JohnBull
12-05-12, 22:58
Dear forum,
I first posted here around a year ago and back then I felt as if panic was ruining my life. I would regularly have panic attacks that would start on a Friday evening, keep me from sleeping and leave me exhausted at the beginning of the next week. My life is now completely different and I want to share with you what I did.
1. Robin Hall's CBT course. This was recommended through this forum and I can confirm its quality. There is no quick fix but working through the exercises and doing the practice genuinely had a positive effect. When I had a couple of questions Robin was super helpful and very kind, just what was needed.
2. Psychodynamic therapy. For many people, some CBT may be enough to help them but I found additional therapy really very helpful to work through issues around my panic. This is no 'cure' - after all panic is just a response to very scary feelings - but I found it helpful to talk about my experiences with a non-biased professional.
So, I would say these two things together helped me change my outlook and let me deal with panic symptoms entirely differently. I am not saying you should do this or this will 'work' for everyone. My point is there is a way through and these are some things to consider.
HOWEVER I still occasionally experience symptoms associated with panic. The difference is how i respond to them. If I am tired, hungover (my own fault!!), cold or hungry these feelings can arise. This evening I experienced panic symptoms for some of these reasons. The difference is that through the therapy and the new understandings of what is really going on I don't get as afraid. I can wait it out. I can open myself to the feelings as 'just feelings'- not indications of any underlying condition. I can catch myself going into spirals of negative thoughts and catch it. And I know that feelings arising from adrenaline have all happened many times before and will be over soon enough.
Now, I don't want anyone reading this to think 'Its all right for him, but I can never get there'. If I had read this a year ago I would not have believed it and I am not promising a miracle. But if you're fed up with panic then there is a way through. Really, believe me there is.
I'll finish by saying I know how scary it can be, how alone you can feel but you've made the right decision to come here. Read the advice on this great website to start with. It's an incredible free resource.
Only you can change you and because you're even reading this, because you care enough to want to change, know that you're on the right track.
Serenity to all,
John :-)
I first posted here around a year ago and back then I felt as if panic was ruining my life. I would regularly have panic attacks that would start on a Friday evening, keep me from sleeping and leave me exhausted at the beginning of the next week. My life is now completely different and I want to share with you what I did.
1. Robin Hall's CBT course. This was recommended through this forum and I can confirm its quality. There is no quick fix but working through the exercises and doing the practice genuinely had a positive effect. When I had a couple of questions Robin was super helpful and very kind, just what was needed.
2. Psychodynamic therapy. For many people, some CBT may be enough to help them but I found additional therapy really very helpful to work through issues around my panic. This is no 'cure' - after all panic is just a response to very scary feelings - but I found it helpful to talk about my experiences with a non-biased professional.
So, I would say these two things together helped me change my outlook and let me deal with panic symptoms entirely differently. I am not saying you should do this or this will 'work' for everyone. My point is there is a way through and these are some things to consider.
HOWEVER I still occasionally experience symptoms associated with panic. The difference is how i respond to them. If I am tired, hungover (my own fault!!), cold or hungry these feelings can arise. This evening I experienced panic symptoms for some of these reasons. The difference is that through the therapy and the new understandings of what is really going on I don't get as afraid. I can wait it out. I can open myself to the feelings as 'just feelings'- not indications of any underlying condition. I can catch myself going into spirals of negative thoughts and catch it. And I know that feelings arising from adrenaline have all happened many times before and will be over soon enough.
Now, I don't want anyone reading this to think 'Its all right for him, but I can never get there'. If I had read this a year ago I would not have believed it and I am not promising a miracle. But if you're fed up with panic then there is a way through. Really, believe me there is.
I'll finish by saying I know how scary it can be, how alone you can feel but you've made the right decision to come here. Read the advice on this great website to start with. It's an incredible free resource.
Only you can change you and because you're even reading this, because you care enough to want to change, know that you're on the right track.
Serenity to all,
John :-)