Note – this is just a review of the product. For more information please click the link to visit the official Panic Away Website

As seems to be the case with most of the people behind these social anxiety help programs, Joe Barry understands the symptoms because he is an ex-anxiety and panic attack sufferer himself.

Therefore, who better at understanding the cause of panic attacks and anxiety ?

Click Here To Visit The Official Panic Away Website

Panic Away is claimed to be one of the most powerful ways to treat anxiety and panic attacks without the use of medication.

Some of the benefits of Panic Away:

• All-natural approach to stopping anxiety and panic attacks.
• Based on advanced psychology but simple to use.
• Takes seconds to implement no matter where you are.
• How to break the vicious cycle of the fear of panic attacks.
• Discover the key factor to finally eliminate panic attacks.
• How to avoid the one mistake that nearly everyone makes during a panic attack.
• Used successfully by over 27,000 sufferers.
• FREE, unlimited one-to-one coaching from Joe should you request it.
• Risk-Free 8 Week Guarantee.

The program is available instantly via download. And if you find any other anxiety program with a greater collection of authentic photo audio testimonials you will get the entire Panic Away course for free.

Our Opinion:

Rating: 4/5

Judging by feedback from various sources(based on unbiased, comments & articles), there is considerable evidence that Panic Away is an effective solution for eliminating anxiety and panic attacks without medication.For some people, the symptoms of extreme anxiety slowly diminished, but in each case improvements were observed. Panic Away is an effective solution for panic attacks, and is excellent value too.

PLEASE NOTE: The Panic Away program requires effort on your part and that it is NOT any sort of quick fix hypnotism, new age scam, or short term solution. If the advice in the book is followed you should finally see relief with the techniques contained in Panic Away.

Read Some Panic Away Reviews:

Extract from actual customer posted on Social Phobia World Forums:
“I have read Panic Away by Joe Barry and I think that this is a great product and it has a technique that I think is great. I kept on using the technique and some other things that I have learnt and with consistency and time I don’t have them anymore.”

Extract from actual customer posted on Daily Strength Anxiety Support Group:
“I was at the end of my tether with anxiety and felt that nothing was working long term, so i thought what the hell why not try it. I used the technique the last time i had a panic attack and was quite surprised with the result, i didnt get to the point of being sick and was able to bring myself back down quite quickly.”

Extract from actual customer posted on Ogun State Online User Forum:
“Go and have a look for yourself. I 1st thought it was garbage.But I have gone from wanting to jump off a bridge to leading a NORMAL life. All from the help I got from PANIC AWAY.”

Extract from actual customer posted on Yahoo Answers:
“I searched all over the internet for products and ended up trying out Panic Away. I would definitely recommend it to you and anybody else suffering from panic and anxiety. It’s really a fascinating product.”

Click Here To Visit The Official Panic Away Website

Product Details:

Company Info:

Company Address:
Panic Away
1133 Broadway,
Suite 706 New York,
NY 10010 , USA
email: service@panicportal.com
USA Telephone – +1 212 714 7731

Product Specifications:

Suitable for:

• Curing panic attacks,panic disorders,anxiety treatment,dealing with anxiety, panic attack treatment, stop panic attack, how to cure panic attacks, and coping with panic attacks.
• Downloadable product (eBook)
• Panic Away Manual.
• The One Move Technique™ Live audio mp3.Listen as Joe guides you through a panic attack and show you how to end it quickly using the One Move Technique™ taught in Panic Away.
• Access to Joe Barry’s private email address for unlimited one-to-one coaching from should you request it.

Price: $67.95 (Orders processed by Clickbank – a secure method of payment)

Return Policy:

Risk-Free 56-day refund guarantee. This means that if you are not satisfied with Panic Away you can get your money back.

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We need your feedback!

If you have bought Panic Away then give us your feedback on it by using the contact form on this website. You can find it on the menu at the top of the page. Your feedback is important because it will help other people decide if Panic Away is suitable for them.

All those who give feedback will get a link to a free ebook about dealing with anxiety.

Note:There is no guarantee that feedback will be published but you will still get the free ebook in any case.Thank you.

Panic Puzzle is a complete guide to overcoming your anxiety,panic attacks, and irrational fears.

It walks you step by step through exactly what you need to be doing in order to remove negative, scary, and irrational thoughts from your mind and replace them with thoughts of peace and confidence.

It will open your eyes to the TRUTH about anxiety and panic attacks, explaining to you precisely how your anxiety works, why you’ve had trouble overcoming it, and what you need to do to get rid of it – once and for all.

