Ask for help
I have lost count of the number of times someone has spent months fighting anxiety and panic attacks before plucking up the courage to tell me about it. This is sometimes because of pride and embarrassment, but also because they see themselves as failures when they have to admit that they have this problem. Nothing could be further from the truth. Time spent trying to snap out of anxiety is wasted time, and any improvement can begin only once it is accepted that there is a problem. This degree of anxiety ruins people's lives, and affects relationships as well as individuals. I always make certain points clear to people suffering from anxiety:
Asking for help is healthy, not asking is not.
You may think you are the only person who feels like you do.You are not; there are hundreds of thousands like you.
Accepting that there is a problem is the first step in doing something about it.
Therapists and doctors have heard your story many times before. They will not judge you. If they do, go somewhere else.
It takes time to feel better. Although just admitting that anxiety is a problem can make someone relax, it is often a long road to being free of worry. There will be ups and downs along the way, but stick with it and the results will come.
If you fail it does not mean you cannot start again.

.Crisis Management
Getting help for your anxiety should be as simple as walking in to see your doctor. I know this often depends on the sympathy and understanding of a particular GP, and how good the doctor-patient relationship is. (Change your doctor if you are not satisfied.) There are then a number of possible options for getting help:
Your doctor may be able to help you without anyone else being involved. Time spent talking to him may be enough to ease your worries, but will need a number of sessions, which can be difficult in a busy surgery.
You may be able to see a counsellor within the surgery who is trained to help people with problems such as phobias and panic attacks. They are usually able to spend more time with people than the GP, and can achieve excellent results.
Your doctor can refer you to see a psychotherapist, who can counsel you in depth about your problem, your past and possible reasons why you feel the way you do. Knowing these reasons gives you the chance to do something about them. This is rather simplistic, but there is often a great deal of flowery language used to say just that. Counselling has recently become a highly contentious area. In his book Staying Sane,TV psychiatrist Dr Raj Persaud is extremely sceptical of much counselling, and the view that every problem has to be referred to a specialist. I basically agree with this, believing the important point is to recognize that you have a problem and then do something about it, even if this is as simple as talking things over with your mates. Doing nothing is not an option.
Don't be afraid to ask for professional help. This is not an admission of failure, but a healthy acceptance of a problem and a declaration you want to do something about it.

151
150