GOOSE: I love your imagery. Not sure if I have the OCD component. My anxiety attacks occur when the danger or possible dreadful consequences are very real. Also I have nightmares in which those same situations arise, and I awaken hyperventilating and with my heart pounding wildly in my chest, unable to distinguish between the nightmare and reality. Unfortunately just thinking about EITHER the real life situations OR the nightmares can also trigger an attack. So I don't do that.

HOW TO STOP A PANIC ATTACK: On the net, I found something interesting about how to stop panic attacks. It claims to do so in a single session! Seems it is quite a respectable technique among therapists. It's called "REWIND." This technique could be very useful to a person who is in immediate danger of being incapacitated by an anxiety attack --- if that person at the time SIMPLY MUST carry on with important duties. I haven't tried it myself yet. I'm unwilling to think about bad things long enough to provoke an attack. lol Actually, a person would have to practice the technique BEFORE having the attack. Then, when one has the technique nailed and sort of second nature, one can easily use it when the anxiety attack arrives. Looking now, to see if I can find that web site where the REWIND technique is taught. La la la la la lalala. Oh, well. Just Google "rewind technique in panic attacks." You'll find it. Sorry about that.

STOPPING ANXIETY ATTACKS THAT PRESENT AS NIGHTMARES: The below web site teaches that too much REM SLEEP (dreaming which our brain requires to flush away the fears of the day) depletes us of RESTORATIVE SLEEP, which is needed for our mental and physical health. So we have to stop thinking about upsetting things that would require our brain to engage in a lot of REM SLEEP at night. That also means that we CANNOT delve into the past or ruminate looking for "causes" of our mental problems, because doing so will overload our brain with a need to wash away those bad memories and thoughts with REM SLEEP.

I know this web site looks as if it is only about depression. However, a frightening nightmare IS an anxiety attack! And it causes depression. Then both the anxiety and the depression become part of a vicious cycle. Both of them can be controlled by earning how to stop excessive REM sleep, according to this web site, which teaches the technique. Hope it helps.

Here it is:
http://www.clinical-depression.co.uk/

Adieu