My Story of panic and how I got out of it!

I was 24 when I had my first panic attack. I was sitting in the cinema when I started to feel very uncomfortable. My heart began to race and my whole body began to tense up. At first I thought it might have been an allergic reaction to something, then I began to fear it was something more serious like a heart attack. I left for the toilet and was so terrified I could not go back to my seat.

That was the first of many anxiety or panic attacks I was to experience over the next few years. I did not know what a 'panic attack' was until my doctor explained it to me. He did not give a lot of information about it but said I had developed an anxiety disorder. He prescribed some medication to calm me down but I stopped taking them as I feared I would become addicted or have bad side effects.

Sometimes at night I would wake with anxiety and every morning as I got up, I would check to see how anxious I felt in my stomach- The one thing always on my mind was "am I going to have a panic attack today". Along with this I began to have thoughts that scared me like I might go crazy and do something totally out of character in public or with the people close to me.

I was so wound up I started to loose confidence in my own ability to control my own life. It influenced a lot of decisions I made for the next three years. Holidays, nights out, work trips all were influenced by this nagging fear of anxiety. Driving also started to become difficult as I feared getting stuck in traffic or at red lights and if I had a panic attack I wouldn't be able to operate the car. I felt helpless.

This however is a letter of hope. I am writing this to let others who might be experiencing something similar that I found a way out of my anxiety. I found the Panic Away program on the internet and was initially suspect of buying it as I had not heard of it before. I took a chance and downloaded the e-book. As I read it I felt Mr Barry was speaking directly to me. He knew exactly what I was going through and outlined a way to move out of the anxiety with a technique he calls the One Move.

This approach has made a world of difference. I applied the technique each morning (when I usually experienced worst anxiety) and immediately noticed a difference. Something was changing - it is hard to describe, like a light going on - It felt like I was not running away form the fear anymore. Several weeks passed without significant anxiety and then I slowly dared to do things I was avoiding - driving on my own, flying on my own, lots of stuff on my own where before I need someone with me. One year later here I am writing this email feeling 100% better. I now do not fear anxiety creeping back because I have moved beyond it. That is what this book and technique has taught me.

I look back on the time spent in anxiety as a very troublesome but now worthwhile experience. I learnt more about myself than ever before and I learnt that I have all the resources within me to deal with this, I just needed someone to guide me. I am writing this in the hope that it might ring home with even just one person who is a similar place as to where I was when I felt down and trapped in fear.

Beat wishes
Glenda Darby

Click here to learn more about this course Panic Away