Visit The Official Panic Puzzle Website

You don’t need to grit your teeth and battle to overcome your anxiety and panic, and it doesn’t take a lot of time, which you probably don’t have. You just follow the simple steps and before you know it, you will see how much different, and better, your life will be.

The Panic Puzzle isn’t New Age nonsense or some instant anxiety cure that leaves you more disappointed and depressed than before. It’s based on solid psychology that’s guaranteed to work for you too.

Judging by the testimonials from former anxiety sufferers, The Panic Puzzle looks like one of the best courses around to help you to get over anxiety.

Of course, it won’t work for everyone but it certainly has many happy customers, and comes with a money-back guarantee if you don’t find it works for you.

I have to say it’s not as cheap as some at its current price of $87, but you can’t put a price on health and you do get a lot for your money.

You can find out more here…The Official Panic Puzzle Website

Download this FREE eBook

The Trick Anxiety Plays On You And How To Change The Rules…

By Rich Presta

Author of The Panic Puzzle and Driving Fear Programs

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The Panic Puzzle Program takes you by the hand step-by-step through everything you need to know to overcome your anxiety, phobias, and panic attacks. You’ll discover exactly what you must do so you can leave your fear where it belongs… in your past.

It’s therefore understandable that many people with anxiety report frequent sleep disturbance as a major problem.

Not being able to sleep can actually be quite traumatic for many people.

by Barry Joe McDonagh, the creator of the PanicAway method for dealing with panic attacks.

The first thing you need to understand about sleep is this: it’s not the amount of sleep you get that’s important, but rather the quality of the sleep.

Quality of sleep over quantity.

I am going to give you some quick tips to help tackle any problems you are having with sleep. Firstly, to break the insomnia cycle, begin by not presuming you will sleep! That seems like the wrong attitude, but if you approach each night as just a possible opportunity to sleep, this helps remove the pressure you are placing yourself under.

In a way, some people have performance anxiety when they think about sleeping:

“Will I be able to make myself sleep tonight?”

The answer is maybe yes, maybe no. If you’re going through a period of sleeplessness, a good night’s sleep isn’t guaranteed, for whatever reason, so you have to accept that for the moment. If you get one or two hours’ sleep, that’s well and good, and if you get nothing, then accept it and move on. Each night, as you retire, say to yourself:

“I’m preparing for bed, but I won’t try to force sleep. If it comes, it comes. If not, I won’t beat myself up over it. This is a period I’m going through, but I’ll soon return to normal sleep patterns.”

Every person goes through periods of sleeplessness from time to time. It’s very natural. You may not be aware of why you experience sleeplessness, but at the very least, you can accept it.

Let me emphasize the importance of surrendering to your inability to sleep. Surrender to whatever may or may not happen during the course of a night, and you’ll put your mind under less pressure. After a certain point, it’s really the anger and frustration that keep you awake most of the night.

Naturally the best way to get a good night’s sleep is a good physical workout each evening in the outdoors. This is very effective because the mind may try to keep you awake, but the sheer physical exhaustion brings on sleep quicker. Couple that with a willingness to accept sleeplessness, and you’ll find yourself sleeping much easier.

Remember that alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine should be avoided several hours before sleep. You may be the type who finds it initially hard to get to sleep as your mind races with anxious thoughts. Should you find your mind racing and you simply can’t achieve sleep, keep a journal beside your bed. Sit upright and start to write down how you feel:

“I’m feeling quite restless. I keep turning over and over, trying to sleep, but I have worries on my mind.” Now write down all of your worries, for example:

“Tomorrow I have to do X, and I’m afraid I won’t be well rested, etc.”

Continue to write down your worries until the exercise actually becomes quite boring. Then your body and mind will slowly want to return to sleep. Writing like this is a simple tool for preparing your mind in a linear way to wind down and return to sleep (an advanced form of counting sheep).

Don’t be afraid of writing pages and pages of nothing in particular. What you’re doing is helping the conscious mind release whatever is keeping it awake so it can stop obsessing and return to sleep.

You see, one of the reasons we can’t fall asleep is that our mind feels these worries (whatever they are) are important to analyze over and over; they need urgent attention and therefore should be thought about all night long.

The more worked up you get by the worries, the more your body gets stimulated and the harder sleep is to achieve. Writing down all your worries on paper has the effect of saying to your mind:

“Okay, mind, you think these are important. I’ve written them all down in detail. They won’t be forgotten, I promise. I can come back to them tomorrow and deal with them then-but RIGHT NOW, let’s sleep.”

