hello fellow panickers,
Just thought I would tell you all about my successful morning. As some of you know, I am starting a PhD this week. This morning was the induction. It took place in a huge lecture hall with hundreds of people and it lasted two whole hours.[Sigh...] The worst thing is that I was going alone and I didn't know anyone there...
I set off fully prepared with my bottle of water, a snack and my mobile so that I could keep myself busy by texting my friends if I started to feel panicky. However, I soon found out that there was absolutely no reception in the lecture hall so my there was my plan right out the window.[Duh!]
I knew that the most important thing was that I had to get an aisle seat cos often when I sit in the middle of a row, I start to feel panicky, especially when I'm surrounded by people I don't know!! When I arrived, there was a woman who was filing us all into rows as if we were little kids. I saw that she wanted me to sit in the middle of a row so I asked her if I could please sit in an aisle seat. She just looked at me as if I was a freak and relentlessly gave in [:I] It was pretty obvious that I had disrupted her Hitlerian order lol.
But...once the induction started, I was amazed at how comfortable I felt there!! And get this...I even raised my hand and asked a question in front of all those hundreds of people!![Wow!]
At the same time last year, I had a very similar induction for my Masters. When I look back, I remember how nervous I was about it and what a mess I felt while I was there. I was so dizzy and I was sure that I was on the verge of having a panic attack. And as for asking a question...that NEVER would have happened. It's amazing how much progress I have made in a year!!
So, my message for all you panickers is this: Don't give up!! These things take time, you won't get cured overnight. If you give it time and keep trying, you will soon feel so much better!![Yeah!]
Sarah
Reply With Quote
