Will Panic Attacks Kill You?

Summary

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Episode Overview

Podcast: The Dr. Laura Podcast
Episode Title: Will Panic Attacks Kill You?
Date: December 8, 2025
Host: Dr. Laura Schlessinger

Main Theme:
In this episode, Dr. Laura Schlessinger openly shares her personal journey with panic attacks, debunking the myth that they are fatal, and provides actionable advice and coping mechanisms for those who suffer from them. Blending humor, vulnerability, and clinical insight, Dr. Laura delivers a candid account designed to inform, comfort, and empower listeners challenged by anxiety or panic disorder.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Dr. Laura’s Personal Story: The Onset of Panic Attacks

• Sudden Family Emergency as the Catalyst
  • Dr. Laura recounts a harrowing night when her husband collapsed from sudden cardiac arrest ([03:17]). Her quick action—and perhaps, as doctors later suggest, her “nagging”—saved his life.
  • Quote (Dr. Laura, 04:52): “It’s good she nagged you because you’d be dead. She’d wake up in the morning to a corpse next door.”
• Immediate Aftermath
  • Dr. Laura describes the profound fear and heightened bodily awareness following the incident, likening herself to the narrator in Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Tell-Tale Heart" ([05:17]).
  • Memorable moment (Dr. Laura, 05:26): “I could hear my heart from across the room, even though my heart’s in my own body. I know that sounds weird, but it was so loud.”

Living with Panic Attacks: Symptoms and Experiences

• Intense Physical and Psychological Distress

  • She shares how her anxiety spiraled, impacting her ability to function, and how she was repeatedly treated in emergency rooms and prescribed sedatives ([09:00]–[11:11]).
  • Vivid anecdote: Collapsing in front of the hospital elevator, begging, “Please don’t let me die. My son is only 8…” ([09:11])

• Failed (and Misguided) Therapy

  • Dr. Laura’s psychologist makes an unhelpful promise that her panic attacks would stop in two months, which only increased her focus and distress ([09:51]–[10:05]).
  • Quote (Dr. Laura, 10:05): “Never tell a patient you have a specific date and this will stop.”

• Misunderstanding and Stigma

  • Many practitioners—and even Dr. Laura’s sensei—downplay her experiences, which is both frustrating and illustrative of common misconceptions ([10:40], [11:06]).

What Panic Attacks Really Feel Like

• Not a Heart Attack, but Feels Like It

  • Dr. Laura details the hallmark sensations of panic attacks:
    • Racing heart
    • Feeling like her chest was being vacuumed out
    • A certainty she was about to die ([10:15]–[11:38])

• Diagnostic Journey

  • After a high-stress episode at an airshow, a cardiologist confirms she has panic attacks, not a cardiac issue ([11:38]–[12:19]).
  • Quote (Cardiologist, 12:04): “I think I have bad news. It’s not cardiac. …because that’s easy to fix. You’re having panic attacks.”

Understanding the Cycle of Panic

• No Clear Triggers
  • Dr. Laura notes that, initially triggered by her husband’s near-death, her panic attacks eventually become “triggerless,” highlighting the entrenched neural pathways involved ([13:01]).
  • Quote (Dr. Laura, 13:54): “Most people I worked with in my practice who had this, I tell them, don’t look for a trigger. It probably isn’t there, just a pathway in your brain, like a furrow in the dirt with water going through it.”
• The Fear of Fear
  • She emphasizes that it’s not just the anxiety but the anticipation of anxiety—“the fear of fear”—that perpetuates and exacerbates panic attacks ([13:54]–[14:15]).
  • Key insight (Dr. Laura, 14:15): “The less you resist your anxiety, the less anxiety you will feel.”

Practical Coping Tools & Strategies

• Grounding Exercise: The 5-4-3-2-1 Game ([14:52]–[16:00])

  1. Five things you can see, name and describe them
  2. Four things you can feel with your body
  3. Three things you can hear
  4. Two things you can smell (or name if not possible)
  5. One thing good about yourself
  • Quote (Dr. Laura, 16:04): “I’m going to survive this.”