The mind can be like a small child who just needs reassurance that things will be dealt with and looked after. That’s all it needs to let go of these mental worries. You then discover, in the morning, that almost all of the worries or concerns aren’t big issues. Many of our worries are the workings or an overactive imagination.

Dr. Dennis Gersten of San Diego suggests an approach that is effective for particularly restless nights. You may want to experiment with it the next time you are very restless in bed.

Try this if you have trouble sleeping:

-As you lie there in bed, start by remembering a time in your life when you absolutely had to stay awake! Maybe it was an important exam you were studying for and you had to keep cramming through the night.

Maybe it was staying up all night nursing your baby to sleep. Maybe it was when you were traveling through the night on a bus and needed to stay awake in case you missed your stop.

I am sure there have been many different occasions in your life where you had to force yourself to stay awake.

-Remember the weariness and the effort just to keep your eyes open. Remember how your eyelids felt like lead weights and you wished you could close them, even just for a minute. At that time, you could not give in to your urge to fall asleep; you had to fight hard to stay awake. Relive those memories and really try and remember exactly what that felt like.

-Now think about right now, and how good it feels to actually be in bed with no pressing need to stay awake. Think how much you would have given to be where you are now, lying in your bed with your head resting on the pillow and the complete freedom you have to fall asleep. It feels really good to actually have full permission to fall asleep right now.

There are no demands on you to stay awake. With your eyes closed spend a few more minutes remembering that time.

Night Panic Attacks

People with anxiety disorders can sometimes be awakened at night by panic attacks. We know that most nighttime panic attacks aren’t caused by dreams.

Records of sleep polysomnographia show that most panic attacks take place during the early sleep phase (phase II), not during the REM phase associated with dreams.

This is different from nightmares. Nightmares happen during the second half of the night, so we’re often able to remember the content of these dreams.

It’s important not to go to bed fearing you might have a panic attack. Go to bed confident that if one should arise, you’ll successfully deal with it. That way, you don’t put yourself under pressure to NOT have a panic attack. Many panic attacks are experienced at the very moment of falling asleep.

If you wake with a panic attack, implement the One Move Technique as outlined in my course Panic Away.

Hypnic Jerks

Here’s a description a woman recently gave of her experience:

“Getting to sleep is a real problem. Just as I’m about to drop off to sleep, my body seems to jolt awake, like an electric shock, which then frightens me and keeps me awake for hours.”

This jolt is called a hypnic jerk, or hypnagogic massive jerk. A hypnic jerk usually occurs just as the person enters sleep. People often describe it as a falling sensation or an electric shock, and it’s a completely normal experience. It’s most common when we’re sleeping uncomfortably or overtired.

There’s been little research on the subject, but there are some theories as to why hypnic jerks occur. When we drift off into sleep, the body undergoes changes in temperature, breathing, and muscle relaxation.

The hypnic jerk may be a result of the muscles relaxing. The brain misinterprets this as a sign of falling, and it signals our limbs to wake up, hence the jerking legs or arms.

People turn hypnic jerks into panic attacks because they already feel nervous about their condition and the jolt scares them into thinking something bad is happening. Again, it’s a fearful reaction to a sensation.

Usually when these people wake up, they gasp for air, and this can also turn into a fear of a breathing problem while sleeping. If you jolt awake with panic, then simply understanding the nature of a hypnic jerk can strip away the anxiety from the experience.

Reassure yourself that you’re safe and that the jerk isn’t something to worry about. It doesn’t disrupt your bodily functions, and it doesn’t put you in any danger.

All too often people with anxiety are pressurized to end their anxiety. People pass remarks like:

“I wish you could just snap out of your anxiety”.

Although people mean well, these type of comments are not helpful. People don’t just think one thought and snap out of anxiety. There is a step by step process of removing the illusion that anxiety creates and for some this can take time where the anxiety has been present for many years.

Anxiety IS Curable

I really want to impress upon you that anxiety is curable. What you must never stop doing is searching for the right approach for you. By the way I hope I have not come across too strong in pushing my course Panic Away. I am excited by the results it gets and that is why I talked about it frequently.

After many years working in this area I am now more convinced than ever that every single person, regardless of how severe, can end their anxiety problem. If you have a thought that is telling you different then you need to lose that thought.

Never stop trying, never give up. That is the best you can do.

Best Wishes

Barry Joe McDonagh

If you want to learn more about my work then visit the following link:

www.panicaway.com

Many people who experience panic attacks and anxiety attacks become distressed by this sensation and feel they may be losing their mind.

