Given the constantly growing number of questions on this topic, I decided to devote today’s article to anxiety, panic attacks, and panic disorder. If you’ve ever experienced anything like this, you know it’s nothing pleasant.
These states are often treated with various medications, but they don’t always resolve the issue or eliminate the unpleasant symptoms—more often they mute them (and mute the quality of life overall). In this article I’d like to briefly describe the diagnosis and also add a practical method that helps to resolve it.
If you’ve ever experienced such a state or been diagnosed with a panic attack or an anxiety disorder, you probably want to know how to resolve it.
Let’s remember: this is not a disease.
This state is a well-learned skill and a moment when our subconscious tries to protect us.
What is a panic attack protecting us from?
This is, of course, an individual matter. Each person can have a different trigger, even if the end result shares many common features for most people.
A panic attack isn’t life-threatening; it is very, very unpleasant. Its expression can look like a thousand serious and non-serious illnesses, so I do not recommend underestimating anything.
A doctor’s visit can bring calm and, if you experience something like this, I definitely recommend going—at least to rule out anything life-threatening.
Below is a list of common symptoms people report during an “episode.” This list is not exhaustive.
Common symptoms of a panic attack
Psychological symptoms
- Sense of threat
- Feeling of tension
- Fear
- Excessive worries and ruminations; catastrophic thoughts and images
- Difficulty concentrating
- Insomnia
- Hypervigilance
- Drowsiness
- Startle response
- Irritability
- Inner trembling
- Feelings of derealization or depersonalization
- Fatigue
- Inability to relax
- Waves of panic terror
- Anticipatory anxiety
- Sleep problems
Physical symptoms
- Muscle tension
- Shortness of breath, rapid breathing, or air hunger
- Back pain, headaches, spinal muscle pain
- Tremors, twitching, shakiness
- Increased fatigability
- Dizziness
- Stabbing head sensations
- Heart pounding, rapid pulse
- Heaviness or tightness in the chest
- Sweating
- Flushing or paleness
- Frequent urination
- Diarrhea or constipation
- Bloating and gas
- Loss of appetite or, conversely, urges to overeat
- Dry mouth
- Stomach or abdominal pressure; “butterflies”
- Belching and acid reflux
- Nausea
- Tingling in hands, forearms, lips, or legs
- Difficulty swallowing
- Throat tightness; “lump in the throat”
- Chest pricking
- Visual snow, floaters, or blurred vision
So what’s happening in a “typical” episode?
Someone is lying calmly in bed or riding the subway, thinking about their day. Suddenly something shifts—something “clicks”—and the body produces a strong sensation that something is wrong. Unpleasant feelings and symptoms (like those above) appear quickly, and fear rises.
Distressing thoughts begin to race, which generate more unpleasant sensations. If you suddenly can’t swallow or feel you can only breathe half a breath, the body flips into fight-or-flight, as if there were a serious external threat—like an angry dog charging at you. The inner chemistry prepares us to attack or run.
But there’s no dog to disappear around the corner. The threat comes from within, so there’s nothing external to end it. Sometimes we don’t even know what triggered it, making it impossible to “think about something else.” Images and bodily sensations get worse and worse.
We enter a vicious circle: physical sensations fuel fear, which fuels more adrenaline and other hormones, making us more sensitive; the heart beats faster…
Some people experience this only once; for others it repeats. When it repeats and people don’t find a way to handle it, they often develop problems traveling, driving, being alone, being among people, and may end up housebound. In some cases this can lead to agoraphobia.
So what now?
Here are your options:
- Medication — take drugs (some can be habit-forming and “fog the brain”) that don’t reliably work for everyone; even with changes and trials, you may not get the desired result.
- Give up — do exactly what the state “demands.” Abandon your usual travel, driving, subway rides, going far from home, and end up staying home—by the way, option 1 often ends in option 2.
- Look for a way to end panic attacks once and for all—or at least get through them calmly.
What would you honestly choose?
Many people suffer and insist that “if you haven’t lived it, you can’t understand it”—that it’s terrible to “have” something like this.
Here’s my take: there’s a paradoxical humor here. It doesn’t look like it, but there is. You don’t HAVE a panic attack—you CREATE it! A panic attack clearly demonstrates the power of our subconscious to protect us and stop us when we might do something that could lead to an unpleasant situation—or its repeat.
