Anyone who’s ever suffered a panic attack or a severe anxiety episode knows the suffering it causes, both physical and psychological.  The panic can seem overwhelming while the physical sensations that go with it make many people think that they’re going to die.

They feel as if they’re trapped and would give anything to find release from their fear.

Even worse is living with the fear that another episode of panic might suddenly come out of nowhere.

That fear can lead people suffering from panic attacks to gradually withdraw from situations where they might be embarrassed or at risk if an attack occurred. 

Gradually their life constricts around them.

Obviously anyone in this situation wants release. 

When they try to find help from a medical professional they’re often offered a prescription.  There’s no doubt that drugs are useful, especially in the short term.  However, ideally they are only a stop-gap measure, something to ease the symptoms while the underlying cause is addressed.

A Mistake Most People Make

Since panic episodes feel so overwhelming, sufferers automatically assume that these feelings and the experience of a panic attack are something they need to fight against.

In a way this makes perfect sense.  The physiology underlying a panic attack is the fight or flight response – the response that prepares us to respond to physical danger by either fighting for our life or running like crazy. 

The physiology is preparing us for battle, so naturally we feel like we should fight.

However with these episodes, that’s exactly the wrong response.  By resisting them, we’re giving them more power that they really have.

How To Avoid This Trap

The clever response in dealing with panic attacks is to accept them, even challenge them to do their worst.

That may seem too easy.  Or maybe it seems too scary.

The key is that with a panic attack, nothing bad happens.

If you’re about to be run over by a bus and just sit there, you’ll die.

In contrast, you won’t die as a consequence of a panic attack.  The sense of danger is an illusion, a paper tiger.

The way to see that is to accept the feeling of panic and the accompanying sensations and even welcome them.  Dare them to do their worst.  It may be frightening when you start, but less so with time.

What you’ll likely find is that this actually leads to the symptoms subsiding, sometimes almost immediately.  As the saying goes “What we resist persists”.  Accept a panic attack for what it is and it loses its power.

Although this approach is simple and effective, it doesn’t come automatically.  Practice and coaching help to become proficient at it.  But the start is realizing that the risk from a panic attack is more illusion than real.

If you want to find out more about panic attacks Panic Attack Release is a great site.

And there’s a good review of a product that teaches this type approach at Panic Away Review

As Dorthy found out when she got to Oz, the man behind the curtain is not very frightening once you see what’s really there.

You can find out about a great way to get beyond Panic Attacks by clicking that link.