People who experience panic attacks report feeling disconnected from their world‚ or having a sensation of unreality. The sensation is described as if the world has become nothing more than a projection of a film.

This sensation is quite distressing as it often leads to the individual believing that some permanent damage has been done to their brain‚ causing these sensations.

A typical manifestation of this depersonalization is when the individual may be having a conversation with someone and suddenly feels alarmingly isolated and removed from the situation. Once the sensation arises it can make such an impact that it takes days to leave the eerie feeling behind and stop thinking about it.

The sensation is caused by delayed perception. While under constant stress or anxiety there is a build up of stress chemicals in your system that causes a delayed response in the transmission of information between neurotransmitter sites in your body.

This slight delay between experience and thought can create a momentary sensation of unreality.

The same effects are experienced under the influence of marijuana but people do not react with fear in this situation because they are aware it is the drug causing the sensation; it is when the sensation arrives while you are doing your tax returns that things feel a little scary!

I mention depersonalization because the condition is not often spoken about‚ and to reassure those of you who may have experienced this sensation‚ that it is only a side–effect of excessive anxiety and will pass as soon as the body learns to relax. Once the body returns to a normal level of relaxation it then has the opportunity to dispel some excess chemicals.

It is very easy to start imagining all the terrible mental illnesses that this could be but don’t worry you haven’t caused any damage to yourself you will return to the person you were before depersonalization crept in. You will have to trust me on that.

The quickest way out of this disconnected feeling is to really accept it for the time being and have faith that it will pass shortly. Shrug your shoulders and relax into it. You can take this relaxed attitude to it because you know that you will return to normal when you move out of this period of anxiety.

It is a phase you are moving through so be patient with yourself while you are in it.

What really moves people out of this sensation quickest is adopting an attitude that all is well. And it is. These unusual sensations of depersonalization are just a nuisance‚ but it will pass.

Not feeling connected to yourself in this manner is solely due to the anxiety in your system and it is then reinforced by your constant checking to see how you are feeling.

It is like you are over analyzing yourself all the time and that can make you feel even more strange. I appreciate how uncomfortable it can feel but don’t worry about it‚ it will leave.

Don’t let the thoughts sucker you into thinking you are alone and stuck with this feeling of depersonalization all your life. Those thoughts are not valid. The more you can flow along with it and not react the more quickly you will return to feeling more yourself. It takes a little practice but that change in attitude will make a big difference for you.

You will look back in the very near future and wonder what all the fuss was about and that anxious person will seem like the stranger.

The “Panic Away” Program:
Proof At Last that Panic Attacks and Anxiety
Can be Eliminated For Good!

In essence, anxiety is a natural process meant to keep people away from things that may be harmful to their well-being. However, while anxiety is a natural process, a person who has extreme amounts of it may have what is termed an anxiety disorder.

It will often consist of extreme fear and worry, and some people even experience physical signs such as nausea or chest pains. People suffering from anxiety will usually have a feeling of dread.

In humans, it appears that anxiety comes from the hippocampus and amygdala, an almond-sized and shaped brain structure. The amygdala has been associated with a range of mental conditions from normalcy to depression to even autism, has become the subject of numerous research projects.

Anxiety is a complex emotion, and is composed of a number of different elements. Some of these elements are somatic or cognitive, where the body will prepare itself to deal with an external threat. When someone feels anxious, the human brain releases stress hormones, which includes adrenaline.

The physical symptoms of anxiety are identified by how the brain sends signals to other parts of the body preparing for a fight or flight reaction.

Anxiety Attacks Symptoms:

• Abdominal discomfort
• Rapid heartbeat or palpitations
• Dizziness
• Diarrhoea
• Shortness of breath
• Dry mouth
• Tightness or pain in chest
• Frequent urination
• Difficulty in swallowing.

Anxiety disorders can be categorized into phobias, panic disorders, generalized anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. A person who has a phobia will have an abnormal amount of fear of a specific object or situation. People who have phobias tend to have vivid imaginations, and recognize that their fear is often irrational.

Panic Disorder

When someone suffers from a panic disorder, they will have acute panic attacks, and possibly have dizziness or breathing problems. These attacks will usually reach their height in about 10 minutes.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized anxiety disorders are widespread, affecting a much larger portion of the population. It is common in both men and woman, and is characterized by long periods of anxiety that are not associated to any particular object or situation.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

With the obsessive-compulsive disorder, the person feel compelled to do things repeatedly. People who suffer from this disorder have a need to do something obsessively in order to reduce their anxiety.

