74 | October• 2018
THE FEAR FACTOR
therapy was the only way I’d be able to
get past this for good. But that would
mean facing the fear – and I was too
frightened to contemplate getting
back on the highway.
hen we bought a cabin in the coun-
try which neededixing up. My hus-
band worked on it for weeks at a time
while I worked in the
city. It was a three-
hour drive away on
the highway and
it wasn’t on a bus
route, so if I wanted
to go up on week-
ends, I’d need to ind
a psychologist.
Panic disorder
can be treated with
antidepressants for
a long-term disor-
der and beta block-
ers for immediate
relief of symptoms.
But experts recognise cognitive be-
havioural therapy (CBT) as the best
treatment. It resolves anxiety by
changing the underlying behaviours
and cognitions that tell you the symp-
toms are dangerous. “Changing your
reactions to the symptoms is key,”
says Professor Antony. “When you’re
willing to let your panic attacks hap-
pen without trying to control them,
they often stop.”
Exposure therapy plays a big role.
The goal is to feel the same sensa-
tions as during a panic attack and
discover you don’t need to fear thoselearning relaxation techniques and
was able to cut back on the prescrip-
tion drugs. Eventually, the frequency
of attacks lessened, then disappeared,
so he stopped taking the medication.
“The drug was key,” Todd told me.
“And reading up on panic attacks –
knowing it’s not uncommon – really
helped.”
Back in Bermuda,
I dared to get back
on the bus – with a
book on coping with
anxiety as an anti-
dote in case panic
began. When my
heart started racing
a few minutes into
the journey, I pulled
open the book to the
earmarked pages
advising that panic
wouldn’t kill me,
I wouldn’t ‘lose
control’, and I wouldn’t ‘go crazy’. It
calmed me.
FORTHENEXTTWOYEARSI kept
panic at bay in this way; I didn’t con-
sider therapy or medication. But it was
inevitable that one day I’d be back liv-
ing in a city with lots of highways, and
I’dneedmorethanabooktogetme
behind the wheel.
For nine years after moving back
home, I avoided panic attacks by re-
lying on my husband to drive on the
highways. I told only people close
to me about my ‘weakness’. I knew
THERAPY WAS
THE ONLY WAY
I’D GET PAST
THIS. BUT THAT
WOULD MEAN
FACING THE
FEAR – AND I
WAS TOO
FRIGHTENED