Shake Off Anxiety with Two Simple Words!
Have you ever noticed how anxiety is fueled by one simple question you keep asking yourself?
That question is… what if?
What if I drive my car on the highway and I have a panic attack?
What if faint in public, who will help me?
What if I get sick or lose my job?
What if my mind never stops racing with anxious thoughts?
If anxious ‘what if’s’ are not quickly defused, they tend to spiral out of control, leaping from one catastrophic thought to another. Before you know it these ‘what ifs’ have triggered a tidal wave of adrenaline and fear.
What if?…What if?…And then what if ?
You can’t stop these ‘what if’s’. They manifest outside your control. What you can control is how you respond to them.
In order to defuse these anxious ‘what ifs’ you need to answer the question quickly and limit the potential for the anxiety to spiral out of control.
A good strong response to a ‘what if’ is: ‘So what!’
What if I drive my car on the highway and I have a panic attack?
So what! I’ll pull over and get through it like I have always done in the past.
What if faint in public, who will help me?
So what! If I faint I faint. Someone will come to help me and in two minutes I will be conscious again.
What if my mind never stops racing with thoughts?
So what! Thoughts are just thoughts and cannot harm me. Eventually my anxious mind will settle.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t fully believe in your own responses to these questions, the key point here is to quickly defuse the build up of fear by answering the ‘what if’ with a strong enough response.
As long as you come up with something reassuring and dismissive of the initial ‘what if’ thought it will have the desired effect.
To make your response even more effective you can have a sense of humor with your replies. Humor is the fastest way to disengage your anxious mind. An anxious thought can be diminished in a flash of laughter.
This is effective because it neutralize the fear and places you back into a position of power.
Side step the trap of anxiety by always responding to fear and anxiety with a good strong ‘so what![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Ruth Robertson
I have anxiety and use the word so what! I also find doing the 21 second which I have on my mp 3 play and 7 second also help me and I also do slow deep breaths into towel too
Shams
Dear sir,
Iam Shamsudheen an Indian lives in Bahrain. Sir Iam suffering panic attack last three yerars.after know about you and your valuable advice Iam still hapy.Every time i receive your email it boost my energy.just now iam fearing about panic aand anxiety your mail receuved me.
So iam very thankful toyou sir
Thank you somuch
Macho
Ruth I like ur response I’m goin to try it me I usually just say to it get it over with then take deep slow breaths till its gone . Thanks
Macho
It’s ok I don’t mind sharing info if it helps we need all the help we can get!!!!!
Karen DiMarco
Another great tip to help me out. I will definitely start trying this right away. So glad to know I am not alone! Thank you!!!
debbie
Hiya I do still get anxiety but only when I get stressed and then it is ten fold but I like the idea of the saying so what I’ll give it a bash x
Gabi
Yes, exactly, so what? Thank you for those two words. I am going to practise it. Right now!
But what if it doesn’t work? :))))))))))))
Andrew Maskill
I find your suggestions most helpful – particularly “imagine/forecast a panic attack” and see if it happens. My experience so far is that it does not occur.
Appreciate your regular emails and comments as my problem is driving following unforeseen car accident and when a panic attack occurs there is really no time to work through it particularly driving through tunnels, bridges and motor ways. Only real solution is not to have them.
atirudy
Hi I am from small town in India and I feel no one here has agarophobia. I have never been outside my town moreover I have not gone to places which is far even in my town. I luckily got your website panic away from google. And I daily read ur mail and your free trial, it helped alot but still whenever I have some kind of headache or sickness my mind starts racing with “what if’s” like you said in your mail. I feel you understand and explain my situation exactly. No one could do that. I went to psychiatrist and they only give drugs (anti depression) which makes me worse by swallowing just one of that pill and I just hate it but in one of ur mail and video I saw drugs is not necessary and it was such a relief. I want to more on how to over come these panic attacks and anxiety. And I want to buy your panic away but I cannot buy through internet since I have no internet banking
Alaina
Hi Atirudy, Perhaps you have a family member or friend who can order the book for you online if you do not have access to internet banking and you can pay them the money directly. Where there is a will, there is a way. I have brought the book, and it HAS changed my life for the better. Good Luck. 🙂
Kim
Trust me I know exactly how all of you feel. I have felt with this condition all of my life. I have recently became agorophobic. I don’t like to travel far from my safe place. I hear something negative on TV and I immediately think it’s gonna happen to me. It’s truly no way to live. I REFUSE meds. Support groups are very helpful and faith in god. We can all get through this, it’s just a matter of changing our thought process.
saeed
Hi
It’s been 2 years since I have my first panic attack.
Now after reading your posts I totally understand my
Disease .now I am 95%”recovered. .im thankful to you.
Dennis Simsek
Barry you are a true inspiration, and your methods of dealing with panic and anxiety are timeless. I can’t wait to catch up with you again through Facebook as we did before. My readers on my inspirational anxiety success story blog http://www.anxietykey.com would love to hear more about the panic away methods i’m sure.
Grateful,
Dennis
Macho
I like this site we can share our thoughts and our teqniqes for over coming our anxiety and panic attacks like all your suggestions thanks we can all get through it!!!
Shams
Dear sir,
I would like to know the availablity of your product in Bahrain.
