From Panic Attacks to Purpose: One Woman’s Journey to Healing Anxiety

“I don’t want to alarm anyone,” begins Anat Doron, “but what I experienced about sixteen years ago was truly frightening. Until that moment I was a completely normal young woman. I worked as a human resources manager, succeeded in my job, and was known for my joy and energy. Then one day, everything suddenly collapsed.”

Looking back, Anat recalls that shortly before the episode her mother had suffered a stroke. “I stayed with her in the hospital day and night,” she says. “But the symptoms began only after she was discharged, so I’m not sure there was any real connection. No one can say for certain.”

The Moment Everything Changed

Anat remembers the moment vividly.

“I was walking through a mall with my husband when suddenly I felt intense dizziness and pressure in my chest. My whole body began shaking. I had never experienced anything like it before. My husband quickly sat me down in a café, and after about twenty minutes the sensations disappeared.”

But the relief was short-lived.

“The next morning the same symptoms returned — only this time they didn’t fade after a few minutes. The episode lasted for an entire week. It was terrifying.”

“I Was Sure It Was a Heart Attack”

Convinced that she was having a heart attack, Anat rushed to the emergency room.

“They ran tests and said everything was normal. Then they sent me from specialist to specialist, but no one found anything wrong.”

Meanwhile, her life came to a standstill.

“I barely left the house. I stopped going to work and insisted that my husband stay with me all the time. I was certain the problem was physical. But along with the physical symptoms came overwhelming fear about what was happening to my body.”

The Turning Point

Relief finally came through a friend who recommended an emotional therapist.

“The first thing she told me was: ‘You are not having a heart attack. Relax.’ Just hearing that already reduced my anxiety.”

The therapist helped Anat understand that what she was experiencing had a name: panic attacks. More importantly, she learned that recovery was possible.

Panic Attacks Can Happen to Anyone

At first, the diagnosis frightened her.

“I wondered what it meant about me. Isn’t this something that happens only to unstable people?”

Today Anat emphasizes that this belief is mistaken.

“Panic attacks can happen to anyone. Sometimes they are triggered by a stressful event, sometimes they appear suddenly without a clear cause. They occur across all ages and backgrounds.”

Although panic attacks begin in the mind, they can produce very real physical symptoms, including rapid heartbeat, dizziness, and chest pressure, which is why they often feel so alarming. However, medical tests usually confirm that the body itself is healthy.

The Path to Recovery

For Anat, recovery required commitment, prayer, and professional therapy.

“My treatment lasted quite a while because I didn’t want to stop working with my therapist even after I improved. But today I know that many people can overcome anxiety in eight to ten sessions, and in more complex cases perhaps fifteen.”

Different therapeutic approaches, such as CBT, ACT, guided imagery, and other emotional therapies, can help people learn practical tools for managing anxiety.

Over time Anat felt a growing desire to help others facing similar struggles, and she eventually trained as an emotional therapist herself.

A Personal Mission

Several years later, Anat also began a journey of spiritual growth that brought her closer to religious observance. Through this path she came to work with Rabbi Fanger, helping organize his lectures and workshops for nearly a decade.

Life soon presented another challenge, and within a short period of time, Anat lost her mother, sister, and father.

“It was devastating,” she says quietly. “My siblings were shattered, and I suddenly found strength I didn’t know I had. That’s when I realized how much the therapy I had received had strengthened me. It didn’t just help me once, but it changed my entire life.”

Turning Pain Into Purpose

Anat often remembers something her therapist told her early in her recovery:

“You are experiencing this so deeply that one day you will help others who are going through the same thing.”

“At the time I couldn’t imagine it,” Anat recalls. “But today I understand exactly what she meant. When someone calls us in distress, I can tell them from personal experience that recovery is possible — and that with the right help, they can truly regain their lives.”