The DARE Method for Panic Attacks
The DARE Response is composed of four steps to help reduce anxiety and panic attacks. It’s based around components of mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Exposure Therapy.
DARE may be a little different than methods you’ve used in the past. It’s entire purpose is to get you comfortable with anxiety and panic—instead of running away from it!
The juxtaposition of DARE is that in order for it to work, you must drop all resistance to your anxiety and panic attacks, no matter how intense they feel. Then you become more comfortable with the feelings and sensations, and they start to recede. But ONLY when you fully let them in and drop the fight.
Defuse
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Allow
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Run Towards
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Engage
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Defuse · Allow · Run Towards · Engage ·
The DARE Method
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1. D- Defuse
Say to your anxiety, “So what? Who cares? You’re just anxiety, you can’t hurt me”. Give the anxiety a silly voice or name.
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2. A- Allow
Allow and accept all the sensations, thoughts, and emotions that anxiety and panic give you. Drop the resistance. Say, “I accept and allow these anxious thoughts and feelings”.
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3. R- Run Towards
Tell your anxiety to give you more and demand it! Tell it to bring it on and that you’re actually excited to feel it! This step often acts as a kill switch to the anxiety. If you aren’t running from it, then it won’t care about bothering you anymore!
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4. E- Engage
Go about your day just like you would if the panic and anxiety weren’t there. Engage in life so your anxiety see’s you aren’t scared of it and you can function alongside it, no matter what it throws at you.
When working together, our ultimate goal is to squash your fear of anxiety and panic attacks, or the trigger that leads to a panic attack. Once this happens, your panic attacks won’t even phase you anymore. DARE consists of steps to help you get there.
Click here to read more about DARE from their website.
Feel free to read or listen to the book all about DARE and/or do the DARE workbook as supplemental help.
I also highly recommend downloading the app they have. It’s a great free resource! Scroll to the bottom on the home page to read other peoples success stories using DARE to treat their panic attacks!
