Where was this coming from? I hadn’t even been feeling scared or anxious! I was dancing, enjoying myself, and spending time with my family-to-be.

Not having a sense of control is a huge underlying component for many of my (and perhaps your!) panic attacks. But my phone gives me a sense of control — is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Turns out, hypnotherapy is nothing like that silly spectacle of stage hypnosis. What can it do for anxiety, panic, and phobia sufferers? How can it change our negative thought patterns?

Meet Devin Wais. She’s a 30-year-old woman who lives in southern Virginia – and she’s a crafter, an avid reader, and loves Netflix. Recently, she’s been diagnosed with depression, general anxiety disorder, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

I could have used a good hug on the night of my own first panic attack, so I was ready to dole out dozens, if needed, for her. If I couldn’t give hugs, I could at least lend an ear and some advice.

The more I researched, the more my fear transformed into fascination. By high school, I was hiking on what I’d affectionately termed “power line trails” that run up and down the hills near my parents’ house. High-voltage lines ran from a substation at the bottom of the hill up to the hilltop, and then down into the next valley over. The rocky gravel beneath the power lines, once used to truck the lines and their supporting pylons up to the top of the hill, made for an ideal walking path. While hiking, I could look up at the lines, count the insulators, and throw out voltage guesses. And at the top of the hill? A gorgeous view of the valley as my reward.

Night after night, for days and weeks on end, I had the same nightmare. The scene and the characters usually differed, but the story was always the same: I heard a buzz, I knew a power line was going to fall, and I had to get myself (or friends, or family) the hell out of the way.
And you know how dream-physics works, right? Whenever you try to run, you run in slow motion.

It was raining, and I was feeling panicked. The sky was dark. Target’s front doors, let alone the pharmacy counter itself, were uncomfortably far away. For a few minutes, I sat in silence with the car running, unsure if I should even attempt to walk inside or if I should play it safe and drive away.

The security guard advised the father-daughter duo that not only would Safeway be pressing charges, but that little Savannah would have to sign a form acknowledging that she is no longer permitted to shop at any Safeway grocery store.

Compared to Black Friday, everyday shopping doesn’t seem nearly as frightening. No crazy crowds, no fear of being trampled, and no fighting. Can watching Black Friday videos help us panickers to see an average trip to the store as no big deal?