Panic attacks would hit me out of the blue, creeping up on me long before they hit me full force. They would strike unpredictably, whether I was relaxing at home, pushing through a gym session, or getting through a busy day at work. Over time, they became more frequent and I felt powerless to stop them.
However something shifted. After each attack, I began to question what had triggered it. This curiosity led me to uncover a hidden pattern in my reactions. By recognising and breaking down this pattern, I found freedom from the grip of panic attacks. Here’s how I did it — and how you can too.
The Hidden Patterns Behind Panic Attacks
Initially, I couldn’t identify what triggered my panic attacks. Some weeks, I would sail through without experiencing a single episode, while at other times, I would have several in the space of a few days. The triggers seemed random and could be literally anything: a scene from a TV show, a lyric in a song, or even a casual conversation could send me spiralling. These moments had one thing in common: the worry that followed, the vigilance, and the mental loop where I’d often visualise an attack before it happened.
The key was learning to recognise these triggers. For me, watching medical dramas about heart issues or listening to songs about anxiety could set me off. One of my favourite bands, Dream Theater, has a song called 'Panic Attack', which I stopped listening to for a while. These moments sparked a fear of an imminent panic attack, which only served to fuel my anxiety until it became a reality. By identifying these triggers, I took the first step towards breaking the cycle. Start paying attention to what sets your mind racing — it's the foundation of change, or at least it was in my case.
Why avoiding triggers is a trap you shouldn’t fall into
Avoiding triggers altogether might sound like a good idea, but is it? Can we even do that? I'm afraid not. If I consider the triggers I mentioned previously, I realise that to avoid them, I would have needed to stop watching TV, reading articles and listening to music.
The truth is that we don't know what might trigger the next panic attack. The reason is that the triggers, or 'the external', are not the issue, so trying to avoid them entirely is like trying to outrun the wind. Instead, I understood that embracing their presence as part of the journey was the answer.
One pivotal moment came during a catch-up with an old friend. As I shared my struggles with panic attacks, a familiar wave of anxiety hit me. I didn’t realise it at the time, but talking about my experiences made me feel the fear of a repeat performance of those challenging moments (this was also another pattern, by the way).
Later that day, as I had almost predicted, I ended up having a panic attack. Yet this time was different. It was a breakthrough. I realised that my constant vigilance and expectation of an attack was the very thing fuelling them. This tough day became a turning point, revealing the pattern I’d been trapped in: telling my story over and over again and feeling the same feelings repeatedly. Seeing it from a different angle now makes me realise how powerful we are. I created an emotion out of this thought, and out of that emotion, an experience. What if we did the same, but with empowerment, love and prosperity instead of fear? Can this be done? Most certainly yes.
Decoding the Panic Attack Pattern: What I Discovered
Here’s what my pattern looked like:
A Trigger Strikes: A song, a conversation, or a random thought would spark unease.
Negative Thinking Spiral: I’d obsess over everything that could go wrong, jumping from worry to worry.
Escalation to Panic: One specific fear would take hold, spiking my anxiety and heart rate until it snowballed into a full-blown panic attack.
Looking back, it makes sense. My brain perceived these triggers as threats and activated a survival mechanism to protect me. Panic attacks are not the enemy. They are part of our body's defence mechanism and we certainly need them, but we don't need them to misfire.
Understanding this was a real turning point.
How to Break the Panic Cycle: Practical Steps to Reclaim Control.
Step 1: Disrupt the thinking cycle.
We all use different methods, such as meditation, distraction, sport or nature. It can be anything, and in my experience, doing this early enough in the spiralling process prevented me from experiencing a panic attack, as it took me out of the spiralling 'trance'.
Step 2: Address the emotions.
Triggers are just the surface. What underlies them is what needs to be addressed, and that is why they don’t just vanish — they carry emotional weight. These fear-based emotions or trauma are actually the key, or the answer, if you will. By working on them and accepting and acknowledging them, it's possible to let go of them and the triggers.
Step 3: Embrace acceptance.
An essential part of the process is accepting that we may still experience panic attacks, and that this is OK. Remember, panic attacks are just part of our body's defence mechanism. If our body creates them, who else creates them but us? If we accept them as they are, what else are we accepting? You are right: ourselves.
The Path to Freedom: Why This Matters
By breaking the thought cycle and addressing the emotions behind my triggers, I was able to drastically reduce the frequency of my panic attacks. With each step forward, I built a greater sense of safety, signalling to my brain that the survival mechanism wasn’t necessary. This is an ongoing process, not a quick fix, but the results are life-changing.
Start small and be kind to yourself when setbacks happen. Setbacks are an important and necessary part of the healing process.
What has helped you to manage anxiety or panic attacks? Share your thoughts in the comments — I’d love to hear your story!