Meltdown
24-02-08, 12:13
After suffering from Panic attacks and palpitations since 2004, I have recently got to the stage where I almost got them beat (I thought) once and for all.
In fact for most of January, I began to feel "normal" for the first time since early 2004. I reache dthis stage by following the advice of the CBT therapistat work, which was rather than fight off panic attacks, or distract myself from them, to "just allow them to happen", and try to keep doing whatever I was doing at the time.
For example, certain places I go to had triggered panic attacks, so one of the things I did was to visit the place repeatedly, walk away, then go back again over and over again. Strange behaviour, I know, but it worked. On the first attempt, I felt shakey and anxious, but with repeated attempts, this gradually went away.
I also told myself to "feel it" whenever I began to feel anxious, and rather than distracting myself, acknowledged the feelings, told myself that they couldn't harm me, and let the feelings pass. After doing this for a while, I found that I felt normal in a way I hadn't felt for years! I think there had been low-level anxiety in the background which I had not acknowledged or recognised.
BUT - now, after a month of feeling better, I am finding that I am begining to feel anxious again, and I have had a few PAs, which I have dealt with with varying degrees of success...
I think what has happened is that after a few weeks of feeling OK, anxiousness has built up as a result of stress, and caught me unawares, my response to it has been the almost instinctive one of fear, aviodance and panic.
What does one have to do to be rid of this for good?
In fact for most of January, I began to feel "normal" for the first time since early 2004. I reache dthis stage by following the advice of the CBT therapistat work, which was rather than fight off panic attacks, or distract myself from them, to "just allow them to happen", and try to keep doing whatever I was doing at the time.
For example, certain places I go to had triggered panic attacks, so one of the things I did was to visit the place repeatedly, walk away, then go back again over and over again. Strange behaviour, I know, but it worked. On the first attempt, I felt shakey and anxious, but with repeated attempts, this gradually went away.
I also told myself to "feel it" whenever I began to feel anxious, and rather than distracting myself, acknowledged the feelings, told myself that they couldn't harm me, and let the feelings pass. After doing this for a while, I found that I felt normal in a way I hadn't felt for years! I think there had been low-level anxiety in the background which I had not acknowledged or recognised.
BUT - now, after a month of feeling better, I am finding that I am begining to feel anxious again, and I have had a few PAs, which I have dealt with with varying degrees of success...
I think what has happened is that after a few weeks of feeling OK, anxiousness has built up as a result of stress, and caught me unawares, my response to it has been the almost instinctive one of fear, aviodance and panic.
What does one have to do to be rid of this for good?