'Liberated Mind' author shares lessons learnt from his panic disorder

As a pioneering psychologist, Prof Steven C. Hayes owes much of what he’s learned about the human mind to his early struggles with panic attacks and anxiety.

In the late 1970s, he was an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina in the United States. On one occasion, a faculty discussion had turned into a fiery debate when the young academic tried to make a point. He was unable to speak and, as his heart pounded in his chest, he was convinced he was having a heart attack.