3 Simple Steps to Control Your Fear .

Step 1. Come to terms with what it is that triggers your panic attacks, in which situations they happen and how they unfold.

Even though this may sound simple, can you truthfully say that you have done this? Most people suffering from panic and anxiety have not, in fact, thought about this at all. We tend to shun away from what we fear, and to just think about our problems can be really hard.

So now, take a couple of minutes and really think deeply about what it is that causes your anxiety and panic. If the answer is something like "being in public places", "taking a flight" or "speaking to large audiences", you have not really delved deep enough. If, for instance, your answer was "taking a flight", further this answer by asking yourself in which ways this fear manifests itself. Is it a fear of heights? Of not being in control? Of enclosed spaces? Then delve even deeper, and try to really understand what it is that is at the core of your anxiety.

The key here is to explore your area of fear while being in a place where you feel safe and secure. Then, by going through every piece of what it is that makes you anxious, you are better prepared when actually encountering the fear in real.

Step 2. Once you have explored your fears as illustrated in step 1, you need to establish a schedule for doing this daily.

Each day, take 5-10 minutes when you are in a place where you feel comfortable, and just sit down and relax. It is preferable if this is in a place where you are not likely to be distracted or interrupted by anything.

Sit down, breathe deeply and slowly and try to relax every muscle in your body. If it works for you, listen to a CD with relaxing music or one of those spoken word guides that makes you relaxed. When, and only when, you are fully relaxed, try to slowly walk through the path you took to explore your fears in step 1. Focus on keeping your breathe slow and deep, and to remain calm and relaxed at every point. If the thought you have provokes even the slightest tenseness or stress, back away from them and focus on the calm.

The point of this exercise is not to dive head first into your fears, but to gently approach them while in a relaxed state. If, during your first tries, you do not succeed, this is natural. Controlling your fear isn't something to be done in a day, but rather something you will have to work on during some time.

Step 3. The last step is something you should only approach once step 2 can be fully completed without the least amount of stress. That is, once you, in your mind, feel comfortable with your fears, confront them.

When reading this through for the first time, this will seem like an unreal and not so helpful advice, but trust me, if you have fully completed step 2, this will not be such a giant leap as it seems.

The way to confront the reasons for your panic and anxiety is of course dependent on the nature of them. Here you will have to find your own precise way by yourself, but if possible, try to make the approach as gentle as possible. That is, if you have a fear of flights, rather than to just go on a flight and hope it works, try to contact your local airport and ask if you can visit a plane during it's maintenance hours. Then start by walking around it, envisioning how it would be to sit in it and so forth. The key here, as well as in step 2, is to much rather be too gentle than too quick.

As long as you are willing to take your time and motivated enough to actually exercise every day, you will soon see that by breaking this up into several steps, each step in itself will be an easy climb, even though the problem as a whole may seem impossible