In this article I want to pay attention to the aspect of a panic attack that ensures the self-perpetuating of the symptom. To do this, let us concentrate on the mechanism of its occurrence. 1) A zone of increased excitation appears in the brain, called the dominant by Ukhtomsky. The reasons for its appearance can be varied: both traumatic consolidation and a “hungry” need (unsatisfied meta-needs before the age of 6 years are also a developmental trauma). Often the activation of the dominant occurs “suddenly,” for example, when placed in conditions similar to those in which the traumatic event occurred. At the same time, this similarity is most often not realized2) Increased activation of the brain promotes greater absorption of oxygen and so-called stress hypoxia occurs3) In order to saturate the brain with oxygen again, a rise in blood pressure occurs in the body4) The sympathetic nervous system is activated, and “special” sensations arise . Such as interruptions in the functioning of the heart, rapid breathing, trembling, convulsions. 5) When such sensations arise for the first time. And at first glance, for no reason, strong fear, almost horror, may appear. Between the symptoms and the emotion of fear, outside of the sense of awareness, the thought may initially appear: “there is something wrong with me, I am dying or going crazy.” With the development and consolidation of a panic attack, these thoughts come to the fore and mutually feed the emotion of horror.6) The dominant is consolidated by fear (the mechanism of the conditioned reflex).7) The circle closes. The next time the symptoms worsen. Paradoxical as it may seem, sometimes it is enough for a person to learn about this mechanism, and the symptoms of his panic attacks significantly weaken. The main conclusion that can be drawn from this diagram is this. Fear is as much a consequence in PA as symptoms of sympathetic activation. And in order to break this circle, it is possible to work with any component that is subject to psychocorrection: - a bodily symptom; - thoughts of death or madness; - the emotion of fear; - the root cause that causes excitement. If our goal is only to relieve PA, then this is really so. But all areas of work, except the last one, turning off the PA, can cause other symptoms and, sometimes, more severe ones.