I nearly had a panic attack at the last parent- teacher evening but I made an excuse and left in time.

This can be true of any type of daily activity such as grocery shopping, doing dishes, watching television, etc. NEVER belittle or try to downplay someone's Anxiety Disorder. Regular relaxation puts you more in tune with your body, which helps you to recognise the physical sensations that are signs of deeper emotions. Its something about the steady rhythm that soothes me. My feeling is, if this is what Ive had, now I know how to deal with it - its simply a reaction to some stress, its not a physical illness. Focus on the word relax, and breathe gently and calmly. If youve been practising the breathing exercise in Part One you should now feel confident enough to use it to reduce Anxiety levels. Lets look at the example of someone with social phobia. This simply isnt true. Why not try to help yourself in the meantime? Heres an example for someone with spider phobia: Situation: leafing through magazine, saw photo of large spider. Its not this living nightmare that turns every minute of every day into a torment of worrying. Blood/injection/injury type, like the fear of medical procedures including needles, hospitals. I thought I must be losing my sanity, what other explanation was there? I had to kneel at one of the graves and rub my hands in the dirt amongst the gravestone, . I took a lot of time off. Im the best parent I can be. How shall I talk to the doctor? If they are afraid of other people, they need to practise being with other people. Look at possible solutions. If you are in a situation where you dont need to take any physical action, such as in a queue or driving a car, then that oxygen will stay in your system and add to your uncomfortable sensations.