging, hurtful bulls snorting and charging at you. You see them coming at you and you hold out your red matador’s cape at arms length and simply let them charge right by. Every time they come at you, hold out your arm with the red cape and let them rage and snort and go right on past. Some people recommend nettle tea, with a little honey. Others use Lavender tea, Lemon Balm, Chamomile, but use no milk or cream with herbal teas, or Valerian (caution: use it for 3 weeks at most!). Know how these affect you before driving, or doing anything dangerous, and it is far better to use the treatments, rather than relying on herbal remedies. Free online PANIC COURSE - www.panic-attacks.co.uk also available by email. See the section on panic attacks at www.mind.org.uk also Ebooklet form. They recommend letting a panic attack run its course, without doing anything to treat it, so you KNOW you will survive it. The usual maximum is 30 minutes, until symptoms begin to subside. Also see www.anxietypanic.com/signs.html
and http://www.onestepatatime.com (chatroom, and one free email is allowed to their resident expert on joining [free] - more if a paid up member) and

www.medicinenet.com/panic_disorder/artic… and www.squidoo.com/controlpanicattack/modul… and http://www.anxietynetwork.com Practice a relaxation method, daily, and when needed, such as http://www.drcoxconsulting.com/managing-stress.html or http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/mindbody/a/Meditation.htm or http://www.wikihow.com/Meditate or Yoga Nidra, (a series of easy mental exercises only; no flexibility required) at http://your-mental-health.8m.com/blank_11.html Hypnosis is merely a heightened state of suggestibility, in which you are better able to communicate with your subconscious mind. 85% of people are suggestible, to some degree, so you could either seek professional hypnotherapy, or more alternatives along such lines are on page 1, at 8m.com, about panic, & stopping negative thoughts. It’s important to regularly monitor, and deal with a negative internal monologue (self talk), or mental process, such as disturbing thoughts, images, impulses, or emotions, by the process of (a): recognising it, and (b): challenging it immediately. Technique For Re-Programming Negative Thoughts: When you notice something negative, such as: "I can’t do this/ am never going to get over this!" or: "Why am I always so useless/such a loser?" or even an image, emotion, or a memory; recognise that it is being generated from the negative part of your mind.

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