My (22M) girlfriend (22F) of 5 years his having some powerful panic attacks recently. She's had them before but managed to get a hold of them in the past years. She just got a job opportunity, which she accepted, she applied to go back to school and she is considering getting her driver's license. I am incredibly proud of her for taking so much initiative.

This is a lot for her. Her progress is usually done in baby steps so she doesn't overwhelm herself. Now, all she thinks about his work, school and her upcoming driving courses. Coupled with everything else - me, the household chores, friendships, finances - she hasn't been able to deal with it healthily. She doesn't sleep much, she delays important phone calls, she lies in bed crying out of stress, she's tired, cranky, self-destructive, over-apologetic and so, so hard on herself. It's honestly extremely disheartening seeing her like this. She has a lot of "meta" thought process which loop to infinity, such as:

\- I am having anxiety for nothing again.

\- Why am I having anxiety? This makes me mad.

\- I just made myself mad for nothing, that's f\*cking stupid. I'm stupid.

\- Why can't I deal with my feelings at all? It's giving me more anxiety.

\- Loop forever

She regularly smokes pot to help her manage her emotions but lately it doesn't seem to help. She drinks more and started smoking cigarettes again.

In all of this, all I could do was supporting her as best as I could. I don't suffer as much as her from anxiety so I'm incapable of helping her ground herself or give her tips on how to cope with this. All I can manage to do is distract her for a few minutes to momentarily get her mind off of the stress.

The worst part in all of this is that her anxiety is crippling enough to prevent her from doing anything about it. I have mentioned therapy to her, which caused another anxiety flare. She's had a bad experience with a therapist before and doesn't want to risk it again. She's tried many grounding techniques to no avail.

It's like she's in an emotional deadlock. Is there anything I can do to help her? Should I insist on tackling the core issues of her anxiety, at the risk of causing even more stress, should I insist on her seeing a therapist, or is it a situation where I can't do much but stay supportive?

Thank you all.

Bonus question: In all of this, I have made an effort not to share my own anxieties in the past days in fear of adding to her mental load. I have a supportive family and supportive friends, is it a good idea to redirect my negative feelings towards them as to not overwhelm my girlfriend?