We all have negative thoughts sometimes. But the difference between someone that tends towards anxiety and someone who isn't is how they process these thoughts when they have them. Here I'll present a technique you can learn to do anytime you need some anxiety attack help. It will take a little practice but the technique itself is quite simple.

The anxious person's thought pattern is pretty predictable.

If you tend to be anxious, when a negative thought fleets into your awareness, your knee jerk reaction is to you react with fear. You might feel in your gut like you've been punched in the stomach. Or your heart may start racing or you can feel your jaw clench. Because of the bodily reaction you have to the thought, you start to dwell on it. Then your body reacts even more. You may even start asking yourself, "What's the matter with me? I think I'm going crazy, I can't breathe". And now the vicious cycle has begun.

Here's how to cure anxiety by stopping this vicious cycle before it gets going.

It seems counter intuitive, but you should just let yourself have the negative thought. The more you fight having it the worse it will be come. You want to learn to be more comfortable with them. You want to learn to change your reaction to the thoughts and by changing your reaction you will become free from them. It's your reaction that defines your reality. When you can change your reaction, can you see it doesn't really matter if you have them or not?

Everyone experiences fleeting negative thoughts. The difference between the anxious person is that he or she gets worked up about them, while others don't dwell on them and just let them go by.

Have you ever meditated? If you have, you realize that obtaining the state of a completely quiet mind actually isn't possible! You understand that you will have thoughts as you meditate but you let them drift in and out of your awareness simply noticing them.

When you have negative thoughts, you should do exactly the same. Here is the four step process, step-by-step.

First, simply observe the thought, as an impartial observer would. "Hmm. I'm thinking about THAT again."

Second, objectively label the thought. Give it a name. "Yes, that is my old friend - fear of (you fill in the blank)." It might be fear of loss of some kind such as fear of losing your job or something bad happening to someone you care about.

Third, watch the thought pass. Now here is the hardest part. Don't start judging the thought. Don't start thinking, "I can't handle this. I want it to stop. What's wrong with me?"

Last, move on. Simply move your attention on to what you were doing. Let the thought drift away like a cloud on a breezy day.

Of course, there are many anxiety solutions that have worked well for others. This is a simple technique that you can start practicing right now. Don't be discourage if it doesn't work right off the bat. Expect it to take some practice. But soon you may find that you can get some significant anxiety attack relief by using these four steps; observe, label, watch, and move on.