• Breathing Techniques ([16:09]–[16:38])

  • Inhale through the nose to a count of five, hold for two, then exhale slowly through the mouth to five (or up to ten with practice).
  • Tip: “Because when you’re anxious, you tend to want to exhale.” ([16:38])

• Distraction and Acceptance

  • Dr. Laura notes that grounding, breathing, and distraction techniques work mainly by breaking the cycle of escalating anxiety.
  • The most helpful belief: Nobody has ever died from a panic attack.
    • Quote (Dr. Laura quoting her psychologist, 10:15 and repeating at 17:17): “Nobody’s ever died from a panic attack … Even though I feel like I’m gonna die, nobody has ever died from a panic attack.”

Recovery & Moving Forward

• Time Heals and Habits Help
  • Dr. Laura affirms that, with time, practice, and a shift in attitude, her panic attacks have virtually disappeared ([17:48]).
  • She notes that she now distinguishes normal situational anxiety (e.g., the adrenaline rush of a competitive race) from pathological panic, and no longer fears anxiety itself ([18:03]–[18:34]).
  • Quote (Dr. Laura, 18:03): “I just don’t fret about it.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [04:52] Dr. Laura’s doctor: “It’s good she nagged you because you’d be dead.”
• [05:26] Dr. Laura: “I could hear my heart from across the room, even though my heart’s in my own body.”
• [10:05] Dr. Laura: “Never tell a patient you have a specific date and this will stop.”
• [12:04] Dr. Laura’s cardiologist: “I think I have bad news. It’s not cardiac … because that’s easy to fix. You’re having panic attacks.”
• [13:54] Dr. Laura: “Don’t look for a trigger. … Just a pathway in your brain, like a furrow in the dirt with water going through it.”
• [14:15] Dr. Laura: “The less you resist your anxiety, the less anxiety you will feel.”
• [16:04] Dr. Laura: “I’m going to survive this.”
• [17:17] Dr. Laura: “Nobody has ever died from a panic attack.”
• [18:03] Dr. Laura: “I just don’t fret about it.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | Content Summary | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:33 | Family emergency | Dr. Laura narrates husband’s sudden collapse | | 05:26 | First panic attack symptoms | Uncontrollable fear and bodily sensations after traumatic night | | 09:11 | Hospital & anxiety escalation | Own panic attacks worsen conflicts with caretaking/motherhood | | 09:47 | Therapy unfortunately misapplied | “You’ll be cured in two months” proves harmful | | 10:15 | “Nobody’s ever died from a panic attack” | Seed of hope that reframes Dr. Laura’s experience | | 11:38 | Diagnostic process clarifies panic vs. heart attack| Experiencing panic as distinct from physical cardiac problem | | 13:54 | Cycle of fear | How fear of panic triggers more panic, advice from Dr. Laura’s clinical practice | | 14:52 | Coping techniques introduced | 5-4-3-2-1 grounding, breath control, positive self-talk | | 17:17 | Reinforcement of key lesson | Repeating “Nobody has ever died from a panic attack” and the power of acceptance | | 18:14 | Distinguishing normal anxiety | How she recognizes when anxiety is just a normal part of life (start of a race, etc.) | | 17:48+ | Recovery, perspective, and current health | Dr. Laura rarely experiences panic attacks; shares message of hope |

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Tone & Style

Dr. Laura’s style in this episode is warm, confessional, occasionally humorous, and direct. She intersperses vivid personal stories with advice, acknowledging both the fear and irrationality that come with panic attacks, and always brings the discussion back to practical, empowering truths. The episode is highly accessible—both relatable to sufferers and instructive for caregivers.

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Takeaway Messages

• Panic attacks, while terrifying, are not fatal.
• Don’t waste energy searching for what triggered a panic attack—sometimes, there isn’t one.
• Fear of panic attacks can perpetuate more attacks; acceptance and distraction help break the cycle.
• Grounding and controlled breathing are simple and effective tools.
• Over time, with knowledge and practice, most people experience relief—even after years of suffering.