Many people who have this disorder feel a compulsion to be extremely clean, and are frightened of germs. To lessen their anxiety, they will wash their hands numerous times a day.

Treatment for Anxiety

There are two main methods that are used to help those who are suffering from anxiety, and this is either therapy or prescription medications. There are some physical causes of anxiety such as a thyroid disorder. With treatment for the diagnosed illness, the anxiety can improve over time.

Whatever you do, whenever you or a member of the family or even a close friend are showing signs of stress for any reason then please consult a doctor – especially before buying over the counter medication.

His new book is called the Anxiety Lie.

Note – this is just a review of the product. For more information please click the link to visit the official Anxiety Lie Website

Why is it called the anxiety lie?

Well, Rich states that what you have heard about anxiety so far is not exactly a lie but it certainly isn’t the whole truth. This book gives you the real truth about anxiety

The thing is the people who sell panic attack and anxiety cures don’t really want you to know everything about anxiety because they think that what you don’t know won’t hurt you.

They are primarily businesses after all, so their sales page tries to imbue in you a sense of hope to make you more receptive to buy their ebooks and videos.

It doesn’t mean their panic attack and anxiety cures don’t work, but they are in it for the profit after all so shy away from telling you the bad stuff about anxiety upfront.

The Anxiety Lie is different.

In it, Rich tells you the no-holds-barred truth about anxiety. He even warns you that you may not like what you read. The fact is, you might not want to hear the truth as it could change the way you look at stopping anxiety.

This is unlike anything you’ve ever read before about anxiety or panic attacks and Rich states that the feedback from users has been positive so far. However, please bear in mind that the Anxiety Lie program needs some effort and it is NOT a quick fix for anxiety disorder or a short term solution.

You can find out more about Rich Presta’s ‘The Anxiety Lie’ by clicking on the link below.

Visit The Anxiety Lie Website…

When you feel you’re having a panic attack, you may start to feel dizzy and your heart will beat faster.

Other signs that you may be having a panic attack include:

• Nausea

• Numb

• Feeling of paralysis (can’t move)

• Breathing difficulties

• Sweaty hand and palms

• Increased Tension

Some tips for controlling anxiety and panic attacks include:

• Try to remain calm and relaxed; this can help to lessen the effects of a panic attack.

• Face the panic attacks head on; if you avoid them, it will be more difficult to deal with them in the future.

• Develop the mindset of not letting the panic attacks get to you; meditate on words that can help you relieve your anxiety problems.

• Find some people that can depend on for support. You need people that have your back and will rally around you when the going gets tough.

If you have physical symptoms of anxiety panic attacks consistently, you should consult with your physician to find out what’s going on. More than likely, it can be due to stress levels that increase in intensity.

If your physician finds out that’s the case, then they may prescribe you with some medicine to get rid of the panic attacks. The sooner you get help for this, the better chance you have of being stress-free sooner than later.

If you find yourself arguing with your partner more frequently than normal; catch yourself side-stepping social events; or perhaps even fostering unrealistic feelings of fear or apprehension there’s a good chance you are experiencing some type of anxiety disorder.

Undoubtedly, you’ve heard the term “panic attack.” The reality is that panic attacks are real, but they are just one of many types of anxiety disorders. One myth surrounding anxiety is that having an anxiety disorder somehow makes you a bad or weak person. Everyone has had feelings of anxiousness or fear at some time or another. How a person deals with those feelings is what determines if it is ruling your life or not. For a growing percentage of society, the impact of anxiety is very real, and that only reflects cases that are reported. What is really alarming is that many adolescents and children are also affected by stress and anxiety.

The body’s basic response to stress is significant in how a person protects themselves from perceived treats. It measures a person’s chances for survival when faced with danger or a potentially dangerous situation. A person can either face the stress and fight back, or retreat and take flight.

The fight or flight syndrome is a person’s reaction to stressful circumstances, even in the ordinary course of life. Such reactions or choices are inherent in your modern fight for survival. Your fight or flight reaction is stimulated the moment you are faced with a potentially dangerous situation. The smell of danger keeps the adrenaline rushing through your veins, and gets your heart beating faster. This is what makes you feel faint or weak. The strange thing is that it is your body’s way of preparing you for fight or flight! Just try running when you feel like this. You might be surprised at how fast you can run! At the fight or flight stage, you have a choice to make; you can either become aggressive and face the danger, or be passive and retreat.

