Anxiety Attacks and Panic Attacks

Why Do I Keep Having Anxiety Attacks – and How Do I Stop Them?

Psychologists are trained to help people understand that overcoming an issue often requires recognising the different factors contributing to it. The bio-psycho-social model explains how our thoughts, feelings, behaviours, biology, and interactions with others can create patterns that keep us stuck. Knowledge is power, and because even a small change in one area can shift the whole system, seeing the bigger picture can be the key to progress. Understanding what’s happening under the surface allows us to take action in ways that make a real difference.

At least 1 in 10 people have occasional panic attacks. They are very common and many people have recurrent panic attacks. They can come out of the blue, or happen at times you recognise a trigger. Avoiding them can become a full time job and make life miserable.

If you keep having anxiety attacks, it can feel overwhelming and exhausting. You might ask:

“Why does this keep happening?”
“Why can’t I stop it?”
“Will this ever go away?”

Anxiety Attacks: The Fear of Fear

Anxiety is not just about the first moment of fear—it becomes a learned response.

🔄 You feel fear → Your body reacts → You fear the reaction → The cycle repeats.

Your brain has linked certain physical sensations (racing heart, dizziness, breathlessness) to danger. When these sensations appear—even for harmless reasons—your brain sounds the alarm.

Over time, you may start avoiding places, situations, or even thoughts that trigger anxiety. But avoidance teaches your brain that anxiety is dangerous, which keeps the loop going.

Sometimes your anxiety is linked to social anxiety, and fear that other people will judge you as weak for being visibly anxious. Sometimes the anxiety is linked to past trauma. Or both.

If you have tried self-help and are still finding anxiety is making life difficult, seeing a psychologist can help find the root cause. For some, this might be your first step in understanding what is happening to you. There are some key steps for dealing with panic and I will share these below:

How to Break the Cycle

The key is retraining your brain to understand that these sensations are uncomfortable, but NOT dangerous.

🚨 Anxiety is not harmful. ✅ You are safe. 💡 You cannot die from an anxiety attack.

Quick Ways to Tame Anxiety Right Now

If you are having an anxiety attack, try these immediate strategies:

🔹 Ground Yourself (5-4-3-2-1 Method)👉 5 things you can see👉 4 things you can touch👉 3 things you can hear👉 2 things you can smell👉 1 thing you can taste. This helps shift focus away from the sensations of panic and onto your actual situation - which on the most part won't be a real and present danger to your life.

🔹 Extended Exhalation Breathing👉 Inhale for 4 seconds👉 Hold for 4 seconds👉 Exhale for 6 seconds👉 Hold for 4 seconds. This slows your heart rate and signals safety to your nervous system.

🔹 Label What’s Happening: “This is just anxiety. It feels strong, but I am safe. My body is overreacting, and this will pass.". Noticing and naming the experience reduces its power.

🔹 Cold Water Trick: Splash cold water on your face or hold an ice cube in your hand. (This activates the vagus nerve, which calms anxiety.)

🔹 Shake It Off: Shake your arms, legs, or entire body. (This discharges excess adrenaline.)

Long-Term Solutions:

If anxiety keeps returning in situations that are not a real threat, it may be because your brain learned to fear certain sensations a long time ago.

The good news? What has been learned can be unlearned.

Therapies that help rewire the fear response include:

Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT) – Uses hypnotherapy to uncover and shift deep-rooted fears.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) – Helps process past trauma that may be fueling anxiety.
Mind-Body Techniques – Strengthens the nervous system’s ability to return to calm.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) – Works with parts of you that are stuck in fear-based patterns.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) – Teaches you to stop fighting anxiety and relate to it in a new way.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) – Reframes unhelpful thoughts about anxiety.

You Can Live Without Fearing Fear

✅ You are not broken. ✅ This is a learned response, and it can be changed. ✅ You can feel safe in your body again.

If you want support to break free from anxiety, I offer hypnotherapy, EMDR, RTT, CBT, ACT and IFS to help you find and release the root cause of anxiety and panic.