Therapy Dialogues with past members of No More Panic - Check it out!

[robinhall]

Hi Everyone
I just uploaded several ‘Therapy Dialogues’ (emails and Skype)

http://cbt4panic.org/therapist-patient-dialogues/

Some of them involve past members of No More Panic (names have been changed) who are now well on the road to recovery from their anxiety

I’m sure some of you will find them very helpful

Any feedback would be much appreciated

Thanks
Robin

NICOLE – Panic Disorder & Health Anxiety
DENISE – Obsessional Thoughts & Panic
HILARY – Panic & Health Anxiety (specific fear of having MS)
BRENDAN – Panic, Depression & Obsessional thinking
JULIE – Panic Disorder
__________________

[robinhall]

bump

[Hears The Water]

I was just reading the therapy scripts. Thank you for posting them, they helped. I am wondering, though, why do they keep saying "smile"? Is there some kind of a subconscious response to smiling? I mean, I quit trying to not cry once I learned that it releases endorphins, does smiling do something similar? I admit that I don't normally have reason to smile during the day, but when I did just now while reading the script, it did help me to feel better. Now I am really curious.
God bless you and yours
Deb

[robinhall]

Hi
I'm glad you have found the dialogues helpful :-)

There are many proven benefits linked to smiling and laughter - if you do a Google search for 'benefits of smiling' you will find some great articles

My main reason for reminding people to smile is that when fight or flight is triggered the body picks up on any subtle signals we send out - so when we become frightened of the sensations of fight or flight we send fear signals through the body and the fight or flight response is again triggered and the sensations increase (the panic cycle)

So when we are using 'self talk' to break the fear cycle it can help to smile because that helps us break the spell of intense worry and focus on the symptoms and it helps send out a signal to the body/mind that 'everything is ok'

So when I take someone through a 'Flashcard' I think remembering to smile is very important - even if you fake it - the body doesn't know the difference ;-)

I got the quote below online..

Mark Stibich, PhD, a consultant at Columbia University, and contributor to a Guide to Longevity at about.com, believes smiling may also act as a stress relief.

'When you're stressed a number of things happen to your body,' explains Stibich.

'Your pulse rate shoots up, your digestive system shuts down, and your blood sugar levels increase.

"But two things also happen that you have voluntary control over – your breathing becomes shallower and faster and facial expressions kick in.

'If you can slow your breathing down and change your expression, you may be able to turn around the stress cascade.'