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Believe it or not, panic attacks can have a positive effect on your life – if you take time to look for them. Because of an eventual recognition that all is not well, and perhaps out of a sense of frustration with what is happening to you and the way in which your life has changed for the worse, you may begin to reassess it.

In my case, I recognized that although I was not sure what was happening to me, it was the result of something important. Through my anxiety and panic attacks, my unconscious self was trying to get the message across to me that all was not well. It appeared to be far more in tune with things than my waking, conscious self was - thank goodness!

Eventually I listened and took the opportunity to re-evaluate my life. As a result I began to acknowledge that things were indeed amiss, without my having realized it. So I started to make some changes. The same happened to a friend that I worked with – here’s what she later told me:

Now I feel a lot stronger. I had to examine my life so closely to find out the cause of problems. I discovered things about myself I didn’t like, so I began changing myself. Now things are better I’m glad I had to go through them.

That’s right - she was glad she went through the experience of having panic attacks.

And here’s a story from another person that recently wrote to me:

They [the panic attacks] have changed the way I acted and looked on a lot of things in life - for the better, I feel.

Now, you may well be thinking, as you read it, that this is extraordinary. And I suppose it is.

Although panic attacks are extremely unpleasant, as are the associated feelings in between each one, remember that as well as attempting to protect you (through the fight or flight response), they are giving you the opportunity to find out just what is unsatisfactory in your life.

I may be wrong, but I imagine that a person who is totally fulfilled in life, through their work and in their relationships, with no burdensome financial or other problems, is highly unlikely to experience panic attacks.

When I reassessed my life, I realized that if I were somebody who was calm, relaxed, content and with few worries, I would probably not be having panic attacks. I gradually accepted that I didn’t like certain aspects of my life which were causing me difficulties.

Then I decided that I didn’t want the attacks any more. But without having experienced them, I now wonder just how long it would have taken me to make that honest reassessment, and how much more I would have suffered in other ways as a result.

I see my panic attacks in a very positive light and, like the stories above, I am glad I had to go through them.

And so panic attacks can indeed have quite a dramatic effect on your life in one of two ways. They can shut you in tight, into an ever-shrinking world in an attempt to hide away from them, or they can be seen as a way of giving you the opportunity to realize something important about yourself and your life. Attacks are an unpleasant experience for everyone, but it is up to you to decide how you will respond to them.

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