The single biggest breakthrough I had when I was trying to end panic attacks was my realisation that my panic and anxiety were imaginary.
That might sound a bit weird to you - my anxiety and panic were imaginary? Don't worry, I'll explain.
I read this book, The Gift of Fear (written by Gavin De Becker), and in it he talked a lot about what fear was, what causes it, and how to control it.
It turns out that fear is really just a defence mechanism that has been with us (humans) for tens of thousands of years.
The book also said that despite the fact that most of us think of intense fear as paralysing, it's actually energising.
It doesn't make us freeze, it makes us act.
Genuine fear is there for one reason - to make us aware of something that's dangerous to us, and to make us act to avoid or escape whatever that danger is.
When I read this in the book I made a big breakthrough.
I suddenly realised that if genuine fear was short-lived like this (and there only to make us act), then the constant, relentless fear I was feeling all day every day as part of my anxiety obviously could not be genuine fear at all.
It was imaginary.
This was my biggest leap forward in my efforts to end panic attacks, and it lead to many more breakthroughs and my eventual full recovery.
I've done my best to explain (in my limited time with you) this concept of anxiety-based fear being imaginary, but I really think you'll benefit a lot from reading The Gift of Fear.
So go and get a copy as soon as possible, read it, and experience the same breakthrough I did when I read it.
Like me, it could help you end panic attacks sooner than you think.