David: If you are enjoying this conference, I want to let everyone know we have a fairly large panic and anxiety community. There are many sites there, and we almost always have people in the anxiety chatrooms, so I encourage you to come by and participate. Here's the link to the HealthyPlace.com Anxiety-Panic Community.

tlugow: Did you have problems with shame or embarrassment?

Bronwyn Fox: Yes, I did. The shame and the embarrassment coexisted with my disorder. I felt weak and helpless and powerless. But then, as I recovered, I realized that the power within me had always been there; and I also understood that we are not weak people, nor are we helpless. I realized that once shown the way, we can tap into our own strength and use it for recovery, instead of trying to get through day-after-day.

David: Bronwyn, would you say there are cases where recovery from panic disorder is impossible?

Bronwyn Fox: If panic disorder is the primary diagnosis, we can recover. But there may be past and/or current life issues that we may not recognize, or deny, and these can keep us stuck.

David: Earlier, Bronwyn mentioned that she felt "alone" with her panic and agoraphobia. That she thought no one else suffered like she did. Many people who experience panic and anxiety feel the same way.

MISSTERIOUS1: How do you find that power within yourself?

Bronwyn Fox: It's being masked by the panic and anxiety. I know this sounds simple but, again, the fact that you are in the anxiety chatroom, looking for answers, tells me that your motivation to recover is there. Otherwise you wouldn't be here. How much do you feel and how strong do you have the feeling of "I WANT TO RECOVER!?" That's your power.

JEAN3: Is there any way to calm down a racing heart during a panic attack?

Bronwyn Fox: As long as you know that it is your anxiety panic, we teach people to simply let the heart race and not fight it. Don't buy into the thinking about it, as this just keeps the heart racing.

Bonnie112: I have a problem returning to places where I have had a panic attack. Any ideas on how to overcome this? I had a medical test and had a panic attack there. I need another test at the same place and don't want to return.

Bronwyn Fox: Again, this is just based on thought. The thought is "if I have another panic attack in the same situation..."

It's OK to be anxious when you are having medical tests. That's normal for many people. You need to separate the thought, "what if I have a panic attack," away from the actual situation.

Rusty: What are some of the things a support person can do to help a loved one recover from agoraphobia?

Bronwyn Fox: The most important thing is to take care of themselves first, because support people's lives can also be destroyed through anxiety disorders.

It would be of benefit for support people to challenge the person with anxiety disorder. Ask them what they are thinking about and if they could begin to see the relationship between their thoughts and their symptoms. This is something that the person needs to learn to do, but just saying "think positive" is totally useless. It's learning to see the connection between thoughts and symptoms.

David: This is for the audience, if you have found a technique or something else that helped you in dealing with, or recovery from panic disorder, please briefly write it down. Include how effective it was for you and send it to me, and I'll post it as we go along here.

Jen6: Is it dangerous to take anti-anxiety medications and to meditate? I have heard that meditation can affect medications.

Bronwyn Fox: I have never heard of that. I have taught over 30,000 people to meditate, and I've never seen research that suggests that this happens.

POWSTOCK: What else can you do, other than meditation?

Bronwyn Fox: The most important thing is to learn to control your thinking.

Rocky1: Hi Bronwyn, I had a severe panic disorder 10 years ago, for 3 years. I then recovered totally asymptomatic for 7 years. Then the disorder came back full blown, but recovered twice as fast this time! Your thoughts?

Bronwyn Fox: We can go into remission, or we can work at it to the point of making it disappear. But if we have not lost our fear of it, we can roll over back to Panic Disorder. I know this from experience.

Sometimes, when I do have a panic attack, it can feel so violent that it would be easy to be scared of it again, but I refuse to be frightened and it disappears. Not being frightened has helped me not to roll back over Panic Diosrder. And this is why I always say, recovery is the loss of fear. That's the only way you don't develop Panic Disorder again.

David: So what you are saying is, Bronwyn, that the power of the mind is a great instrument in the healing process. And it's important to train it to work for you.

Bronwyn Fox: Definitely!!! The energy we use in getting caught up in our fears, our panic and anxiety, is the same energy that we can use to control our mind. It's exactly the same energy. We can give our anxiety disorder the power, or we can take it back.