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Final Reflection

Dr. Laura’s honest recounting and practical strategies provide hope and reassurance for anyone navigating the bewildering world of panic attacks. Her message is clear: You are not alone, you are not doomed, and there are concrete steps you can take to regain control.

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Transcript

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Let's see about 25 years ago, something on the order of that never good on times. Every now and then when somebody was trying to do an overall interview about me they go well what year did that? What year? I have no idea. I don't remember stuff like that. Anyway, trying to go to sleep. And my husband is, as I called it, fidging around in the bed. And I said, I have so much. I have such and such to do tomorrow. I really need a night's sleep. Can you stop fidgeting? And he said okay, and got up. He said, I'll go get some water. Gets up out of bed to go get some water, walks around the bed into the hall. And I hear this huge thick.

So I run into the hall and there he is lying face down on the floor, turning his head sideways and speaking in tongues is how I like to talk about it. And I went o o.

And.

Ran into the kitchen where the phone was and called 911, which fortunately was only about 90 seconds away.

He gets up, puts some jeans on and says I'm fine. I said, 911 is coming. It's not fine. You were on your face not speaking English. Sorry. They come and he's chatting with them. I'm freaked out. And there's a woman and a man. These are paramedics, okay? The guy paramedic is talking to me. He's talking down to me, said I have a PhD in physiology. I know what's going on. He goes, no, he just had some orthostatic hypotension. I said, no. Suddenly she calls from the kitchen. She's got him on the gurney and says, we gotta go.

So off to the hospital. My little son, husband, two paramedics, off to the hospital. He had sudden death.

Sudden death mean exactly what it says. However, since his wife bugged him to stop fidgeting and he got out of the bed and he hit the ground, it restarted his heart.

I remember one point his doctor said to him, after all the surgeries, blah blah blah, it's good she nagged you because you'd be dead. She'd wake up in the morning to a corpse next door.

That was fearful.

But that very evening it was like an Edgar Allan Poe story. The Tell Tale Heart.

Where he killed this guy, but he could. And he buried him under the floorboards and he could hear the heartbeat.

I could hear my heart from across the room, even though my heart's in my own body. I know that sounds weird, but it was so loud. And I entered the lovely world of severe panic attacks.

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[Dr. Lora]

So there'd be times I'd go visit him in the hospital. I'd go to the elevator, I'd be so anxious about everything, taking care of our boy, working to support us.

At that point, I was the one with the job. And.

I would hit the ground in front of the.

Elevators going, please don't let me die. I remember this vividly. My son is only 8. What if he's 12? Let me die anyway. He's only 8. Don't let me die. So they'd pump me up with something, a sedative which made me stoned. Then they call my dear friend and colleague and say to her, come pick her up. She'd bring me home, plop me into bed. She'd go home. And it just went on like that. So I went to this psychologist who supposedly had an expertise.

In panic attacks.

He made the therapeutic stupid mistake of saying, in two months you will not have panic attacks. So I'm counting down the days.

Never tell a patient you have a specific date and this will stop.

At one point I told him off.

The only good thing he did for me was one day he said, nobody's ever died from a panic attack. And if you folks have had panic attacks, you know that's exactly what it feels like. Your chest empties out like a vacuum has occurred and you're going to die. I have held on to trees, I've held on to life posts.

Light posts, waiting to die. Waiting about 20 seconds and going, well, I guess I'm not going to die. I would went back into karate. Everybody's standing and kicking and I'm crouched on the floor and the sensei comes and goes, what are you doing? And I said, my heart is racing, I think I'm gonna die. He looks at his watch and he says, nope, stand up, start kicking.

Whatever. It was a nightmare for years.

So finally ending up in hospital emergency rooms way too many times. And all they do is drug me. Because the last time was when I was doing an event, watching the Blue Angels. And this was at a time where I was a VIP in these things. So I watched them, went to the hotel room and thought, I'm going to die, take me to the hospital.

The cardiologist comes, he puts me on the treadmill and I'm going at high speed.

Talking the whole time.

And he said, uh huh. They were looking at a heart problem. So after they looked at all the data, he came and said.

