A comment from D.K. - I need your help

I just received a comment from D.K. in which she states:
When it comes to psychological illnesses is a bit hard to be sure. I had disritmia that for long time doctors thought was a depression. I did treatment but was alone with myself trying to deal with what made me had this problem that I found a way to work on it.
My problem is that I cannot find out what distrimia is - does the term come from English or Spanish. Help greatly appreciated.

Great websites on panic attacks and social phobia

I just thought it might be useful to provide you with some of the best webites I have foudn around looking at the topics of panic attacks and social phobia.
Johanthan Berent has done a lot of pioneering work on social anxiety for over twenty years.
You will find an equally good resource on anxiety attacks here.
Lastly, Mental Health America is also worth visiting.

Any related blog looking to exchange links with me?

By the way, if anyone has a blog related in any way to this one and is interested in exchanging links, please leave your details in the comments box below and I will be right back to you.

A comment of anger and panic attacks - finding a cure

Chickenista left the following comment on my post "Don't torture yourself". She writes:
When I get an attack I do the deep breathing and walk. I can't stand to just sit. It makes it worse. But sometimes that doesn't even help and I end up talking my meds..... I get very angry too while its happening because I can't control it. That doesn't help.
Yes, it is a common reaction which I have had too, the anger at oneself. To be honest you are doing yourself an injustice. The inability to control the oncome of a panic attack, is not your fault. If we could control it we would not be having panic attacks. Yes, I understand your frustration but getting angry with yourself only makes you feel bad about yourself and it lowers your self-esteem. I think the good thing about what you are saying is that you have the ability to do your deep breathing and walking inspite of the attack. That is great. Sometimes you are right - even that does not always work. But don't get angry at yourself, be kind to yourself. Anger is a negative emotion and a negative emotion about yourself is to be avoided.

Social phobia and panic attacks - let us not underestimate the nature of the beast

In general we would be well advised not to underestimate the severity of social phobias and panic attacks if they are left untreated. They can and do affect every facet of an individual's life - working life, social life, relationships, hobbies. Avoidance of situations becomes extremely restrictive and worse - increasingly restrictive. No case of the illness shuld be left untreated in my opinion as there is evidence that - untreated - it is a progressive illness.

Take a simple example of a sudden panic attack while driving. This could lead to a fear of driving and of avoiding driving altogether. Consider how that alone could have a negative affect on a person's life. No public transport. How do you get to work? How do you meet friends? And again there is clear evidence that left untreated this disorder can lead to substance and alcohol abuse. Indeed many rehab programms today are a dual programm offering relief from the addiction and from the social anxiety disorder.

Why torture yourself ? - panic attacks are curable

There seems a general trend - correct me if I am wrong - that we can overcome our own unemplained panic attacks if we just try harder. I could not disagree more. Indeed, I think the more one tries to fight a panic attack, the stronger and more frightening it becomes. We tend to procrastinate and just continue avoiding situations we are uneasy with - time and time again. And our world just gets smaller. In previous posts I have already pointed to a number of alternatives. Getting medical advice is the first and most important step. Do it!

Anxiety and panic attacks can be cured - I am the best proof

I just read the following statement on a phobia forum:
"What should I do to get my anxiety under control I have tried medication therapy and have talked with a counselor but none have helped and could this mean that I have a brain abnormalality that is causing the anxiety to be severe and undcontrolable."
Firstly I believe that most of us think we have a brain abnormality when it comes to things like panic attacks simply because we can find no explanation for them.

My advise is that you should see your doctor again. Do not forget there are many different medications for anxiety and some work better on certain individuals and others. I had to try several medications myself before discovering the one that helped my condition. Just because a medictaion did not have the effects you were expecting does NOT mean that you have a brain abnormality.

Autogenics Training - self help for panic attacks

One of the behavoural methods I started early on was a course on autogenics training. Basically, this was a method invented by a German doctor, Johannes Schulz, in 1932. In essence it is all about body and mind deep relaxation and these skills can be acquired by anyone within a three month period. It's aims is to create a physical and psychological feeling of well-being and as well as being used in therapy for phobias and anxiety, it has been successful in stopping smoking and other addictions. Autogenic training is self taught. You will find many good sources on the Internet but I prefer the guide to psychology website Although it did not cure my panic attacks it definitely gave me a life vest when they occured.

An important point - and a growing network

It would seem clear that the current phase of the Internet is focusing on social networking. Even the search engines give priority in their ranking to sites which have no obvious commercial orientation but are there to communicate and inform. There are many great forums on very differing health issues and indeed the area of phobias, anxiety attacks and panic is amply covered by great exchanges between sufferers giving eack other advice.

I believe this is great because we tend to be secretive about our disorder and the Internet gives us a chance to meet up with fellow humna beings going through the same sort of problems. This form of communication can prove extremely useful. However, one word of caution. How ever supportive such forums are they cannot always replace medical advice. This I find to be particularly true in regard to medications. Advice on this issue can only come from a medical practitioner. What works for one person might not work for the other. Keep in mind there are hundreds of crooks out there willing to sell you RX and prescription medication at enormous prices. These people are exploiting your situation - shady little business profiting from your weakness. Look at all the advertisements on the right column in google when you search for panic attacks - half of them are trying to sellyou drugs at highly inflated prices - disgusting!

A useful comment regarding depression from Dr. Palin

I really get encouraged when I get comments on what I post here and I want to flag up a recent comment by Mr Palin who writes:
"It is not true that the old men and women are more susceptible to depression than their younger counterparts and it must be mentioned that an individual is said to suffer from depression when he exhibits symptoms, namely, hopelessness, chronic tiredness, appetite loss, loneliness, sadness et al for one week or more. Therefore, it is important for you to get hold of right information on depression related details before starting to treat your depression."

Remember in an earlier posting I mentioned that anxiety, phobic disorders are a very close cousin of depression and that is perfectly normal - basically you have a reason to be depressed on account of your life situation. I support Mr Palin's word of caution that it is very important to get qualified information on your depression.