In some of my other articles on anxiety attacks I've talked about some 'Agents Provocateurs'. As you get to know yourself and your life better, you may find others which also raise your anxiety and stress levels too high, and each panic attack from now on is an opportunity to learn even more - about them and yourself.

Karen (a friend of mine) has the right attitude. She is the one who sees her panic attacks as being a huge and welcome kick up the backside, and now thinks herself lucky to have had them, so sharply did they make her focus on the disharmony in her life. Like her, you can use this period in your life to begin to tune into your finer sensitivities which have somehow become dulled in our quest for more money, more power, more possessions, more, more, more.

We are led to believe that we cannot be happy unless we follow that acquisitive path, for which you need more and more money. But there are lots of things in life which are free or very cheap and which really do feed the soul. Music can calm and revive and play an important part in helping to reduce anxiety.

Color cheers the spirit, or again can calm you down - some prison cells, used to hold particularly violent or aggressive people, are painted bubble-gum pink for this reason. It works. Wearing your favorite colors and surrounding yourself with ones you like can also have a positive effect on your mood and sense of well-being.

Pleasant smells always cheer me up. The smell of freshly cut grass, or earth after a summer rainfall almost send me into ecstasies, as do freshly baked bread, fresh coffee and sizzling bacon. Some of those are free, others cost only pennies (making your own bread can save some). Breathing fresh air always makes me feel much better, too.