Yes I have. My anxiety and panic started when I was 16 and I never understood why. 30 years later I started having flashbacks that I was sexually abused as a child. I was abused from 8-12, raped repeatedly by a neighborhood boy at 13 and 14 and by 16 I had forgotten all of it and began with anxiety and panic. I can trace every anxiety symptom back to the abuse and as I have healed the abuse my anxiety and panic have stopped.

I never believed what Dr's told me, that it was a chemical imbalance. Even without remembering the abuse I still knew on some level that something caused my anxiety to start. I do believe, like many therapists, that trauma is the at the root of all anxiety. Heal the trauma and the anxiety will go away.

But I also understand what you are saying about how you can sit in a therapists office for year and years without getting to the root cause. I did that. I went through a dozen therapists before I was able to remember. Is this current therapist better than all the rest? No. I think I just got to a place personally where it was safe for me to remember. The brain will release the memories when it is safe to release them. I usually tell people to keep working on improving your attitude and your physical self and the memories will return.

Great post!

but did this therapist make your panic attacks stop?

I had a psychiatrist that did just that - kept trying to find a cause, I stopped going because it felt like we were going around in circles, and wasn't helping

My therapist helped me heal from the abuse I went through as a child and healing that stopped my panic attacks and generalized anxiety. I could trace every symptom of my anxiety and panic back to the sexual abuse so once I healed that the symptoms had no fear attached to them any more.

The brain is a fascinating organ. It will protect us at all costs. I had a lot of work to do on myself before the memories even returned. So to those people who have not found their root cause yet, I say "don't give up. The memories will return when it is safe for them to return".

Well, I have uncovered the causes, but no I don't think my panic attacks are relieved because I suffer from PTSD and that is a whole different ball game.

there is one school of psychology that holds that everyone has repressed memories from being sexually abused as a child, and these are the cause of all anxiety problems

I actually think that therapists miss a lot of things that could cause anxiety. They did for me anyway. I grew up in a very toxic household with a brother who was in a rage most of the time. From the time I was born I was surrounded by anger and was frightened most of the time. I would have dreams that I was in the middle of the Vietnam war and it took place in my childhood home. Yet when I discussed this with previous therapists it was never a concern. The reaction was more "Yes. That happens to everyone. We deal." So it was never really discussed so the fear stayed within me and the anxiety and panic attacks persisted.

I do not believe that every child is sexually abused, but there are studies that show that most, if not all, children who are sexually abused (any abuse actually) do have anxiety issues later in life.

One thing I will say about healing from a trauma... You have to relive it and that stinks. I had to feel the terror all over again and work through it in order to process it. If I didn't process it, the anxiety and panic would remain. In fact, last night I was triggered, a memory returned and panic followed. Through the panic I was able to process the feeling/memory and now I won't have to again and it's very likely the same thing won't trigger me next time...because I have processed it. That is how you end panic. By allowing yourself to feel the terror. It's a nasty process but it does work.

Anxiety attacks stem from a trauma or life changing event from the past that refuses to be acknowledged or accepted! Seek t find what it is you refuse to acknowledge and accept no matter how bad it was!

I suffered for 25 years everyday and was trapped unable t travel and at times leave my home and never left town! My came from my past and had to be revealed and reconciled ! To find peace!

I wish I could find the repressed memory that will set me free! I don't know what other trauma than losing my mom at a young age. I tend to feel anxious and panicky when I think that she is no longer with me.

Mommas81 - Knowing the trauma is only half the battle. Now that you know your anxiety goes back to losing your mother at a young age you need to allow yourself to feel all the feelings that you didn't allow yourself to feel then. It's in all those feelings that your anxiety symptoms have been created and it's in feeling them all that will eliminate your anxiety. If you feel sad, cry. If you feel angry, yell and scream and punch a pillow. Allow that little girl inside of you to be angry and sad and scared and allow her to get it out. If you feel you have done this and you are still anxious then you either 1) didn't process all the feelings fully or 2) there is something else in your past that is causing your anxiety.

It can be a lengthy process healing from past trauma but it can be done. It is not a comfortable journey but when you have been through the healing process and your anxiety is gone, it is worth it.

Actually I had pushed all of my childhood abuse so far back in my mind that I had no remembrance of it. I worked with a psychologist for one year and he gave me the tools to deal with the panic attacks and agoraphobia that I had dealt with for years. He told me that when the time was right that I would understand where all these symptoms had come from. About 6 months later I started remembering childhood events that I had blocked out. I was in therapy for another year and dealt with the pain. I am free of all the panic attacks, depression, etc, etc, etc and am living a wonderful life. I hope this helps you, God bless, Marilyn