I think I have bad news. Ah, shit. What could that be? And he goes, it's not cardiac. And I said, why is that bad news? And he goes, because that's easy to fix. You're having panic attacks. They're not easy to fix.

Okay.

So he gives me half of Valium. I said, I don't like being stoned. Half of Valium. And they put me on a plane to come back to my home.

At this point, I started reading and figuring out what I can do.

Because it's terrifying and upsetting.

Your body has turned against you. Your heart starts racing and your brain says, oh, I gotta fight or get the hell out of Dodge. Fight or flight.

So once you're pretty sure that you know what a heart attack really is.

And you realize this is not it, then you have to deal with this is overwhelming. It's terrifying, and it is so ironic. The panic is fueled by fear, not just the fear of whatever has triggered you. In my case, in the beginning, it was my husband almost dying. After that, there were no triggers. It was as though my brain accepted a pathway. And all of a sudden, if I had a nervous twitch or nervous moment or I have no idea, there was no trigger anymore. That's what confuses a lot of people. Most people I worked with in my practice who had this, I tell me, don't look for a trigger. It probably isn't there, just a pathway in your brain, like a furrow in the dirt with water going through it. It just sets a pathway.

So you start fearing the fear response. You start being scared of having panic attacks, which does what brings upon a panic attack? It just escalates your emotions. So the more you resist the anxiety, the more anxiety you.

The less you resist your anxiety, the less anxiety you will feel. It's uncomfortable, it's inconvenient, but there are ways of handling it. And I got really good at handling it.

And I remember times I'd be racing on my boat and we'd have to go around. So other boats coming close. I have rights, but you don't know about them. And I'd start getting the feeling.

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I wouldn't tell anybody. Nobody knew on the boat. I would breathe. And I had little games I played in my head.

One of them is a game that's lately been called the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 game.

Which I couldn't do when I was driving. The boat name five things you can see around you and describe them. I see a camera. I see. And it's black with a big fat lens and I see a screen that's showing me my property everywhere because I have cameras everywhere. The grass looks nice and green. Number three. You just. Five, four, three, two, one. So five. Just stuff you see, but name them. Four. Four things you can feel with your body. I feel my feet on the ground. I feel my hand on my face. I feel my left hand scratching my stomach. I'm making this up. I'm not doing that. 3. Three things you can hear right now. Well, I can personally hear my fireplace. I can hear my own voice through my headphones.

I can't hear anything else. Sorry. Name two things.

Name one thing good about yourself.

I'm going to survive this.

And it's amazing.

How it drains out, but if you tighten yourself up and go, oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God, where's my meds? Where's my meds? Oh, my God, oh, my God. It's just going to get worse. You can do breathing. You can breathe in through your nose through a count of five, hold it for a count of two, slowly breathe out through your mouth through count of five. Hopefully you can get up to eight or 10. I got pretty good at 10. It's not that easy.

Because when you're anxious, you tend to want to exhale.

The last thing.

Panic attacks always pass.

They always.

Pass.

In a few moments, it's going to pass.

So all that, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. And the breathing is, to a large extent, to distract yourself.

Because the fear of fear escalates it. But that one sentence took me on the path to getting over it all, and that was, nobody has ever died from a panic attack. I would keep repeating that. So even though I feel like I'm gonna die, nobody has ever died from a panic attack.

Now that's my story. Do I get them anymore?

Barely ever. And if I do, it's like a one out of ten. And I, @ this point, just ignore it because I know you get anxious. Screw it.

I just don't fret about it.

And you need to separate that out from normal anxiety. Like, if I'm at the start in a sailboat race, the wind is really up.

And the water is slopping around, it's very tough to control the boat, especially with boats around me.

And definitely, I'm sure my blood pressure goes up and I can feel tension in my chest, but that's normal. I don't worry about normal.

You don't cure normal. I just say, can't wait to hear the horn to be over the start line. And then it's just go.

So there's normal don't mistake it for something bad. My number 1-800-375-2872. If you like this podcast, be sure to rate it on Apple Podcasts or your favorite place to listen to my podcast. Of course, I'd love if you gave me five stars. And be sure to share this podcast with a friend on Facebook or your preferred social media.

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