One minute you´re at your desk, in your car, talking to friends and the next you are gasping in terror, fighting to breathe, longing to hide, and trying to escape. This is probably what your first panic attack or maybe the first couple of panic attacks felt like. You were surprised by the nature and ferocity of the attack, astounded that it snuck up on you, bewildered by what was happening to you.

Did your panic attack sneak up on you? For early panic and anxiety sufferers, this is certainly what it seems like has happened. This is part of what makes panic attacks and feelings of anxiety so hard to cope with. Worry about the nature and timing of anxiety attacks always lurks in the back of your mind, making it hard to ever feel at ease.

Too much energy is expended looking for possible exits, anticipating certain situations, imagining the different, often horrendous possibilities that could befall you.

While panic attacks do come quickly, they are not usually totally out of the blue, if you know what to look for! It´s your thoughts and feelings that are causing the adrenaline surge in your body. This surge starts the chain reaction that leads to your attack.

Because of your prior experiences with overwhelming attacks, your mind actually makes it harder to cope with this new adrenaline surge. Your mind and body actually fuel a heightened panic attack because that is what you fear will happen, what you think will happen and therefore it is exactly what happens!

The fear of a panic attack is the 600 pound gorilla you are always carrying on your back. Escaping this weight is a crucial part of diminishing the likelihood and severity of your panic attacks! Your anxiety comes from a simple feeling… I can’t cope with this…

Feeling overwhelmed, especially in today´s fast paced and tumultuous world is simply par for the course. Avoiding these feelings is difficult, if not impossible for the average person. You could live in a bubble but that has its own drawbacks I imagine.

Some people cope with life´s difficulties better than others. That´s just a fact, not a condemnation. You are neither a good nor bad person because you have panic attacks or experience bouts of anxiety. You are neither weak nor strong because you experience anxiety.

There are some ways you can help yourself to better cope with the feelings causing your adrenaline surges. The first favor you can do yourself is to get a good night´s sleep. Exhaustion makes us more susceptible to emotional swings. Just as we become impaired drivers when we are tired, we have our feelings impaired as well. This can make us more susceptible to feelings of anxiousness and worry.

Sleep depravation also makes it harder to convince your mind that danger is not imminent and fear is unnecessary. For panic attacks begin and end with the mind, your mind.

By understanding the source of your fear, examining the reality behind that fear and then focusing your thoughts towards more positive outcomes, you can defeat that adrenaline surge sparking your panic attack.

Most panic attacks are brought on by imagined fears, the "what if´s?" that can plague our minds. Most of the worries that threaten to overwhelm our ability to cope are highly exaggerated or extremely unlikely. Examining these negative feelings and their lack of connection to reality is an important part of disproving the danger your body believes it is in.

The other important part of this process is to fill your mind up with positive, reinforcing statements that buttress your ability to cope with whatever situation you find yourself in.

Self esteem and confidence are important weapons in your fight against panic. Think of some general positive, self esteem boosting statements that you can fill up your mind with during times of stress.

Here are just a few examples:

"I have handled tough situations before and I can do so again"

"I have a lot of people I can rely on to help me through this"

"I am smart and capable and can do anything I set my mind too"

"Tough situations have made me stronger before and so will this"

"Open the door to a new opportunity and walk on through"

Positive statements can be anything that makes you feel good about yourself. Make a list today and add to it as you encounter tough situations and use it to overcome your negative feelings. Small things build the inertia to make big life changes.