Email to a Fellow Panic Attack Sufferer #4

Hi...

My name is Lisa and I am the owner of the Panic Pals website. I was
reading through the entries for the past few days and I wanted to
answer your question...'is there no one out there who has been cured."
You won't find stories of people who have been cured on the Panic
Pals site, no - these are people who are in the same boat as you right
now...people who have overcome their panic disorder must move away
from it - so much so that they don't post to message boards or write
about it. It takes a lot of work to get there - to remove all
thoughts of panic out of your life, but it is possible!!!

So, you won't hear much from the people who have overcome the panic -
but have faith that they DO indeed exist! There are people who have
suffered with panic disorder for decades and then they just let it go
- accept the feelings as a part of who they are and realize that they
have choices. They can lay on the sofa or pace around their house
panicking, or they can get in their car and go to the shopping mall
and panic there - they realize "Hey, if I'm going to panic anyway, why
not see a bit of the world while doing it?" And whether they knew it
at the time or not - it was the exact step they needed to take to
overcome their anxiety.

It's not easy - no, God, no - it's very difficult, but then again -
all of us with panic disorder are incredibly strong people, every
single one of us - you, too. Don't ever think you are weak, don't
ever think you are doomed to a life of panic - there is so much more
out there and you WILL get it back.

The people I've known who have totally overcome the limiting life of
panic attacks have all had one thing in common, they learned to live
WITH the anxiety at first and as time moved on, and they moved forward
with their lives, the anxiety just became less and less prevalent to
the point where it just wasn't an issue anymore. And I'm talking
about people who had previously been housebound with panic attacks,
people who couldn't drive or shop or go to a movie.

There is hope, don't ever give up believing that.

Good luck with Panic Pals...I hope you find some great people to talk with...

Lisa