There is a theory that when we start to panic part of the process is that we lose our cognitive ability of reappraisal of threat, so it is one thing to believe that anxiety is not dangerous during this discussion and another to convince yourself of the same when you start to panic and suddenly feel that you are losing control and thoughts and emotions appear to be running on some auto pilot from hell.
Some people say a panic attack is the most terrifying thing that they have ever experienced so it makes sense that they would develop a core belief that panic and anxiety are dangerous. No one likes to feel that they are losing control and have some physical sensation escalate out of control. Losing control, going insane is a core fear that we are all taught (the movie psycho, shutter island etc.)
Now I am thinking if you are reading this and you have panic disorder just about now you are starting to get really uneasy. That is the fear of panic. So let me take you back to talking a solution.
It makes sense that we are afraid of panic, I mean anybody would not like that to happen to them. So if we are not insane and it makes sense what is happening to us, then how do we stop it?
Panic has been described as a positive feedback cycle between catastrophic thoughts and the sensations of fear. Positive feedback has been described as "A produces more of B, which in turn produces more of A" like a microphone that picks up sound from its own speakers. So you feel your heart beat, feel fear that your heart is beating which feeds back and makes your heart beat more and so on, until you wear yourself out. It is not forever, you pull out of it, but back you go again. Panic is the fear of fear, so we are not afraid of the tiger, we are afraid of the fear that the tiger started so long ago that we don't likely remember.
I am still going to suggest that we are afraid of the sensations of fear and the first step is to remove ourselves from the "emotional jungle" of feeling helpless to our automatic thoughts and emotions and become aware of what those sensations and thoughts are and slowly take control of them through exposure and correcting the catastrophic thoughts.
With exposure you find what you fear and approach it in a way that does not overwhelm you so you don't get "thrown in the water", you put your toes in for 5 minutes and back out, then 10 minutes tomorrow. Whatever you consider a moderate challenge, that is what you expose yourself to. Not to much, not to little, so you keep gaining ground. The anxiety will not suddenly go away, it will lessen and if you keep at it you will see a pattern of relief and that will just keep getting better.
If you feel an interest in the idea of facing the sensations of fear, start very lightly. Maybe sit in a chair and spin 5 times and see what it does (fear of dizzy). You are in control, that is the what you learn. You take the sensations of fear out of the dark and make it into something you can turn on and turn off. Spin the chair, stop the chair. You are not helpless anymore, you are in control. Try staring in the mirror for 2 minutes (fear of unreal) or sitting on the couch with your legs up for 2 minutes (fear of blood pressure changes). The only rule is don't overwhelm yourself. The experts say this is what the therapists should have panic clients doing within the first few sessions. There is no one answer to eliminate anxiety so we go at it one answer at a time.
I am not an expert but I have been in therapy for years, finally feel I am getting somewhere and I can give you links to books that are written by the experts. I think there is evidence that panic patients are very intelligent.
Hoping this post work, I am struggling with his site, Neil
Cognitive Therapy of Anxiety Disorders: Science and Practice
By David A. Clark, Aaron T. Beck
By David H. Barlow, Michelle Genevieve Craske