I just had a respiratory treatment that, due to side effects, has made me all shaky, light headed, and my heart is racing. It feels indistinguishable from having a panic attack, even though I know I'm not.

That's how to view "validation" for feelings. Validation is saying "yes, you are experiencing those symptoms. And, holy shit, does that suck to have to feel those things. They're horrible to feel." You do that first. Then you can say "but remember, it's not real. You're feeling those horrid sensations, and that so sucks, but it's not really a panic attack. It's okay that those sensations exist, and it's okay that they don't match reality, and I know that knowing that doesn't make them any less unpleasant. I will sit with you while they do. You are loved, and it will pass."

"I know you feel like everybody hates you. And, holy shit, does it suck to feel that feeling. It's a terrible thing to feel. But remember, it's not real. You're feeling those horrid emotions, and that so sucks, but everyone doesn't really hate you. It's okay that that feeling exists, and it's okay that it doesn't match reality, and I know that knowing that doesn't make it any less unpleasant. I will sit with you while they are here. You are loved, and it will pass."

To know what it is to suffer is to know the very essence of what makes us human. When you're forced to touch this, it's up to you what you do with it. It is more than a choice, it is an ongoing choosing, to continue to use your suffering to hold the suffering of others instead of making you hard and cold. Give kindness not because of what you've been told or what you hope to receive. It can only come from the same place that experienced all that pain. And then, it becomes a beautiful power that no suffering can ever truly take from you.

Peter Levine is a doctor who developed Somatic Experiencing after years of exposure to trauma as a medical doctor. He found that essentially there are indeed ways to almost measure, or at least observe, trauma as a physical manifestation in the body, how it happens, and how to treat it. This is only part of that explanation, and also in my own words. And I want to be explicitly clear that I am not a mental health professional nor a Somatic Experiencing practitioner. These are my thoughts as a patient; reference material will be listed at the end of the post.