Decades of panic attacks and anxiety disorders gone
Annika (48)
I can’t pinpoint exactly when anxiety disorders started to disrupt my life, but it has certainly been a very long time—about 30 years during which panic attacks and anxiety dictated my choices in one way or another. I don’t know if the roots of this feeling lie in an overly sensitive nervous system or a couple of very traumatic events in the past. However, my inability to cope with anxiety, panic attacks, and the various fears that arose from them eventually turned me into someone other than who I felt I was. I adopted avoidance tactics and tried to cope somehow.
I’m not someone who doesn’t take responsibility for their health or try to help themselves. Quite the opposite! I’ve tried yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, cognitive-behavioral therapy, hypnosis, journey work, constellations, EFT, TRE, tantra, Chinese medicine… you name it. Especially during tough periods, I have also taken antidepressants. There have been better and worse times, but ultimately, you just accept that you’re not finding a permanent solution. It became normal for me to take magnesium, L-theanine, or GABA in the morning before going out, hoping that I wouldn’t have a panic attack among people.
I went to MER Biofeedback® therapy on a friend’s recommendation.
I was skeptical, but had no alternative. Returning to mingling with people after working remotely during the pandemic brought back my fears like an avalanche, and I was about to cancel a project important to me. I felt silly during my first therapy session, sitting there with wires attached, feeling like I was wasting my time and money. Then I became sleepy, my usually busy thoughts disappeared, and my mind pleasantly emptied. I don’t even remember what the therapist said.
Noticeable changes occurred over the next three weeks. The panic attacks became a thing of the past—no pounding heart or dizziness in traffic, no feeling of fainting or paralysis while giving presentations, no lengthy preparations with breathing exercises or meditation before going out—because it wasn’t necessary anymore!
I really couldn’t believe what was happening!
Eight months later, I’ve attended five sessions. Each session’s outcome has been somewhat different. Sometimes after a session, I would feel a spectrum of negative emotions for several days, but then the destructiveness would fade, and I felt I had reached a new, more neutral level. After the last session, I experienced several days of complete zen. A huge burden has been lifted off my shoulders, and I have gained a new perspective.
To be honest, 100% of all the monsters, and other things associated with anxiety have not disappeared, but that’s not important because my fears no longer suffocate me or prevent me from living. I believe the therapist’s advice that alongside the sessions, it’s necessary to continue organizing my thoughts, keep up with meditation and breathing exercises, or do whatever helps to achieve a more lasting result for my healthier self. Now, at least, there’s motivation because for the first time in a long while, I have felt what it means to live free from the shackles of fear, panic attacks, and anxiety disorders. You don’t have to believe in this therapy, it just works!