I have suffered with panic attacks for most of my life.  When I was in elementary school, I would get terrible symptoms whenever I was in a crowd of people I didn't know.

Some of my symptoms included:

• Racing heart
• Dizziness
• Headaches
• Blurred vision
• Nausea

I never knew what was causing my symptoms, but when I was a kid it never mattered that much to me.  I wasn't thinking I was going to die, so the symptoms would subside fairly quickly.

When I got older, I started to worry that my symptoms might be caused by something else.  I started rushing to the emergency room whenever my symptoms would strike, because I thought I might be having a heart attack.  Reading stories in magazines about how many women suffered from heart issues, and how even women in their 30s sometimes had heart attacks just fueled the fire.

My attacks got so bad that I was almost constantly in fear for my life.  I began to throw up almost everything I ate.  Something had to give!

I started out taking Xanax to stop panic attacks. It did help, but I was so afraid I would become addicted. I didn't want to become a statistic!

I slowly began to discover a few other ways to stop my attacks. Eventually, I was able to get rid of my panic attacks almost completely. Now, on the rare occasion when I do have one, I am able to stop it before it spirals out of control.

Cut Out Sugar and Caffeine

Sugar and caffeine can cause imbalances in brain chemicals and blood sugar. This can cause symptoms that can trigger panic attacks. I am very sensitive to caffeine, and I can't have more than one or two cups of coffee or soda before I start to feel symptoms. Sugar is also a big problem, and I have to limit it.

Get a Health Checkup

It's important to get your health checked out in case something is physically wrong with you that is causing your symptoms. If so, it needs to be found and treated as quickly as possible.

Additionally, if you are convinced nothing is wrong with you, it can help you stop having panic attacks.  Often, it is the fear that something is terribly wrong with you that could kill you that actually triggers a panic attack.  If you don't have this fear, your anxiety isn't as likely to spiral out of control.

Get Rid of Excess Adrenaline

Adrenaline can cause a lot of physical symptoms, from racing heart, to nausea and other digestive upsets, to extreme anxiety.  It's part of the body's natural fight-or-flight response, and the physical symptoms are actually a good thing if you are fighting for your life.

But chances are, you're not fighting for your life when panic attacks strike.  You're probably just watching television. or sitting at your desk at work, or grocery shopping, or some other mundane task.

Sometimes your body's adrenaline response doesn't work like it should, and you could secret excess adrenaline when it's not really necessary.  This can lead to panic attacks.

When you feel an attack coming on, try grabbing a pillow and screaming into it as loudly as you can, or punch it repeatedly.  This can help get rid of some of the excess adrenaline, and will help curb stress and anxiety, too!

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If you want to read more about how I stopped my panic attacks and took back control of my life, visit PanicCalm.com!  I've written an entire book about I I kicked my panic attacks to the curb!