Panic Disorder is an externalization process for traumatic unconscious content which impedes mental equilibrium. A panic attack serves as an 'escape valve', pouring into conscious thought the traumatic content in the form of vague intuitions such as an unexplained fear of impending doom or death. All physiological symptoms related to panic disorder such as chest pain, sweating, dizziness and intestinal malfunction are psychosomatic, or the reflection of the mind onto the body. They are therefore NOT life-threatening. The mind needs to go through this painful experience in order to regulate or 'sanitize' the unconscious, in a similar way to post-traumatic therapy, when the individual mentally relives a past traumatic event to re-contextualize it, comparing it to the safety of the present moment. The traumas being dealt with at the unconscious level may or may not have been experienced in this lifetime. Mentally fighting against a panic attack is like throwing gas ...
Psychological and Spiritual Approach to the Panic Syndrome and Related Disorders