Symptoms cause my panic, not the other way round

[traciec39]

Im having a nice day, feeling fine then BAM!!!!! out of nowhere I get a pain or a sensation, tingle, eye flash, etc etc.
Then the panic starts...........
So how is it that its the symptoms causing panic, when its meant to be the panic causing the symptoms????
Does anyone else have it this way round?:weep:xxx

[lo89]

I do too. I think that anxiety causes us to be more aware of our bodies and therefore notice small changes which other people would dismiss or not even notice, but anxiety amplifies all these sensations as you fixate on what could cause them.

[FayeM567]

I often feel this way too. I will be having a really good day or week and them some symptom will show up and i'm right back in a panic. I've tried explaining this to my Doctor. But, she said because anxiety/panic attacks effect the nervous system you can have symptoms for a while after an attack because you're nervous system is still recovering etc. Also, she said that i'm liable to turn little things my body will do that mean nothing into some sort of symptom of physical illness. I guess she's probably right, but, it doesn't make me feel better.

[nomorepanic]

I have it that way as well

[SamanthaAU]

Me too - I have it this way.

My way of thinking is, we are so super tuned in to our feelings, sensations etc and then we over react.

It sucks to be us huh :blush:

[traciec39]

Thanks for replying everyone.
I get a pain, ache or feeling and really do my best to ignore it, but if its a scarey sensation
then BOOM, panic starts and my day is ruined.
Do ordinary non sufferers get these pains and sensations?
I just want to be normal xxx

[panickyme]

Oh you said it my friend, I am fine having fun, and like you said Bam chest pain, then full blown panic, it stinks!!!!!! Why is that?:)

[Eek]

I think everyone gets these aches, pains and eye flashes etc. but they don't even notice them. With HA you are constantly consciously or sub consciously scanning the body for anything that feels odd and so are much more sensitive to these bodily fluctuations and so they act as a trigger for the anxiety.

[ricardo]

If you haven't already read this it explains it so well.

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/symptoms/

[Tufty]

Claire Weeks also explains it very well. She says you get 1st panic - that's a normal flash of adrenaline because your nerves are sensitised and that can come out of the blue or be due to a minor event like a pain somewhere in your body. Then because of the previous experience of anxiety you add 2nd panic - and think what was that? will it get worse? oh no, it's back again and all that kind of self talk we do. She says the trick is to turn off the 2nd panic - the questioning and adding to the anxiety, by doing this, in time, your nerves will become less sensitised and 'recover' and the 1st panic will not occur. She adds that you often don't realise that you add the 2nd panic - it's so intuitive, it happens in a split second but if you examine your reaction to those bodily sensations that is what happens.

Sounds easy, but memory is a powerful thing. I've been practicing this for the past week or so and I have to constantly remind myself not to question my bodily sensations or worry about the sudden rush of fear - much easier said than done BUT I think I'm getting there. For me, understanding the physical and psychological reasons for the fear helps me face my anxiety and will hopefully lead to recovery.

[ricardo]

Claire Weeks is my bible and to think she wrote her first bok 50/60 years ago, yet prescribed drugs like mogodon that were fairly commonly handed out by doctors in the late seventies were proved twenty years on to be extremely harmful to many patients, including me. they were meant as short term drug but in my case i was on them for three years as my doctor just kept giving me repeat prescriptions and I became a complete zombie..

[Tufty]

I read Self Help for Your Nerves several years ago and have recently discovered an audio CD called Pass through Panic which is read by Claire Weeks herself and it has reminded me just how good she was. Can you recommend any other material by her or is it just repeating what she says in her first book?

[ricardo]

samhar

i think she wrote a follow up book.

Essential Help for Your Nerves Description: This new edition of "More Self Help for Your Nerves" also includes "Peace from Nervous Suffering" - together they forge an understanding of nervous illness and develop a recovery programme to instill confidence and happiness. In this companion to "Self Help for Your Nerves", Dr Weekes explores the common and almost inevitable patterns that can occur with nervous illness. She also looks at the commonest kind of nervous illness - the anxiety state, or nervous breakdown. (highly recommended)


It's recommeded on this site under the headind Reading

[panic12]

It's the viscous cycle I keep hearing about, your body has been tense, therefore lets of energy in the form of many different things (muscle twitching, aches and pains, headaches etc) which then makes us go into a nervous state again building up the nervous energy, and then when we finally calm down the excess energy is let off again, only to start the cycle over and ever again

[Tufty]

Thanks Ricardo,
NMP don't have it in stock so I've just purchased Essential Help for your Nerves from Amazon for £7.

Yes, it is a viscous circle panic12, but one we can break with knowledge and practice. I've acknowledged that I'll always be an stresshead - I get frustrated with some things easily and hate inequality and confrontation but am hoping that in time I will recognise this nervous energy rising and will be able to let it off in a healthier way - not quite sure what that is at the moment :blush:, though plate smashing springs to mind:shrug:.

[ricardo]

Ah, you must be Greek :D

[hamesh]

If you haven't already read this it explains it so well.

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/symptoms/

This has helped me loads.

[NinjaAnxiety]

It is so nice to know I'm not alone. Xoxoxo:hugs: