A few years ago, I found myself in the emergency department with an IV sticking out of my arm, absolutely convinced I was having a cardiac event. Eventually, I was sent home with a few reassuring words and the advice to just "keep an eye on" things. Two years ago, I was in a crowded restaurant when I started hyperventilating so badly a waitress rushed over to bring me water, fearing I was about to pass out.
Yet when I describe these incidents to Matt Gutman, ABC News's chief national correspondent and author of "No Time to Panic: How I Curbed My Anxiety and Conquered a Lifetime of Panic Attacks," I feel the need to casually reassure him. "Oh it's fine," I say. But it takes one to know one. "No," he replies. "It's terrifying."
