You're in Therapy and It Still Happens Before Every Presentation

If you go to therapy, you work on your panic attacks, but it still keeps happening. It keeps happening at the most inconvenient point in your life, when you have to go on stage, or lead a meeting, or have an interview, or do a podcast. What do you do?

If you're new to me, my name is Eugene. I'm a registered hypnotherapist in the state of Washington. Today we're going to talk about panic attacks and what to do when you are actually taking action. You know that it is a panic attack, and these are panic attacks. You went to medical doctors, you got all kinds of testing, and it's still happening. So we're going to address that.

What "is it working" actually means

One thing to understand, and it's really important to understand, is the definition of "it's working for me" or "it's not working for me." Because nobody can guarantee that you will never experience anxiety or panic attacks.

Recognize that it is a panic attack

One of the biggest challenges is to actually recognize that it is a panic attack. You're not going to die. You're going to be safe. It's not pleasant, but just because it is not pleasant doesn't mean that it is dangerous.

Learn to regulate: water, breathing, your triggers, coffee

And learning how to regulate yourself. I don't know, maybe drink water. Breathing exercises. Meditation. Maybe understanding your different triggers in terms of foods, right? Because certain diets and certain foods can trigger it. Like coffee. Maybe you're over-consuming coffee, and then when you have an important meeting, you have a panic attack. So it is really important to address what is happening before, and definitely address that with your provider, with your therapist or hypnotherapist.

Only hypnotherapy? Only talk therapy? Try the other one

Sometimes, let's say you are using only hypnotherapy for panic attacks, which not a lot of people do. In the previous video we talked about how hypnotherapy could be really, really beneficial for panic attacks. So if you have not tried hypnotherapy, and you tried other tools, like maybe talk therapy, maybe dialectical behavioral therapy, try hypnotherapy.

What the psychiatrist told me: be honest when it's not working

This is what a psychiatrist, a medical doctor who also practices hypnotherapy, would always tell me when we did consultations together. He would always tell me: Eugene, we gotta be honest when something is not working. As a psychiatrist, I have to look at what is not working. If medication is not working, or if there are better tools than medication, I should address those better tools. And sometimes hypnosis is a better tool.

You don't have to fire your therapist

So if you have not tried hypnosis, if you go to a therapist and you're working on your panic attacks and it's not getting better, try hypnotherapy. It doesn't mean that you have to fire your therapist or quit therapy. You can work on other issues with your licensed mental health professional. But please try hypnotherapy. It might work.

When mindfulness and hypnotherapy aren't working: holistic psychiatry

Now, if you only use hypnotherapy, only use mindfulness, and it's not working, it's probably good to consult maybe even a psychiatrist. And for entrepreneurs, for people who are in high-stress careers, executives, I will always recommend holistic psychiatry. Because it's not about just taking a medication. It's about understanding what's happening with your body holistically. Holistic psychiatry can be a lifesaver. I'm a huge advocate for holistic psychiatry. So that's another option.

It could be physical: something the doctors missed

It could be physical. It could actually be something that doctors missed. So go back to the medical doctors and say that you tried therapy, you tried hypnotherapy, you tried X, Y and Z, and it didn't work. Resume medical testing.

My own testing: urgent care, ENT, the inhaler

Because for me, they were testing me and testing me and testing me and testing me.

I started first with urgent care. They did an exam. Nothing. I went to an ENT. She looked at my throat. Nothing. I went back to a general practitioner, to my primary care physician. He prescribed me an inhaler, because I was in Denver, Colorado. An inhaler often can increase your anxiety. So I was treating my panic attacks with an inhaler that could increase my anxiety. And of course there was a little bit of a placebo effect: okay, I should breathe better, my throat should open up. But it didn't really help.

Chicago: cardiologist, gastroenterologist, and my choice

When I moved to Chicago, I went to a cardiologist, who checked my heart. The heart was good. And a gastroenterologist said, hey, you have to do this expensive procedure. I said no. I will go and address my mental health with hypnotherapy, with therapy, and see if it works. And it worked.

90 days, then dig further

If it didn't work in 90 days, and 90 days is a good timeframe to actually aim for, because of neuroplasticity, your brain has to adjust. If it didn't work, I would come back to that GI doctor and say, you know what, let's test it out. Let's just see what else is wrong with me. If it didn't work, I would go back to my general practitioner, my PCP, and I would actually do brain scans and see if maybe something in the brain is triggering those panic attacks. And I would dig until I found the answer. So dig. Advocate for yourself.

But if you were to actually address it with a medical professional, and if it is anxiety related, start with a holistic psychiatrist, or with their medical doctors. And I really hope that they will be able to point out what is actually wrong with you.

A win is a win

Also, sometimes you have to take wins when you can. It means maybe the panic attacks don't subside absolutely 100 percent. But you're more aware of them. You're managing them. And normally, when you know what it is, when you know that you're not dying and you're just uncomfortable, your job is to do the meeting, do the presentation, go through your day with the ability to actually maintain yourself and compose yourself. If you can do that, even if you're uncomfortable, it's a win. A win is a win. That's just my opinion.

Understand what you're dealing with, and life gets easier

So, but yeah, definitely keep digging. Sometimes you just have to live with certain conditions. And what is good with anxiety, fears, phobias, panic attacks, is that once you understand what you're dealing with, and you know how to work with it, your life gets significantly easier.

When I worked as a psychotherapist

Historically, in the past, when I worked as a psychotherapist, I worked with a lot of anxiety and panic attacks. And once we understood the triggers, that it is actually anxiety, or a fear, or a phobia, people would actually get better.

Next: how to teach your body it's safe again

That's all I've got to say today. In the next video we're going to talk about how to maintain it, how to teach your body that it's safe again. Because, listen, it's been a little while since I had acute panic attacks. But sometimes, I will be honest with you, sometimes life is so much that I feel like my throat is closing. I feel like something is... you know what? That's an anxiety attack. That's a panic attack. And that's okay. I'm going to breathe through it. I'm going to focus on the feeling that I actually would like to have right now, and we're going to live with that.

More about that in the next video: how to teach your body that it's safe on the stage again, or in the important meeting again. I will see you in the next video. Bye, y'all.

Part 5 of the series A panic attack out of nowhere. The episode arrives on YouTube on November 10, 2026; the written version is here first.