Have Panic Attacks Overcome Your Life?
You’re not alone. I’ve been there, and I am now able to control my panic attacks so I can honestly tell you there is hope.
My name is Sarah Campbell, and my goal with this website is to help you overcome your panic attacks by revealing my experiences with you, and how I overcame them. First, you must understand what panic attacks are, this is your first step to living a panic free life.
When my Panic Attacks Began
At the age of eighteen, my life was turned upside down after experiencing my first panic attack. It happened around a time that I was under a lot of stress but I didn’t attribute them to that. I was having one or more everyday and especially in public places. I found myself running home and locking the doors and drawing the curtains closed. I became depressed, scared and didn’t leave my bed for weeks.
It is very common for panic attack sufferers to become agoraphobic, in fact this occurs in one and three people with panic attack disorder. As for me, being a full fledged hermit was not an option, I lived on my own and had to perform the weekly tasks of grocery shopping, laundry etc…
Taking on these menial everyday tasks proved to be a nightmare. I would call anyone who would join me and make them pay for my items so that I could avoid a panic attack at the cash. This was not a way to live and my mother caught on quickly. She gave me great advice that later coincided with Joe Barry’s successful online book Panic Away. At first I found it very difficult but she made me confront the panic attacks head on and stopped paying for my items. She no longer wanted to be an enabler to my disorder and this truly helped me in overcoming panic attacks, and now I know why.
Why do we keep having Panic Attacks?
Why do we keep having panic attacks? In my experience, that one thing was, FEAR. Fear of having another panic attack kept me in a perpetual state of anxiety. Sometimes the anxiety is underlying, but its always there creeping beneath the exterior, this is why many people who have panic attack disorder also have GAD or Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Some people may have an attack, realize what it is, and carry on with their lives like nothing happened. Others become so afraid of them, that they continue to have them and thus begin the merry go round, and fall victim to Panic Attack Disorder.
Coming to this conclusion was a breakthrough because during an attack I was able to tell myself things like “this is only a panic attack“ and “nothing is going to happen to me, this will end“. As hard as that is to do at first, keep trying. While it wouldn’t stop the panic attack completely, it would prevent it from escalating and eventually with my full knowledge of what Panic Attacks are and my new freedom of not fearing them, I can finally say I have overcome my panic attacks!
If this sounds like you, have a look through my site and hopefully start on a journey to recovery. Visit the Signs and Symptoms page for some insight, and make sure to read over some tips to help control your panic attacks.
I also strongly recommend Joe Barry’s Panic Away book. His methods are great for teaching you the right mindset to overcoming panic attacks for good!
