Title: Anxiety, Panic Attacks and Persistent Fear | Renée Shearing
Source: https://reneeshearing.com/anxiety-and-panic
Last updated: 2026-10-18
Summary: So part of the work is not simply understanding emotion, but developing the capacity to experience it without being overwhelmed by it.

# Anxiety, Panic and Persistent Fear

“I feel anxious most of the time, and sometimes it turns into panic.”

Anxiety can sit in the background of every day, or arrive suddenly as panic, with a racing heart, fast breathing and a sense that something terrible is about to happen.

Our bodies often respond before our conscious minds have made sense of what is happening.

You may know rationally that you are safe and still feel activated.

Stress and trauma that haven’t been adequately processed can remain active in the nervous system, manifesting in a wide range of emotional, psychological and physical symptoms. These may include anxiety, panic attacks, fears, phobias, flashbacks, nightmares, dissociation, sleeplessness, irritability, hypervigilance, addictive behaviours, overwhelm, exhaustion, digestive difficulties, persistent pain, and other physical symptoms that are difficult to explain medically or that have been identified as potentially stress-related.

**Physical symptoms may require appropriate medical assessment and treatment. Therapy is not a substitute for medical care.**

**If you are in crisis or thinking of harming yourself, please get help now rather than waiting for a session.**

In South Africa, call the SADAG Suicide Crisis Helpline on 0800 567 567 (free, 24 hours), or 112 from a mobile phone, or the police on 10111.

Outside South Africa, call your local emergency number.

I do not offer an emergency service.

## How do we work with anxiety and panic?

Many of our adaptations developed because certain feelings once felt too overwhelming, unsafe or difficult to hold.

So part of the work is not simply understanding emotion, but developing the capacity to experience it without being overwhelmed by it.

I pay attention to those responses as part of the work.

That may mean noticing changes in tension, breathing, activation, shutdown, emotion or bodily sensation.

The body can give us information that cognition alone sometimes cannot.

## Approaches that may help

- [TRE®](https://reneeshearing.com/tre)
- [EMDR](https://reneeshearing.com/emdr)
- [EFT](https://reneeshearing.com/eft)
- [One to One Therapeutic Work](https://reneeshearing.com/one-to-one-therapeutic-work)

## Read more

- [Trauma and Hypervigilance](https://reneeshearing.com/trauma-and-hypervigilance)
- [Stress and the Body](https://reneeshearing.com/stress-and-the-body)
- [Feeling Unable to Cope](https://reneeshearing.com/feeling-unable-to-cope)
- [Who I Work With](https://reneeshearing.com/who-i-work-with)
- [Working With Me Online](https://reneeshearing.com/working-with-me-online)

## Testimonials

> "Thank you - in a big way. I’m struggling to find the words to express my gratitude. Thank you for helping me find my smile again its been a 15 year struggle and my family is finally happier.
>
> The support of the sessions from you and the TRE has truly changed my life as well as my husband. The sessions have really helped me understand how to deal with my anxiety on a daily basis.
>
> You were very helpful, compassionate and helped me feel more confident about how to deal with my problems. TRE taught me the skills to disregard my negative thought patterns effectively, without which I would not have been able to get through a very difficult period.
>
> You offered quiet, calm and pleasant rooms to spend time in. The conversations I had with you were always constructive and I felt able to measure my own progress after every session.
>
> The key issues that were troubling me, TRE really help. I was eventually able to move past the sense of emotional blockage that had led me to seek therapy in the first place. If ever I have further problems, you and your practice would be the first I contact."

Client Name kept private