to Calm Herself Automatically
CHAPTER 5. How Arousal Regulation Works
CHAPTER 6. Control Panic and Claustrophobia with Vagal Braking
CHAPTER 7. Control Panic and Claustrophobia with Oxytocin
Part III. Regulation of Arousal
CHAPTER 8. Accepting Arousal as Normal
CHAPTER 9. How Feelings of Security and Insecurity Develop
CHAPTER 10. Arousal Regulation Systems
CHAPTER 11. The Arousal Regulation Hierarchy
CHAPTER 12. Your Sweet Spot for Stress Hormones
CHAPTER 13. How Panic Is Triggered
CHAPTER 14. Ending the Panic-Attack Domino Effect
CHAPTER 16. Establishing Automatic Alarm Attenuation
The Three-Button Exercise
The Alarm Attenuation Exercise
CHAPTER 17. Your Manual Backup to Control Panic
The 5-4-3-2-1 Exercise
CHAPTER 18. Strengthening Executive Function and Reflective Function
Imagination or Perception Exercise
Part IV. Your Ten-Day Plan to End Panic and Claustrophobia Forever
CHAPTER 19. Step-by-Step Instructions
CHAPTER 20. Nine Questions about Your Ten-Day Plan
CHAPTER 21. Emotional Control in Panic-Inducing Situations
Preparing for an MRI
Preparing for a Visit to a High Place
Preparing for Passage through a Tunnel
Preparing to Cross a Bridge
CHAPTER 22. Controlling Anxiety
Afterword for Therapists by Stephen W. Porges, PhD
Your Introduction to Automatic Control
CHAPTER 1
A Future Free of Panic and Claustrophobia
If you have struggled with panic and found no relief, I know the frustration. As an airline pilot, I tried for years to help fearful fliers control panic, using every known method. Nothing worked.
After years of experimentation, I stumbled on a solution. Since then, every client who has learned this new way to manage anxiety has been able to control panic when flying. Though our principal aim was to control panic in the air, clients reported an unexpected benefit: they were free from panic on the ground as well. This approach changed their lives. It can change yours, too. This book can lead you to a future free from panic and claustrophobia.
This breakthrough, like many important discoveries, took place accidentally after years of searching for a solution. The search began in 1980 at Pan Am, where I was a pilot and volunteered to help with the airline’s fear-of-flying course. The pilot who led the course told participants they could conquer their fear of flying by letting go of control and by using breathing exercises to stay relaxed. The course ended with a “graduation flight.” Some participants got through the flight all right, but others panicked despite diligently performing their breathing exercises. The pilot in charge believed his advice was adequate. Unable to fault them on their breathing exercises, he told them, “You didn’t let go.”
Panic is an awful experience. Being blamed by people who don’t understand makes it worse. It was distressing to watch this scenario play out in course after course. The suffering — and my powerlessness to relieve it — set me on a quest. I set up a fear-of-flying course of my own, called SOAR. It included every known technique for combating panic. Some techniques came from mental health professionals; some came from panic sufferers. Each technique was