Allowing yourself to become exposed to fight or flight situations regularly can be stressful and dangerous to your health. It can backlash and lead to heart ailments, migraines and soaring blood pressure, and for many it leads to social withdrawal.

However it doesn’t have to rule your life. If you or a loved one experience continuous bouts of fear, concern, or apprehension of some unknown event, now is the time to examine your lifestyle. Manage and eliminate your anxiety today.

———————————————

This article is brought to you by PanicAnxietyGone.com

If you suffer from panic attacks and anxiety and want relief… if you’re tired of trying pills, potions, and therapy… If you’d like to eliminate anxiety once and for all, as safely, naturally, and as effectively as possible… then it’s time to take control of your fears.

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Author Edward Golding is a former anxiety sufferer who has created a guaranteed 4-step holistic system that provides a natural and long-term approach to managing the root cause of panic and anxiety.

Edward has the secrets to free you from the pain of anxiety and help you get your life back today

Definition of Anxiety

Anxiety is defined as a state of apprehension or fear resulting from the anticipation of a real or imagined threat, event, or situation. It is one of the most common human emotions experienced by people at some point in their lives.

However, most people who have never experienced a panic attack, or extreme anxiety, fail to realize the terrifying nature of the experience. Extreme dizziness, blurred vision, tingling and feelings of breathlessness—and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

When these sensations occur and people do not understand why, they feel they have contracted an illness, or a serious mental condition. The threat of losing complete control seems very real and naturally very terrifying.

Fight/Flight Response: One of the root causes of panic attacks?

I am sure most of you have heard of the fight/flight response as an explanation for one of the root causes of panic attacks. Have you made the connection between this response and the unusual sensations you experience during and after a panic attack episode?

Anxiety is a response to a danger or threat. It is so named because all of its effects are aimed toward either fighting or fleeing from the danger. Thus, the sole purpose of anxiety is to protect the individual from harm. This may seem ironic given that you no doubt feel your anxiety is actually causing you great harm…perhaps the most significant of all the causes of panic attacks.

However, the anxiety that the fight/flight response created was vital in the daily survival of our ancient ancestors—when faced with some danger, an automatic response would take over that propelled them to take immediate action such as attack or run. Even in today’s hectic world, this is still a necessary mechanism. It comes in useful when you must respond to a real threat within a split second.

Anxiety is a built-in mechanism to protect us from danger. Interestingly, it is a mechanism that protects but does not harm—an important point that will be elaborated upon later.

The Physical Manifestations of a Panic Attack:

Other pieces of the puzzle to understand the causes of panic attacks. Nervousness and Chemical Effects…

When confronted with danger, the brain sends signals to a section of the nervous system. It is this system that is responsible for gearing the body up for action and also calms the body down and restores equilibrium. To carry out these two vital functions, the autonomic nervous system has two subsections, the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.

Although I don’t want to become too “scientific,” having a basic understanding of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system will help you understand the causes of panic attacks.

The sympathetic nervous system is the one we tend to know all too much about because it primes our body for action, readies us for the “fight or flight” response, while the parasympathetic nervous system is the one we love dearly as it serves as our restoring system, which returns the body to its normal state.

When either of these systems is activated, they stimulate the whole body, which has an “all or nothing” effect. This explains why when a panic attack occurs, the individual often feels a number of different sensations throughout the body.

The sympathetic system is responsible for releasing the adrenaline from the adrenal glands on the kidneys. These are small glands located just above the kidneys. Less known, however, is that the adrenal glands also release adrenaline, which functions as the body’s chemical messengers to keep the activity going. When a panic attack begins, it does not switch off as easily as it is turned on. There is always a period of what would seem increased or continued anxiety, as these messengers travel throughout the body. Think of them as one of the physiological causes of panic attacks, if you will.

After a period of time, the parasympathetic nervous system gets called into action. Its role is to return the body to normal functioning once the perceived danger is gone. The parasympathetic system is the system we all know and love, because it returns us to a calm relaxed state.

When we engage in a coping strategy that we have learned, for example, a relaxation technique, we are in fact willing the parasympathetic nervous system into action. A good thing to remember is that this system will be brought into action at some stage whether we will it or not. The body cannot continue in an ever-increasing spiral of anxiety. It reaches a point where it simply must kick in, relaxing the body. This is one of the many built-in protection systems our bodies have for survival.

