For instance, you may experience rapid heartbeat; breathlessness; smothering sensations; increased blood pressure; feel hot, sick to your stomach, or dizzy; or break out in a sweat. You may even feel as though you’re about to pass out.

people with anxiety disorders struggle with, avoid, and run away from their fear and anxiety.

One thing we’ve noticed again and again in working with people struggling with anxiety and fear-related problems is this: they constantly beat up on themselves. They feel that they’re not good enough; they’re too weak; they just haven’t got what it takes to lead a more fulfilled life. They’re somehow broken. No book lists this type of self-denigrat

His greatest fear was of the panic itself.

The most critical element that separates normal from problematic anxiety and fear is this: avoidance, avoidance, and more avoidance. It’s the common tie that binds all anxiety disorders together. Avoidance of fear and anxiety feeds anxiety and fear, and it shrinks lives.

“I have reclaimed what was always mine: a full life—not without worry—but one where worry and fear occupy a safe place that feels okay.”

You commit to doing what you care about with whatever your mind or old history dishes out.

In short, stop struggling to feel and think better, and instead start living better with whatever you might be feeling or thinking.

I need the capacity to experience worry, anxiety, and fear just like I need air to breathe, water to drink, and food to eat.