HOW I DEAL with PANIC ATTACKS

I used to get panic attacks all the time. I never knew to call them that. I just thought I was being stupid-overanxious.

BEAUTY PREVAILS – © LYON 2025

A friend of mine had a monstrous panic attack a few days ago. When I read what she’d gone through, I wished I had done what I promised myself I’d do long ago – write a post about how to handle panic. But – I didn’t. Ah well. So here it is now.

I used to get panic attacks all the time. I never knew to call them that. I just thought I was being stupid-overanxious. Not only that, I judged myself as Bad and Silly and Stupid for feeling so bad. I felt terrible, and felt terrible for feeling terrible. I couldn’t win for losing.

Then, I discovered EFT, the Emotional Freedom Techniques, or tapping, in 2001. It was like – no – it WAS – a miracle. Within 6 weeks of tapping every single day, my panic was gone.

Not just the panic, but the back-of-mind, constant, continual thoughts of ending my life that I had had since I was 15 years old, were gone – never to come back.

At the time, I was 56 years old. It’s stunning to me that I lasted 41 years holding those thoughts in my head. But they were now gone.

Hear that? G-O-N-E. I have never had a single wish-I-was-dead thought since then.

How many people today are suffering such debilitating thinking? How many are *that* close to ending themselves! I wish they had tapping!

As I used EFT/tapping to free myself, I found a way to think about emotions that I’d never considered before.

See, in order to do the tapping, I had to face old emotions and beliefs I’d held onto since I was 15. I did so – and I’m telling you, it was HARD.

I discovered something that changed EVERYthing: that the panic was really just energy running thru my mind/body system.

At first, I didn’t trust myself, or believe I could handle the intensity of the energy I was feeling. Believing that I couldn’t handle the pain, believing I was powerless and hopeless, made it hard to BE with the energy.

I’d lose hold of myself and go into downward emotional spirals that took days to get out of. I was a walking black cyclone of despair.

It was ironic that often times neither the energy nor the beliefs I was holding were even my own!

How can that be? It’s because I often feel the energy of world affairs and storms – then a day later I’ll see on the news that a hurricane or typhoon or earthquake happened at the same time I was feeling so shaken.

One day, because of that, it finally came to me – if the story wasn’t mine, maybe the energy wasn’t, either.

I realized I was adding my personal Story to each energy event – like, one of my typical ones was OMG I’mbrokewatamIgonnado! If I took the story off, and just tried to allow myself to feel the energy running thru my body, the pain dissipated.

I finally understood that I was tainting the energy with my fear, my limiting beliefs and my distorted thinking.

I was then able to move from feeling frightened, desperate, in full-blown panic, to curiosity, acceptance, elation, and sometimes even ecstasy.

I don’t get the attacks any more. Now if I’m interrupted by energy spurts, I ask, is this energy mine? What story am I listening to about it? If it’s not mine, how can I help bless who or whatever is suffering so much?

And if it IS mine, I ask, what belief do I have that makes this energy feel so stuck and frustrating? If I can find the belief, I can change feeling helpless and powerless to inspired and enthusiastic.

THE STEPS:
Feel the feeling. Just let it run.
Be curious – watch it run throughout your system.

If it had a color, what would it be?
If it had a sound, what would it be?
These 2 help you get a clear picture of the energy.

If it had a message for you, what would it be?
You’ll probably be surprised by the answer. Most times it wants you to have success, joy, pleasure, love!

Find where you feel it in your body (like clenched hands, sweaty forehead, fast-beating heart, achy belly)
Name it. Ex: fear
Own it. Ex: I feel my heart beating so fast, I feel so scared.

Tap: tap gently on your mid-chest, saying out loud how you feel.
Ex: I’m scared. Or, I’m not sure I can make it through this, etc.
Tap until you get a sigh, yawn or belly grumble.

Tap some more, saying ‘I can let this go’ until you feel relief.
Tap using your own words.

Now tap to choose how you’d like to feel. Ex: I love feeling peaceful.

(Want a free demo? I put one on EFTinEveryHome.com)

Tapping is miraculous for helping transform how you feel!

Take the story off the fear. Allow yourself to feel the energy running thru your body, without the story, and the pain will dissipate.

I hope that helps – panic attacks suck. If you can learn how to face and be with the energy, and transform your thoughts and beliefs into ones that support you, you will find your life changed utterly, forever.

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