> your first thought after dealing with an anxiety attack by breathing deeply is "okay, but what if it doesn't work the next time?" It always will. Practice c

> your first thought after dealing with an anxiety attack by breathing deeply is "okay, but what if it doesn't work the next time?" It always will. Practice choosing various thoughts in your focus (thankful, calm, happy, etc) and watch how the feelings seem to follow ~15-30 minutes after. It will always work (in time) because it's literally a neurochemical reaction with physical laws equivalent to the guarantees of gravity. You're basically asking "what if the laws of physics and biology stop working for my body?" Admittedly you can get yourself stressed enough over months or a single impactful event to really require some dedicated relaxation time, but the body will always over time respond to relaxation. And recovery is not linear, but moreso analog with ups and downs. In my experience people struggling with anxiety (and everyone gets anxious) can be impatient and want their feelings to resolve in seconds to minutes. And typically that comes bundled with some perfectionist desire to avoid a past fear ("if I do X I'll never experience Y terrifying thing again") which winds themselves up further in the moment as they monitor for a calming outcome that takes longer than they wanted ("Oh God, I'm trying to relax but I'm not calming down!"). Literally start a stopwatch and give yourself 20-30 minutes to sit with the pain, focus on breathing/calm thoughts, and watch as it dissipates like the steam off a car after you turn it off.