I had been having severe attacks of panic and anxiety for a month, but this last week I had been feeling much better, but yesterday I received the news that my friend has cancer, I did not know how to take this news and I panicked, and now I am feeling burning in my arms and legs, I do not want to feel bad again, like the previous days and I feel so much fear. I try yo don't think about it, but I can't, and feel like I will going crazy, what can I do? I don't want to think about it, and I feel scared to get severe anxiety again.

Dr. Saul PereiraPsychologist47yrs exp

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The more you try not to think about this fear, the more it will be present to haunt you. You need to face your fear: as you face it, it's threat will gradually deteriorate, and you can handle it better. You are obviously not handling stress well. You seem to have a nervous disposition, perhaps developed from your past. If you can identify that source you may be able to work it out in therapy. Perhaps the home life was too restrictive or strict, or you were reprimanded at some time rather severely, or you did not develop adequate defense mechanisms to cope with stress, etc. You are reacting with fear and converting this into a psychosomatic reaction instead of dealing with it. Don?t panic though because if you cooperate a counselor can be of much help to resolve this. In the meantime you must do certain things to build your constitution, both physically and mentally. Mental stability can be achieved by learning a few skills in handling emotions in an appropriate manner. Stress management skills, which have a lot to do with expressing emotions, will need to be a major part of your recovery program. Emotionally you need the help of a counselor and that will help you tremendously to move from anxiety to normal fear. Please persevere and cooperate through all the support you need and you will come through successfully. Develop your body?s health by physical fitness through exercise, good rest (sleep), and a proper diet. Any way what you need to focus on is to do vigorous exercise of the aerobic kind for the heart?s fitness; meditation for the brain?s fitness; sleep for a well rested mind and body; a sound spiritual well being for good confidence and stability; and a diet with lots of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Vigorous exercise, especially of the callisthenic kind, will make your heart, which is a muscle, grow larger; and then your heart will need to beat less often and you will respond to the anxiety with a calmer disposition. If your mind, constitution, and your emotions are in check and fit, you will never be disturbed again. The earlier you tackle this, the easier it is going to be. 

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