I disagee with the theory that social anxiety disorder does not create panic attacks.

I read the following on a great website on panic attacks
"Also, contrary to current psychiatric/psychological nomenclature, people with social anxiety do not have "panic attacks". They experience extreme anxiety in social settings where they fear they will have to perform or be on display. It is not uncommon for socially-anxious people to use the terminology "I panicked". Again, however, the distinction here is that the person is not talking about the sensations leading to a physical pain or condition. They are referring to a very high level of anxiety and the adrenaline rush that accompanies it."

I fail to see how this explanation of experiencing extreme anxiety is not equivalent to a panic attack. Do you?

Secondly the website in the context of social phobia coins the term that the individual is suffering from "avoidant personality disorder". I think such terminology is extremely dangerous as personality disorders generally are known not to respond to treatment. Avoidance is a natural and one could say in some way healthy reaction to what is seen as an extreme danger. I mean if a raging bull comes down the street towards you what would you do. Wait and stand to stroke its head? Yes, avoid. An extremely healthy reaction. For such reasons I cannot accept the terminology of avoidant social personality. it is in my view extremely misguided and dangerous assumption. Avoidance in these situations for the phobic suffererer is the most natural thing in the world. Indeed he/she would be foolish not to. But to create a personality disorder type out of this condition is acceptable. Even avoidance can be cured - personality disorders cannot. Basta.

Panic attacks - self-triggering the gun

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.

My dislocated blog on phobic disorders

I have just been looking over the posting since I started and it all seems a bit dislocated and unstructured. That's because I sit and think about the subject and something I find important hits me about the issue and off I run to my laptop. Anyway I hope to get round to learning to make categories of the postings to make future navigation easier for you.

The reason I rushed back this time is because it suddenly struck me the pitfalls and traps the phobic individual gets into. Through permanent avoidance of a trigger situation life becomes just that little bit smaller. But this continues until it becomes unbearable narrow and depression then also sets in as a side effect of the personal situation.

I knwo in my own case I would spend hours thinking why is this happening to me, what is happening to me - I spent these hours in the past and not in the present and that is the main point i want to make in this post.

STOP THINKING ABOUT WHY IT IS HAPPENING AND START THINKING WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT!
Look forward not backwards - I know, believe me, how difficult that is in your situation but that change of perspective alone will help you amazingly. Plant for the future and not for the past. Why? Because it is the start of a positive path to a cure and not drowning in own's one plight. At the end of the day it is more important to get out of the situation than to understand why you are in it. You will not answer that question in any case and if you think you do, will it help your situation, your phobia or your panic attacks. No it won't.