Remember the rational, de-catastrophizing interpretations of arousal that I described above. Sensations are simply arousal, thoughts are often false alarms. Think of yourself as watching a movie-but you are not in it. It's simply a fiction, a make-believe. And nothing terrible is happening. The movie will come to an end.

Practice Discomfort

One of the concepts that I have used is "constructive discomfort"-that is, practicing doing things that are uncomfortable so that you can get things done that you need to do. You may already be doing this-for example, exercise and work may be uncomfortable, but you do them anyway. I suggest to my anxious and depressed patients to keep track of the constructive behaviors that are uncomfortable so that they can be proud of facing their fears and doing what is difficult to do. Much of anxiety involves attempts to avoid discomfort. Taking pride in tolerating discomfort is a way to empower yourself.

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Tags: agoraphobia, anxiety, anxiety disorder, blog, collapse, control mode, deep breaths, exercise, fear, fears, heart attack, heart rate, pace, panic attack, panic attacks, panic disorder, robert leahy, sensations, short of breath, worry