Hi everyone,
I thought I'd been doing better recently until yesterday I had a setback from which I'm still recovering (slowly).
I went to hospital in a nearby town (Bodmin) yesterday for an appointment with a consultant (gastro-enterology) and on the bus on the way to the town saw a sign for a crematorium. I think this probably doubled my anxiety levels on the spot.
Once I got off the bus I went into a panic attack which lasted most of the day and meant I was obliged to take two taxi rides I hadn't budgeted for and couldn't really afford (total cost £7) to and fro from the centre of town to the hospital. If the worst panic attack I've had was a 10, this one was a 7 or even an 8.
If I learnt anything from yesterday, it's that the key seems to be to stop the attack happening in the first place because once it has done your resources are too dispersed to cope effectively; if I'm any guide, anyway.
Also, don't try to overextend yourself and take on too much. I've had problems with Bodmin in the past (outside the town centre anyway) because of the wide open streets, exposed nature of the landscape and fast-moving and often heavy traffic. I used to be able to cope with it much better than this, however, and hopefully will again.