Well - to be technically correct - I suppose you are. But probably at the same rate as everyone else.
Overcoming panic is all about separation.
Separating yourself from your panic.
Separating your panic from your rationale.
Separating your automatic anxious thoughts from what is logical.
One thing that really kept me back from that was health anxiety. It's probably one of the hardest parts of anxiety to get rid of, because it - death - is inevitable. (Cheery subject, huh?)
The famous artist, Sir Francis Bacon once said that:
""[People] fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other."
And let's face it - during a panic attack, you really DO think you are going to die. Sometimes you KNOW you are going to die...
But you don't.
Health anxiety is probably the only residue of panic disorder I have left to defeat.
If I have a cough, I think it's COPD. Palpitations turn into atrial fibrillations. Headaches become aneurysms and so on and so forth.
My most recent was that my fatigue, hunger and perspiration was hyperthroidism...
I've been involved in the health care sector for a number of years, and it's coming back to bite me. I know of all these obscure and unlikely problems that I self-diagnose myself with then worry about before coming to sense.
Do yourself a favour: Book an appointment to see your doctor and request tests. Cardiograms, thyroid tests, bloodworks - the lot. Then when you have these silly inclinations that you have some kind of awful disease, you can comfort yourself in the knowledge that it's not that at all, because it would have shown on your test results.
Think of anxiety as an addiction. I personally was addicted to living too fast. Everything had to be done yesterday and I had to push myself until my mind stopped me.
If life was fair - I would have been able to continue, like some can. My employers would have continued to see me as a very proactive and productive worker. I would be in line for a promotion, payrise and huge admiration.
But some people can't do that. Some people are actually human! We can only take so much, and when we burnout, we have to recharge, regroup, rethink what it is we need to be doing - and live differently.
And differently doesn't mean worse. For me, my change in lifestyle is beneficial.
OK - I won't be able to join the police force like I always wanted to. But there are so many opportunities that I, and we all, can pursue with more mental strength.