The best way to deal with panic attacks is to stop them in their tracks
“My father passed away from a heart attack at age 53 and his father, my grandfather, also died of a heart attack in his late fifties. I’m terrified that this is going to happen to me as well.
I’m 48 now, and I feel like my time is running out. Whenever I get stressed, I feel a squeezing pressure in my chest, and each time I think, ‘This is it; it’s over now.’”
Michoel is understandably anxious — his family history frightens him. When he’s under pressure at work or at home, he immediately fixates on the threat to his heart. He does regular body scans — “I feel tightness there,” he notices. “Yes, it could be indigestion, but what if it’s a heart attack!!!???!!!”
Respecting his calculation, his brain sends powerful chemicals throughout the cells of his body, readying him with adrenaline and cortisol for the impending life-threatening emergency.
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