Many of us bump into this intriguing question—whether we’re helping others or working on ourselves. We start resolving an issue, the feelings steadily improve, and then halfway through we hit a snag and feel afraid.
We worry whether it’s really working, whether we’re just “tricking” our minds, whether this calm is only a fleeting breeze—and whether we’re secretly pretending it’s already okay.
In this article, I’ll again focus on inner threats like anxiety and panic attacks. Not because I love the topic, but because most people who’ve written to me in recent years—or asked me to work with them—struggle with exactly this. So it’s worth saying a few more words and answering that nagging question: what do we do when it pops up?
First, even though I downplay anxiety and panic (because I know they’re not as catastrophically dangerous as they feel), I fully admit they can be seriously annoying.
We need to remember these states are not illnesses or defects. They’re well-learned skills. That’s the first thing anyone “suffering” should realize. You might feel like I deserve your eye-roll—especially if you’re in the thick of it—but I won’t take it personally. I walked through this myself and, with some luck and a lot of work, came out the other side. It can be different for you, too.
You can test this easily (please don’t deliberately trigger yourself; this is an illustration). You know how you can lie down at night, have the “right” thoughts, tune in to your heartbeat, control your breath, and—boom—there it is. The body sensations pile up, discomfort grows, and the only question is whether you’ll ride it out or whether it will run the show.
Does it come back on its own—or do we bring it back?
Yes. No. It depends. Often we can spark anxiety and panic by the way we think. And sometimes it seems to “jump” us out of nowhere… or does it?
Here’s the simplest way I know to explain it—drivers, this will feel familiar. When we first learned to drive, we juggled a million things: pedals, gears, turn signals, scanning the road, other cars, pedestrians—plus steering so we didn’t end up driving in the wrong lane. After we passed the test and actually drove regularly, something changed. Not overnight, but after hundreds—really thousands—of kilometers, we just got in and drove. Our conscious mind watched the road; the rest felt automatic. The subconscious took over and ran the program.
You might protest: “What does driving have to do with anxiety or panic? I didn’t practice to reach the ‘bliss’ of a panic attack. It hit me once, out of the blue!”
Here’s the thing. Our brain also has “gears”: slow, fast, and rocket-fast. We can learn very quickly—that’s how humans survive. The older, reactive part of the brain prioritizes what’s important, not what’s logical. When something slams into us with enough force that we feel instant danger, we remember it—fast. That’s why big fears (like phobias) are often born in a single moment. So: not only through repetition, but especially under threat, learning can be instant.
That means the whole “panic sequence” can spin up subconsciously, and we only notice once our body sounds the alarm.
So… will it come back, or not?
Good question. FasterEFT works at the subconscious level, which means it targets the very programs running out of sight. Yet our best ally here is consistency. Sometimes change is wand-waving quick—and it never returns. Other times, it takes real practice to unlearn a well-learned skill and wire in new responses.
How can I check where I really am?
Imagine the situation where it usually starts. Picture it as if it’s happening now and notice whether your system tries to spin up. Important: do this only if you’ve already done solid work and genuinely feel episodes are gone. If you’ve never worked on it, begin with the basics first—learn, then practice.
If something does arise in that imagined scenario, use your tools: clear it, flip it, and encode a better response. You’ll find there’s nothing left to “come back.”
And remember, this question isn’t just for anxiety and panic. It can show up with any issue you’re transforming. Visualize the situation where you fear relapse; if anything uncomfortable appears, process it and turn it into something supportive. Bit by bit, you teach your nervous system a new normal.
As with everything—also with FasterEFT—one rule holds: patience and steady practice pay off. Add a pinch of persistence, and you’ll feel the difference.