It’s also striking how many wild thoughts we can produce during an “episode.” We’re afraid we won’t live to see what we wanted, won’t watch our kids grow up, and so on. In reality, we do everything to feel even worse.
Panic attacks and similar states are solvable—anyone can overcome them, even if not entirely alone. There is a way.
And before you say it sounds “too simple to work”… I know what I’m talking about. I’ve experienced most of the symptoms listed above and was just as terrified at first as most people. That’s no longer the case. I’m not a lucky one whose symptoms just disappeared, and I didn’t get “loaded” with pills. I was right where many are—and I wouldn’t be out of it without FasterEFT.
Let’s end panic attacks and similar states
First, say out loud: “I won’t die, I won’t go crazy, I won’t lose control, …” — none of what your mind is saying is actually true, and none of it will happen.
When you’re in it
When a panic attack hits and a scary thought pops up, tell yourself the exact opposite of what your mind suggests.
If you have the strength to tap, focus not on the physical symptoms but on the fear, anxiety, panic, and similar emotions that create and amplify the sensations. If we “miss the target,” we can feel worse and think that tapping won’t save us. It can help—but we have to aim precisely, and these feelings can be very strong.
Notice the worst sensation you have—and intensify it…
What? Intensify an already awful sensation?
Yes—that’s exactly what you do!
When you amplify it, you may realize you’re the one creating the panic attack—and you can cancel it in seconds.
If it doesn’t work the first time, that’s okay. You’ll get it next time.
Want to supercharge your confidence?
I’ve consistently had better results when I first help myself (or a client) make peace with death and dying. It’s actually one of the fastest ways to regain control when you need it most. During a panic attack, fear of death is often the main driver.
How to prevent panic attacks from returning
For lasting results we need to be thorough. Start recalling situations when this happened and write a list. If it happened once, your list has one memory. If it happened a thousand times, the list has 1000 entries. That’s the deal—no one said it was free.
Unfortunately, like many other things, a panic attack is our creation. You are creating it—and you need to “unlearn” it.
Write down the events: where you were, what was happening, what you were thinking.
We won’t remember everything—but we’ll remember something. Capture what you can recall.
Then our task is to enter each memory (start with the earliest) and remove every emotion and sensation you can find. Each memory must end at 0—tap until it’s at 0. No feelings, no emotions. Try to bring the negative back into the memory. Let the memory transform into something positive. Reimagine the scene: nothing happened; you enjoyed the subway ride; you had a great time with friends; or you had the best sleep of your life—whatever serves you.
Do this for every memory. Along the way you’ll likely realize what triggered the attacks and what your subconscious was trying to protect you from. Focus on that as well. Clear the feelings and emotions from that root experience—thoughts, images, whatever it is—and change it.
Once your list is entirely clean, your subconscious—and especially you—will lose the ability to generate panic attacks. I’m not saying it can never relearn it, but it will be harder and harder. If you continue working on yourself, chances are you’ll never experience anything like it again—and you’ll be free…
Caution
I know going back isn’t easy. You’ll be trying to re-evoke states, which can be unpleasant. If you don’t feel up to it alone, that is not weakness. Ask for help from someone experienced. I myself first asked for a hand from an experienced FasterEFT practitioner—that pulled me out of the worst, helped me see there was nothing to fear, and then I could continue on my own.
Note on comments:
Friends, sometimes I’m very busy and social platforms don’t always notify me about your comments—agreeing or not—so I can’t always respond or debate whether I’m right. If this article upset you, please remember: there are hundreds, maybe thousands of people who experienced panic attacks and no longer do. What I wrote here is what I needed to know to get rid of mine—and it’s a method that will help many of you, even if it’s not yet clear what I was talking about (like tapping).
So decide why you’re here.
- Are you here to read about how terrible panic attacks are and that nothing helps except meds—and you don’t intend to learn or apply anything new to “get rid” of them? If so, please wish strength and success to those who…
- Came here to win over themselves and are ready to do whatever it takes to live a great life—because my experience can truly help them, and I can help personally if they ask.
Please don’t waste your energy—or mine—on arguments going nowhere. We likely won’t convince each other.
Where next?
You read this article, tried the techniques you found, and it’s still not perfect?
Do you want to end these problems once and for all?
You can get a book written exactly for you. It contains a complete step-by-step process to help you end panic attacks for good, plus you can get a substantial discount on therapy to jump-start your results.
Order the book and end the panic. I want the book!