Today I was thinking that people like us who suffer from panic attacks are probably during the attack feeling like the most lonely people on the planet. Why? Because, like me, you probably feel in that dreadul state there is no one else in the world who can help you.
While suffering from sudden panic attacks coming from nowehere I recognised sometime ago that I could induce a panic attack. Why anyone would want to do so is a good question but today at the hairdresser, I thought that I would provoke the beast and sure enough out it came in full strength - I had induced it myself. This is a strange phenomenon I call the self-triggered gun.
What i mean by the expression is that I knowingly pulled the trigger to experience the attack which makes little sense when we spend most of our time trying to stop them! But in the attack I did feel such a desolate loneliness. Perhaps I am just someone who tends to play with fire. I know it sounds pretty self-destructuve and on that I would welcome your comments.
One useful tip - so simple but in my case it works - which I learned when I was in behavoural therapy and which really helped in today's panic attack situation. I have learned to concentrate on having both my feet firmly on the ground.
Just thinking REALLY HARD about the soles of my feet firmly on the earth beneath me reduced the state of panic until it disappeared completely. Try it yourself and let me know if you have any success with this. On days like today when I am not pessimistic about my life, I feel that like being an alcoholic you remain one even if you never drink another drop in your life. I felt the same today about panic attacks - it is a coping strategy, always be prepared to cope because they can and do strike throughout my life. Although I had little success after 18 months of behavoural therapy, the relaxation techniques I learned during that period do help. The therapy did not take away my attacks but helped me cope with them a little better.
While suffering from sudden panic attacks coming from nowehere I recognised sometime ago that I could induce a panic attack. Why anyone would want to do so is a good question but today at the hairdresser, I thought that I would provoke the beast and sure enough out it came in full strength - I had induced it myself. This is a strange phenomenon I call the self-triggered gun.
What i mean by the expression is that I knowingly pulled the trigger to experience the attack which makes little sense when we spend most of our time trying to stop them! But in the attack I did feel such a desolate loneliness. Perhaps I am just someone who tends to play with fire. I know it sounds pretty self-destructuve and on that I would welcome your comments.One useful tip - so simple but in my case it works - which I learned when I was in behavoural therapy and which really helped in today's panic attack situation. I have learned to concentrate on having both my feet firmly on the ground.
Just thinking REALLY HARD about the soles of my feet firmly on the earth beneath me reduced the state of panic until it disappeared completely. Try it yourself and let me know if you have any success with this. On days like today when I am not pessimistic about my life, I feel that like being an alcoholic you remain one even if you never drink another drop in your life. I felt the same today about panic attacks - it is a coping strategy, always be prepared to cope because they can and do strike throughout my life. Although I had little success after 18 months of behavoural therapy, the relaxation techniques I learned during that period do help. The therapy did not take away my attacks but helped me cope with them a little better.
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