I have multiple addictions, PTSD, anger management issues and OCD. This makes me undateable, BUT if I know anything I know about emotional triggers. (I have dozens as you can imagine.)

If you already are doing the following, I apologize.

Pick a stress busting activity. Progressive relaxation, diaphragmatic breathing, meditative visualization, singing MY SHARONA at top volume, whatever works best. Practice it 5 times a day until you can do it without thinking.

When a trigger starts to trip, we know it. We are SUPER AWARE of it. And our reaction is instinct. But instead of going with the instinct, start belting out

When you gonna get to me
Get to me
Is it just a matter of time Sharona
Is it just destiny, destiny
Or is it just a game in my mind Sharona

or whatever your stress buster is, to short circuit the trigger. That's why doing it 5 times a day as practice helps so it IS as much an instinct as what youre trying to get away from.

Just choose wisely. My most current addiction (don't ask unless you want to) started as a way to short circuit several of my OCD etc. triggers and then BECAME a problem. So it actually IS better, just not what I should have chosen in hindsight.

Just typing post got me anxious... WTH

OK, so as you typed it, what did you do to over ride your anxious instinct? Soon as you felt your breathing get shallow and quicker, that is a great time to do some Yogic breathing, or a chakra visualization, hum BLACK BETTY or whatever.

http://www.sweetescapeyoga.com/simple-stress-relief-wsquare-breathing/

Remember, your will is more powerful than any instinct. If you develop it. The mind is a muscle that moves the world.

I just saw my therapist. She explained the biology behind anxiety attacks. She also explained that my body has found about her way to express certain kinds of stress, which is leading to more anxiety.
My body us using anxiety to relieve certain kinds of stress.
If you want to know more, I'll be happy to share what I learned.
Knowledge is power!

When I used to talk to 12 steppers I sponsored I had a mini-speech on how it's all the "fight or flight" instinct from when we used to have to fight bears for caves to live in. :) Maybe she explained it that way?

When the body gets all "fight or flight" with fast shallow breathing, tight muscles ready to run, etc. it makes the brain think OMIGOD THERES SOMETHING WRONG so it just amps up the panic.

I used to teach people what worked for me. slow the breathing, relax the muscles and it forces the brain to slow down.

http://www.anxietybc.com/sites/default/files/MuscleRelaxation.pdf

what was your counselor's advice?

That's exactly what she explained to me, and the chemicals in the brain. Yes! I get it now.
Now, I can understand diverging like that and take power/ control and stop my body from having anxiety attacks. I can replace the anxiety with another vice.

That's how my counsellor has explained things too, but also how humans don't have the same ability as animals to go into shock during a trauma and then jump up and get on with life. Won't give examples as they are pretty gory, but it does make sense.

I too can have hundreds of mini panic attacks some days over anything to do with our son and the damage he has done to our family. I keep forgetting about the breathing but am getting better at managing things. Life is like a minefield right now, never know when you're going to step on something that sets a bomb off.

Since our body is going into a "fight or flight" mood when we start to feel anxious. I was thinking one way to relax is to exercise. Your adrenaline gets going when you get anxious and one way to release it is to let it out physically.
I don't want to steer anyone in the wrong direction, however, it makes sense to me.

What do you think?

Exercise is a good idea. I tend to think ANYTHING that helps you feel you control your body will help with this sort of thing. I started studying self hypnosis, isometrics, martial arts (The US army version anyways) and a few other things to help me feel i had full control of my body. Or as much as you can without being a yoga kung fu monk anyways. (I wish I had that much free time.)

Now on the flip side, some ways I used to control my body and how it reacts turned into a bit of a sexual addiction. So while i wont tell anyone how to do their own recovery, let me say this. Use coping methods that you can do in public. ;)

Lol, Richard.. I was just thinking that your body's biology is going into "fight or flight" so exercise is a natural reaction. It helps release the adrenaline which then in turn helps relax the muscle. Is that correct?

That's a big part of it. also, any time you can turn an instinctive reaction into a conscious choice it adds to the overall feeling of control and personal safety.

I'm a big fan of using mind body interventions. It's impossible to be nervous anxious an afraid and physically relaxed at the same time. So anything that relaxes the body drags the mind down to a calm, relatively happy state.

Now obviously using heroin or alcohol to relax does more harm than good. but meditation, aerobics, body building etc are all just as effective at relaxing the body AND are actually good for you. So I tend to push pretty hard the idea of at least learning basic breathing techniques.

Also as the retired army DI that taught me hand to hand said, "If you learn basic close quarters fighting, you wont control the world. But you will control the one yard circle around your body."

on a related note, found this just now, it's fairly hilarious and sort of on topic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vmls7hDRqJg

I don't have anxiety attacks often but at least I know what to do when I do get them. I can recall about 6 anxiety attacks in the past year.