Any person who's ever suffered a panic attack or a severe anxiety episode knows the extreme distress it causes, both physical and psychological.  The panic can seem overpowering while while there are also physical symptoms that make many people think that they're going to die. For some people, the physical symptoms of panic attacks are the worst part of it

They feel as if they're trapped and would do anything to find release from the anxiety and overwhelming fear. Even worse is living with the dread that another episode of panic might suddenly come out of nowhere.

This extreme fear causes sufferers to gradually withdraw from situations where they might be embarrassed or at risk if an attack occurred. Gradually their their fear gains increasing control over their life. Obviously people in this situation want release. 

When they seek help from a health care professional that help often comes in the form of a pill.  There's no doubt that medications are useful, especially in the short term.  However, ideally they are only temporary measure, something to ease the symptoms while the underlying cause is addressed.

Since panic attacks feel so powerful, sufferers automatically assume that they need to fight against these feelings and the experience they're having.

This is very understandable.  The physiology underlying a panic attack is the fight or flight response - the response we learned about in high school that prepares us to respond to physical danger by either fighting for our life or running like crazy. 

The bodily reaction is getting us ready us for battle, so understandably we feel like we should fight.

However with these episodes, that's exactly the wrong response.  By resisting them, we're giving them more power that they really have.

The trick in dealing with panic attacks is to accept them, even challenge them to do their worst.

That may sound counterintuitive.  Or maybe it seems simplistic.

The key is that with a panic attack, nothing bad happens.

If you're about to be run over by a bus and just sit there, you'll die.

On the other hand, if you do nothing when a panic attack strikes, you'll still be alive at the end of it.  The sense of danger isn't based on anything real. It's a paper tiger.

The way to see that is to open yourself to the the panic attack and all the sensations that go with it and even welcome them.  Dare them to do their worst.  It may be frightening when you start, but less so as you do it more often.

What you'll likely find is that this actually reduces the symptoms of fear, sometimes almost immediately.  As the saying goes "What we resist persists".  Accept it and it loses its power.

Although this approach is straight-forward, it is a learned skill.  Practice and coaching help to become proficient at it.  But the start is realizing that the risk from a panic attack is more illusion than real.

If you want to find out more about panic attacks Panic Attack Release is a great site.

And there's a good review of a product that teaches this type approach at Panic Away Review

As Dorthy found out when she got to Oz, illusions can seem more powerful than they really are.