Awake-alert hypnosis in the treatment of panic disorder: a case report.

An individual developed a lifestyle-limiting case of Panic Disorder that threatened to interfere with her raison d'etre: To participate in the exclusive lifestyle of her community. The panic episodes started to cripple her social calendar and as the "season" came into full swing her coveted role of chairwoman of various philanthropic functions came into peril. A variant of awake-alert hypnosis had to be created for this case. Hypnosis consisting of eye closure with relaxation was out of the question. The authors created an induction technique and specific suggestions based on the Waterford glassware, as focal point, with the purpose of not only inducing awake-alert hypnosis but also of executing a series of specific strategies, tailored to abort the incipient panic episodes.