Originally Posted by
bigsombrero 
Does anyone else have any tips or tricks to keep anxiety attacks at bay when they occur? And what about other tips to keep them from happening in the first place?
I went to group therapy to address my anxiety disorder when I was in high school. I learned a lot--but here are two things that help:
1. When you feel you are getting an anxiety attack, IDENTIFY it AS an anxiety attack. Often i would identify my anxiety as a symptom of something scarier and it would spiral out of control. A friend of mine would even say (in her head, to the anxiety as though the anxiety was a person) "bring it on, anxiety!" She found that if she didn't FIGHT the anxiety, it almost never came on as badly--and that has worked for me at times too.
2. Wear a rubber band on your wrist, and snap it when you start to get "up in your head" with anxiety. Or you can throw some coins in your pocket and try to identify them by touch. Things like this can help to distract away from the anxious feelings.
Hope those help!