The definition of this word is: A settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a persons behaviour.
So what does this really mean and what does it have to do with panic attacks? Well a lot really?
Look at your attitude in other cases, how do you normally deal with things? Lets do it backwards, lets look at your behaviour. Do you get sad, angry, how about confused? Since you are here I would say understanding is not one of the behaviours you are using. Understanding what??? What the trigger really is saying to you. And if you don't like it what you can do about it.
How do you treat other situations? First look at that definition again: a settled way of thinking. This means that you will use this settled way of thinking in other situations even if they are not related. If you normally run away (in your mind) you will most likely choose to do that first. Same with the other behaviours. But what if there is no where to run too?
Then you have to change your attitude to reflect a different behaviour. But attitude is a settled way of thinking. It isn't going to want to change. So it will take time with some pretty constant challenging of your thoughts. The first challenge is going to be: is this the right attitude and is this the right behaviour for this situation. What I'm asking you to do here is shed your old rigid attitude and build a flexible one to deal more appropriately with each situation. Because a good part of panic is going into a new situation with the wrong attitude. Look at the definition again, I don't want you to get the wrong meaning from that last sentence. The slang meaning for attitude is stubborn. Not the right meaning for this situation.
Your attitude has to be appropriate or you can not get rid of panic. Assertive all the time is no more appropriate than passive. A flexible attitude will make your whole life a lot better.
So what do you think of that?
Davit