Thank you
Siobhan
I try to remind myself that it’s just a feeling and won’t hurt me. It will be gone soon. It’s hard when feelings are intense but I try to breathe slowly and say things to myself like “Come on now you’re alright” and “Just relax it’s only a feeling”. When I feel anxious for a couple of days together it’s hard but I find if I try to do things and move around it makes my muscles less tense. It’s no way to live though so I feel for everyone who’s on this site.
Traci
The “what if” can also be looked at like “monsters under your bed” I am sure most of you in early childhood remember running and leaping to your bed so the monsters would not harm you. I started practicing saying to myself when my anxiety got out of control and the sensations ambushed me.. I would look up and say it is just the monsters under my bed.. I stated doing that right after I read the book. Most of the time I am able within minutes to calm the anxious mind, the part I am having a hard time with is confrontation.. I immediately start to hyperventilate (my favorite thing to do).
Katarina
Hi i am from Serbia.. not so good at English.. i am just so excited right now.. i’ve read your book its amazing.. its make me feel so confident and also i even stop smoking.. u saved my life.. a bilion thank you cant say how much i am thankfull .. i just have to deal with anxioty … but i am progressing very well and all thanx to you 😀
Katarina
Hi i am from Serbia.. not so good at English.. i am just so excited right now.. i’ve read your book its amazing.. its make me feel so confident and also i even stop smoking.. u saved my life.. a bilion thank you cant say how much i am thankfull .. i just have to deal with anxioty … but i am progressing very well and all thanx to you 😀
Katarina
i read your book! U save my life bilion thank you! I even stop smoking i am so confident now.. just i have to deal with my anxioty.. thank you !
Lauren
Hi, i’m Lauren and im 17 years old. Over the past couple of years I have found life very difficult for me, my parents got divorced and i no longer have contact with my dad. Its changed my whole life completely therefore i think this has been the cause of my panick attacks. I fear EVERYTHING. It has got to the point where i dont want to leave home, simple things such as getting on the bus to school i can not do without panicking. Its draining and it is getting me down a lot, all my friends are enjoying life and doing loads of activities that i would love to do but cant. My panick attacks involve me feeling sick therefore i am worried i will be sick and what people will think, i feel trapped and then start to breath heavily. I look back on how i was 2-3 years ago and i was adventurous and loved life, now i am person who fears about the future and feels so alone and very much dislikes life. I have recently found this wesbite and i hope it will help me in the future and beat anxiety and start to love life again.
clarence
Thanks a lot Barry , its working out.
Jamaludin
Thank you sir…
Qudratullah
Thanks , it really changed my life. Am good now , specially “so what ” puts an end to the darkness of anxiety.
living with anxiety
Hi all,
My experience with anxiety attack was awful. I was in shopping centre one day with my girlfriend, and suddenly i felt strange, like I’m gonna to die. I just ran to the bathroom and lock myself inside. Half an hour i was there, my girlfriend called me 30 times on phone because i told her to wait me in the coffee shop. Later i decide with my family to visit a psychiatrist and that was perfect idea, from first visit i was reborn. Few times i have attacks but i beat them with breathing technic, slowly and deep breathing always helps me. So my advice is, enjoy and relax, you can beat this feeling easily. Cheers
Jim Ripley
This is new to me, I never had panic or anxiety problems until about two years ago. Now confined spaces scare me to a point that’s almost beyond self control I recently Had to leave a Doctors exam room for several minutes because of total fear. The doctor had me use breathing oxygen to calm me as I had difficulty breathing. I use Diazepam ( 5mg) prior to getting on airplanes or going to confined places. I don’t want to have to rely on drugs to control my fear. I don’t understand why this is affecting me to this extent.
vanessa
A huge thankyou for being there and helping anxiety sufferers like myself, when the anxiety gets too much and i feel im not coping i read your emails and book DARE,and I start to feel a little normal again.
karen
HI i’ve been suffering with anxiety for the past 4months. I am not on any medication right now. i was ok for for a little while until 2 weeks ago derealization and depernalization hit me and there it started all over again. This is the worse part. How should one deal with that. every time it happens i feel like i’m dying. this is my fear. how should i cope with that.
karen
i kno every body says to just relax and let the adrenaline run thru you. easier said than done when its actually happening. i always take the flight. can somebody help me out
karen
i forgot to mention. i dont have panick attacks. i have not had one in 3 months. but i keep having these tightness in my chest and my body is always tensed.
rried mostly a
Carlos
My name is Carlos, from Portugal, I suffer from what is called social phobia since… ever. I am 53 years old. A new name came from a shrink relationed with this case of mine: Phobia to the human race. Honestly, this is the worst thing in my life. Well, now that i have came across with this web page, maybe it will help me.
Also claustrophobia – I never even entered a plain. It looks ridiculous but it is truth. I lost so many oportunities in life. Something will happen 🙂
Dee
Thank you Barry!! I have IBS and panic when around people in a conversation. It becomes a vicious circle – the more I get panicky (claustrophobic in a conversation) my IBS kicks up (humiliating). I am going to use this advice. I always say to my husband “I can’t just die!” So I will use this to breath and stay focused on the conversation instead of my symptoms. Whats the worst that could happen? I’ll just interrupt the conversation and excuse myself. Then come back to the conversation.
Thanks again!!! 🙂
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