You can do your best with worrying thoughts, keeping the sympathetic nervous system going, but eventually it stops. In time, it becomes a little smarter than us, and realizes that there really is no danger. Our bodies are incredibly intelligent—modern science is always discovering amazing patterns of intelligence that run throughout the cells of our body. Our body seems to have infinite ways of dealing with the most complicated array of functions we take for granted. Rest assured that your body’s primary goal is to keep you alive and well.

Not so convinced?

Try holding your breath for as long as you can. No matter how strong your mental will is, it can never override the will of the body. This is good news—no matter how hard you try to convince yourself that you are gong to die from a panic attack, you won’t. Your body will override that fear and search for a state of balance. There has never been a reported incident of someone dying from a panic attack.

Remember this next time you have a panic attack; he causes of panic attacks cannot do you any physical harm. Your mind may make the sensations continue longer than the body intended, but eventually everything will return to a state of balance. In fact, balance (homeostasis) is what our body continually strives for.

The interference for your body is nothing more than the sensations of doing rigorous exercise. Our body is not alarmed by these symptoms. Why should it be? It knows its own capability. It’s our thinking minds that panic, which overreact and scream in sheer terror! We tend to fear the worst and exaggerate our own sensations. A quickened heart beat becomes a heart attack. An overactive mind seems like a close shave with schizophrenia. Is it our fault? Not really—we are simply diagnosing from poor information.

Cardiovascular Effects

Activity in the sympathetic nervous system increases our heartbeat rate, speeds up the blood flow throughout the body, ensures all areas are well supplied with oxygen and that waste products are removed. This happens in order to prime the body for action.

A fascinating feature of the “fight or flight” mechanism is that blood (which is channelled from areas where it is currently not needed by a tightening of the blood vessels) is brought to areas where it is urgently needed.

For example, should there be a physical attack, blood drains from the skin, fingers, and toes so that less blood is lost, and is moved to “active areas” such as the thighs and biceps to help the body prepare for action.

This is why many feel numbness and tingling during a panic attack-often misinterpreted as some serious health risk-such as the precursor to a heart attack. Interestingly, most people who suffer from anxiety often feel they have heart problems. If you are really worried that such is the case with your situation, visit your doctor and have it checked out. At least then you can put your mind at rest.

Respiratory Effects

One of the scariest effects of a panic attack is the fear of suffocating or smothering. It is very common during a panic attack to feel tightness in the chest and throat. I’m sure everyone can relate to some fear of losing control of your breathing. From personal experience, anxiety grows from the fear that your breathing itself would cease and you would be unable to recover. Can a panic attack stop our breathing? No.

A panic attack is associated with an increase in the speed and depth of breathing. This has obvious importance for the defense of the body since the tissues need to get more oxygen to prepare for action. The feelings produced by this increase in breathing, however, can include breathlessness, hyperventilation, sensations of choking or smothering, and even pains or tightness in the chest. The real problem is that these sensations are alien to us, and they feel unnatural.

Having experienced extreme panic attacks myself, I remember that on many occasions, I would have this feeling that I couldn’t trust my body to do the breathing for me, so I would have to manually take over and tell myself when to breathe in and when to breathe out. Of course, this didn’t suit my body’s requirement of oxygen and so the sensations would intensify—along with the anxiety. It was only when I employed the technique I will describe for you later, did I let the body continue doing what it does best—running the whole show.

Importantly, a side-effect of increased breathing, (especially if no actual activity occurs) is that the blood supply to the head is actually decreased. While such a decrease is only a small amount and is not at all dangerous, it produces a variety of unpleasant but harmless symptoms that include dizziness, blurred vision, confusion, sense of unreality, and hot flushes.

Other Physical Effects of Panic Attacks:

Now that we’ve discussed some of the primary physiological causes of panic attacks, there are a number of other effects that are produced by the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, none of which are in any way harmful.

For example, the pupils widen to let in more light, which may result in blurred vision, or “seeing” stars, etc. There is a decrease in salivation, resulting in dry mouth. There is decreased activity in the digestive system, which often produces nausea, a heavy feeling in the stomach, and even constipation. Finally, many of the muscle groups tense up in preparation for “fight or flight” and this results in subjective feelings of tension, sometimes extending to actual aches and pains, as well as trembling and shaking.

Overall, the fight/flight response results in a general activation of the whole bodily metabolism. Thus, one often feels hot and flushed and, because this process takes a lot of energy, the person generally feels tired and drained.

Mental Manifestations:

Are the causes of panic attacks all in my head? is a question many people wonder to themselves.

