Anyone who has had the experience of repeated panic attacks has had an experience so loud and frightening that they must defend themselves against this terrible monster at all costs. "At all costs" means living in a cage of anticipatory anxiety and fear, depriving yourself of freedom of movement and autonomy. All this simply (but absolutely logically) to avoid the experience of a panic attack as much as possible.

Often, panic patients find some relief in their trek between doctors and psychotherapists through drug treatments that seem to prevent the recurrence of attacks, and through (cognitive-behavioral) psychotherapy that helps to regain a bit of freedom. All too often, however, sufferers are better but not well, they no longer have panic attacks but are still anxious, they are freer but the fear of the attacks still affects them and does not allow them to feel 100% comfortable. Too often we pass a tight cage in a big cage, which is always cage, or he feels a little safer, but does not regain complete freedom as before the onset of the attacks. Last year, after more than 25 years of studying and treating panic, looking into the question of why panic disorder sufferers do not feel 100% comfortable despite appropriate treatment, I finally found an answer. A simple and obvious answer, but one that we need to understand well. If I remain trapped by anxiety and fear and feel subtly in danger, it is because the "monster" has not been fully, and I emphasize fully, defeated. So if we have experienced panic attacks and if, after various treatments, we still defend ourselves by sacrificing our freedom and serenity, albeit much less than before, then in most cases this means that the panic is still present in our lives and that the panic attacks have not been sufficiently cured. When I talk about panic in this case, I am not simply talking about the classic panic attack (explosion of fear and discomfort with unpleasant strong physical sensations), but about the different ways in which the predisposition to panic can occur. Panic can occur in four ways: ( a) the classic panic attack, ( b) the panic attack with few symptoms (e.g. sudden palpitations and a strong feeling of discomfort ), (c) aborted panic attacks and ( d) shadows of panic. While the first two are obvious to everyone and often disappear with treatment, the second two are not recognized and often make the panic disorder chronic. Aborting a panic attack is a feeling that the attack is starting but not exploding, it is not just the fear of the attack, but rather the clear feeling that a panic attack has failed; The shadow of panic is a form of pre-panic, when the person has the feeling of being physically out of shape because of disorders of the heart (heaviness, extrasystoles, tachycardia ), breathing (sighs, lack of air, irregularity in breathing) and the vestibular system (confusion, dizziness), but also of the stomach and intestines.

It is important that the treatment you use is able to eliminate all four of these types of panic. Usually the medication is responsible for this and you should not be afraid to increase the dose to eradicate everything, even the shadow of panic. Once the panic is gone, and by that I mean everything, then on your own, or better yet with the help of a cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist, you can break down all your defenses against the panic and regain complete freedom and well-being. If you find that although you have improved significantly, you still have residual panic, talk to your psychiatrist and ask them to help you make it 100 go away. Life is yours, dear patient, and you have the right to be 100 free and not just feel better...