Before you begin

This course is for working on familiar panic attacks. It cannot tell you whether a new symptom is caused by panic. If symptoms are new, severe, unusual or changing, get appropriate medical advice; urgent symptoms need urgent help.

Keep following any medical advice or activity restrictions you have been given. Before the bodily-sensation practice in Lesson 14, read the guidance in that lesson and its worksheet.

Lesson 1 — Welcome: making sense of panic

Welcome. If you have had a panic attack, you will know how physical and frightening it can feel. Being told that it is anxiety does not always explain why your heart is racing or why you feel you have to get out of the situation.

In this course, I will explain what happens during panic and how the fear of another attack can start to affect everyday life. We will work through ways to respond differently, using examples and exercises that you can try for yourself.

Start with the video, then choose one part of your life that you would like panic to interfere with less. It might be shopping, travelling, speaking in a meeting or spending time on your own. Write down what you would like to be able to do more freely.

Download the complete workbook which is at the start of this section. Work at your own pace and leave time to try the exercises between lessons.