Posted by Miss Amy on April 21, 2001, at 21:47:06
In reply to Re: Can someone help me??, posted by mila on April 21, 2001, at 20:53:36
Dear Marie,
I am here for you. My story is almost identical--seriously. Because it is so similar i will spare you the details and get to the point! : ) Get into therapy NOW and talk to someone about behavioral cognitive therapy---basically the same thing as what Mila was talking about. DO IT NOW. You are in the beginning stages of this, so the sooner you get into therapy the sooner you will get better. I have had numerous doctors, friends with PD (panic disorder) and read in numerous places that there is NO MAGIC PILL to curb panic attacks. Granted, they can help get you to a place where you might be stronger to deal with them, but I CANNOT EXPRESS how much the therapy helped me. Of my friends that have panic that went the medication method alone (4), NONE of them learned the coping skills that they needed to manage it. They rely solely on their medication and not their own strength to deal with it. And it keeps coming back over and over again. They feel that they will always need to be on meds. For me this was not true. And for many others it is not true. I know the feeling of being totally lost and unable to go places. I could hardly leave my house for over a year. i am not going to get into the details unless you want to hear them, only because I found that as soon as I heard other people's panic symptoms, I would start having those symptoms too! ; ) It is a totally illogical disorder. : ) But the sooner you convince your self you can live with it, the sooner your panic episodes will diminish significantly. The more terrified we become of our attacks, the more they will happen. The more we accept it and say "Okay. I feel completely crappy right now. But I am going to remember that these bad feelings NEVER last forever. NOTHING is permanent. I have no control. I am just going to ride it out. Just because i am feeling hot and weak does not mean I cannot sit through the rest of this movie. Just because I feel like I may pass out does not mean I will. These are all reactions my body is having to stress--maybe it is stress I have created myself, but the source does not matter.It is my bodies natural physiological way of dealing with these things---and my body will not kill me." It is all about explaining to yourself and understanding what your body is doing and why. My mother has a wonderful book that explains what is happening to your body when the numbness, dizziness, tunnel vision, sweats, nausea, and those crazy heart attack symptoms. They are all normal physiological reactions. i will find out what the book is called and post again. Once I read what was happening to me I started feeling a little better. And I started feeling less afraid and confident that I could do something about it. It is "the fear of the feelings" that gets that big anxiety ball rolling. It takes strength to deal with anxiety. But YOU HAVE THAT STRENGTH. Everybody does.
Forgive me for rambling---my heart just really goes out to you and to all people that suffer from anxiety disorders. It feels so claustrophobic and confing and frustrating. Suddenly the things I used to be able to do seemed impossible--going to a show or out dancing or even having a cup of tea at a close friends house. They were all overwhelming challenges. So I feel I can truly sympathize with you--and I send you many prayers and good thoughts. You will get better--and the strength will come from within you. It is already there. Let me know how you are doing! Good luck!
Miss Amy
poster:Miss Amy
thread:60706
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010417/msgs/60727.html