The goal of the fight/flight response is making the individual aware of the potential danger that may be present. Therefore, when activated, the mental priority is placed upon searching the surroundings for potential threats. In this state one is highly-strung, so to speak. It is very difficult to concentrate on any one activity, as the mind has been trained to seek all potential threats and not to give up until the threat has been identified. As soon as the panic hits, many people look for the quick and easiest exit from their current surroundings, such as by simply leaving the bank queue and walking outside.

Sometimes the anxiety can heighten, if we perceive that leaving will cause some sort of social embarrassment.

If you have a panic attack while at the workplace but feel you must press on with whatever task it is you are doing, it is quite understandable that you would find it very hard to concentrate. It is quite common to become agitated and generally restless in such a situation. Many individuals I have worked with who have suffered from panic attacks over the years indicated that artificial light—such as that which comes from computer monitors and televisions screens—can can be one of the causes of panic attacks by triggering them or worsen a panic attack, particularly if the person is feeling tired or run down.

This is worth bearing in mind if you work for long periods of time on a computer. Regular break reminders should be set up on your computer to remind you to get up from the desk and get some fresh air when possible.

In other situations, when during a panic attack an outside threat cannot normally be found, the mind turns inwards and begins to contemplate the possible illness the body or mind could be suffering from. This ranges from thinking it might have been something you ate at lunch, to the possibility of an oncoming cardiac arrest.

The burning question is:

Why is the fight/flight response activated during a panic attack even when there is apparently nothing to be frightened of?

Upon closer examination of the causes of panic attacks, it would appear that what we are afraid of are the sensations themselves—we are afraid of the body losing control. These unexpected physical symptoms create the fear or panic that something is terribly wrong. Why do you experience the physical symptoms of the fight/flight response if you are not frightened to begin with? There are many ways these symptoms can manifest themselves, not just through fear.

For example, it may be that you have become generally stressed for some reason in your life, and this stress results in an increase in the production of adrenaline and other chemicals, which from time to time, would produce symptoms….and which you perceive as the causes of panic attacks.

This increased adrenaline can be maintained chemically in the body, even after the stress has long gone. Another possibility is diet, which directly affects our level of stress. Excess caffeine, alcohol, or sugar is known for causing stress in the body, and is believed to be one of the contributing factors of the causes of panic attacks (Chapter 5 gives a full discussion on diet and its importance).

Unresolved emotions are often pointed to as possible trigger of panic attacks, but it is important to point out that eliminating panic attacks from your life does not necessarily mean analyzing your psyche and digging into your subconscious. The “One Move” technique will teach you to deal with the present moment and defuse the attack along with removing the underlying anxiety that sparks the initial anxiety.

Joe Barry is an international panic disorder coach. His informative site on all issues related to panic and anxiety attacks can be found here:http://www.panicportal.com

Get a Free eBook On How To Eliminate Anxiety And Panic Attacks…

I was 31 when I had my first panic attack. I was sitting in the locker room at work talking to a co-worker when I started to feel very uncomfortable. My body started to feel a strange buzzing sensation, and my whole body began to tense up. At first I thought it might have been an allergic reaction to something, and then I began to fear it was something more serious like a heart attack. I ended up lying down on the bench in a state of near paralysis. As no one, especially me knew what was wrong I ended up going to hospital in an ambulance. After a few tests were done I was reassured that I wasn’t having a heart attack but a panic attack. I felt really embarrassed about it and still remember the look I got from one nurse who looked at me as if I was a mental case or something!

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. At first I thought he was talking rubbish and that I had something more seriously wrong with me. He did not give a lot of information about it but said I had developed an anxiety disorder. He prescribed some tablets to calm me down which I took for some months and they definitely made me feel less anxious. When I ran out of them I started to feel edgy until I got my next prescription. In the end 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 as if I might go crazy and do something totally out of character in public or with the people close to me.

I was so stressed I started to lose confidence in my own ability to control my own life. It influenced many 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 being 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 wary of buying it, as I had not heard of it before. Because it had a money-back guarantee I decided to take 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 from the fear any more.

Some weeks passed without significant anxiety and then little by little I dared to do things I was avoiding – driving on my own, flying on my own, lots of stuff on my own where before I needed someone with me. One year later here I am writing this story feeling 100% better. I now do not fear anxiety coming back because I have moved beyond it.

That is what the  techniques in Panic Away have taught me.

Although my time spent trying to cope with anxiety was very difficult, I learnt more about myself than ever before. I also learnt that I have all the resources within me to deal with this; I just needed someone to guide me, and that was Joe Barry.

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