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Anxiety-Panic Expert  

  



Anxiety-Panic Expert Q&A's
Name: Pauline
Question:
After suffering with panic and anxiety for 15 years. I am a lot better now. But still have problems with going away from the house can manage locally but to go further causes me terrible panic. I feel my life is on hold and would like to be able to move on. Have done well in not taking Medication but I thought perhaps I need help to be able to get over this last barrier. My doctor has given me Clomipramine 25mg to take but even though I thought I could take them, now I have them I am finding it difficult to take and not knowing if I am doing the right thing. I would like your advice as to whether medication can help.

Answer:
Hi Pauline

Medication can help people with their panic and anxiety, but cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is the most effective therapy in the long term.

Cognitive behavioural therapy can teach you how to manage the thoughts that are creating your anxiety and panic and can help you move out of your local 'comfort zone'.

The panic and anxiety that you feel as you go further a field, is being created by the way that you are thinking, eg, "what if I have an attack, what if I can't get home, what if something happens to me, I can't do this,
why can't I do this" etc. Because we are frightened of having a panic attack and possibly frightened of our anxiety symptoms these and other thoughts are telling us we are in danger, and our body responds to this. We
feel this response (the fight and flight response) in our panic and anxiety symptoms.

Recovery for so many of us means losing our fear of our panic and anxiety. Although they can feel quite violent they do not hurt us in any way. It is the way that we think about them that causes the problem. CBT can teach us
to lose our fear by learning how manage our panic and anxiety thinking.

If you would like a referral to a CBT therapist you can visit our
international referral pages:

http://www.panicattacks.com.au/pa/links/cbtindex.html

Kind Regards,

Bronwyn Fox

Power Surge Anxiety-Panic Expert

Founder of The Panic Anxiety Hub

Online Panic Anxiety Management Program

E.mail Bronwyn Fox

Author of Power Over Panic: Freedom From Panic/Anxiety Related Disorders"

and Power Over Panic (2nd Edition)

and Bronwyn's audio cassette, Taking Back The Power

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