The Doing Well Newsletter | Vol. 1

by Jesse Katches

Can we stop panic attacks forever?

the number one question people ask me is how to lessen their anxiety and calm their panic attacks.. no pressure right? 😅 being that most these questions come in the form of DM’s, i had to find a quick and effective way to convey the tool that has been most effective for me in my mental health journey - spoiler alert, it’s a book.

do me a favor…

take a moment to imagine a version of yourself who is free from anxiety.

how would you be sitting right now?

how would you be breathing in this moment?

how would you feel emotionally, would you be more confident?

imagine all the things in life that you would be doing if you didn’t have to worry about your anxiety getting in the way.

now come back to who you are in this moment, right now. is there a difference? does a life free from anxiety and panic attacks seem possible? there was a point in my life where my answer would have been a resounding - “no.” but now? i’ve never been more confident that if we can imagine something and embody the feeling even for a moment, then we can make it happen.’

about 6 years ago, after suffering yet another panic attack in a long string of chronic panic attacks, i finally couldn’t take anymore. as the paramedic’s left my apartment after calming me down, i couldn’t help but break down in tears. i was tired. tired of being scared, tired of feeling restrained, tired of feeling like i was floating through life as a passenger in this body that i had no control of while anxiety was behind the wheel. it was in that moment that i knew, something had to change. i began studying the topic of anxiety and researching how, if at all possible, i could take back control of my life. how i could beat anxiety once and for all and feel good again. i read articles, listened to podcasts, searched videos, and then, like a gift from above, i came across a book that changed everything.

“DARE - The New Way to End Anxiety and Stop Panic Attacks” by Barry McDonagh.

as i listened to that audiobook (which has a calming effect in itself) a wave of relief washed over me, finally, someone was talking about exactly what i was experiencing, someone was addressing my symptoms and patterns of thought. finally, i saw that there was a community of people throughout the world who were going through the exact same thing as me, and best of all, finally i saw that there may be a way to fix it.

i continued crying my eyes out as i listened to the entirety of that book in the span of just a day or two and then started applying the mental tools the author spoke about immediately, and to my complete and utter surprise, the method was working, and it was working fast.

now let’s jump to today. i am proud to say that i truly am a different person. a person who is more confident, freer, more adventurous, more outgoing, and i don’t believe a transformation like this would have happened without this book coming to me at the very pivotal point in my life when it did. do i still get anxiety - yes. but is my anxiety lightyears ahead of where it was 6 years ago when those paramedics left my apartment - absolutely. not to mention, i haven’t had a single panic attack worth mentioning since applying the eye-opening principles i learned from reading this book (it really does live up to the title).

at this point, i need to stress this one fact - if it sounds like i’m attempting to sell you on this book, it's because i am. but please understand why. it’s not because i want you to spend your money, it’s because i’ve seen the power that it holds to improve anxiety for the better.

is this book a cure-all? no. we as humans are a constant work in progress and to go one step further, we humans who suffer from anxiety, OCD, and other mental health issues, need to put in even more work to live the lives we want to live. but this book is one of the best tools i could recommend to anyone who is tired of feeling hopeless in their battle with anxiety.

i would love to give you a summary of the book and tell you more about why i believe it works so well, but to be honest, i don’t feel i would do it justice. so i’ll leave you with this - there is a lot of power in reaching a point with your anxiety where you say - “no more, i need to do something to change my life for the better, and i need to do that right now.” but as strange as this sounds, anxiety often blinds us from recognizing that breaking point and it somehow keeps us content in our suffering for much longer than we should ever allow. if you’re truly ready to take action on transforming your life for the better, i trust this message will lead you in the right direction. but if you need more time, there's no shame in that, we all have our own path. it took me years and years to realize that i have the power to change how i feel and i wouldn’t have been ready before that. so i’m confident you’ll know when you’re ready too.

p.s. if you do read this book, please reach back out to me via email and let me know. i’m excited to hear more about your journey.

book link below (i do not make a commission if you decide to purchase through this link)
https://amzn.to/3NaWeja

all the best,

Jesse Katches