Question:
Face the beast that is within. You will find, that this beast is merely the anguish of your inner wounds, inflicted upon you by a wonderful yet painful world.
Groan…. — Chuck D.
Response:
writes: In Bourne’s book a suggestion is made to stop panic-producing thoughts, amongst others. Just say STOP! If you can’t say it, just visualise a road Stop sign.
Hi Fred, Dont laugh now….but that actually works for me sometimes and I never read it in a book , I thought it up myself. I have been on the highway and feel one coming on and yell NO, or STOP IT, THIS CANNOT HAPPEN RIGHT NOW! and have actually gotten so angry that the PA went away. I dont think it would work for those out-of-nowhere PA’s that feel like death, but for the more anticipatory anxiety, it can help sometimes…at least for me. (I have the flame-retardent BDU’s on now (thats battle dress uniform for you civilians <g) Cyndie Cyndie
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – In Bourne’s book a suggestion is made to stop panic-producing thoughts, amongst others. Just say STOP! If you can’t say it, just visualise a road Stop sign. How my hopes fade and my heart sinks when I read stuff like this. I want to try and explain why, because it sounds as if I’m not giving it a fair chance. When I have bad PAs I feel that there really is something wrong, with what’s happening in my life for example, and I must attend to it. Just because I can’t name exactly what it is I dread, doesn’t mean there isn’t anything. When I was very ill with PD years ago, it was because my life was directionless and I was feeling less and less secure. When I took practical steps to make myself more secure and socially attached, things improved markedly. If I’d lay in bed thinking of road signs I would not have been addressing the problem. I suppose I’m saying that the fear of my panic attacks (in my case, I’m not generalising) was a realistic fear, though exaggerated as a child would feel it (the much-vaunted 3 year old within). As I’m so much better these days (and yes Xanax helps) and as my illness recedes into the past, this explanation seems to become clearer and more plausible. Does anyone else think our panic-fears are real? I’m not condemning the rest of Bourne’s book, some of it looks good. Peace Fred
The issues in our lives that trigger Panic Disorder are very real, and therefore manifest very real fears within us. The issues and fears are real, and need to be validated by us, and those around us. You are absolutely correct, and I applaude your wisdom. Trying to command anxiety to ‘Halt’ by some clever visualization technique is like beating an anvil with a flyswat. Anxiety is simply this … there is very real unhappiness in your life. Face the beast that is within. You will find, that this beast is merely the anguish of your inner wounds, inflicted upon you by a wonderful yet painful world.
Response:
In Bourne’s book a suggestion is made to stop panic-producing thoughts, amongst others. Just say STOP! If you can’t say it, just visualise a road Stop sign.
<words snipped to save space Does anyone else think our panic-fears are real? I’m not condemning the rest of Bourne’s book, some of it looks good.
In a lot of ways I agree with you on this, Fred. It seems to me that Bourne’s technique (in common with the Weekesian "float with it") *and* medications do much the same things – they address the mechanical business of anxiety and panic on a purely symptomatic level. A little like taking an aspirin for a headache. In many cases this seems to be sufficient but some of us appear to have had underlying stressors in our lives, which have needed addressing before successful healing has taken place. In our rush to find palliatives, I do feel that it’s important not to overlook what can be bubbling away beneath the surface of our lives and causing real problems. If that *is* happening, then techniques like these, while useful, don’t help attack the roots of the problem — Gary Cooper
Response:
In Bourne’s book a suggestion is made to stop panic-producing thoughts, amongst others. Just say STOP! If you can’t say it, just visualise a road Stop sign. How my hopes fade and my heart sinks when I read stuff like this. I want to try and explain why, because it sounds as if I’m not giving it a fair chance. When I have bad PAs I feel that there really is something wrong, with what’s happening in my life for example, and I must attend to it. Just because I can’t name exactly what it is I dread, doesn’t mean there isn’t anything. When I was very ill with PD years ago, it was because my life was directionless and I was feeling less and less secure. When I took practical steps to make myself more secure and socially attached, things improved markedly. If I’d lay in bed thinking of road signs I would not have been addressing the problem. I suppose I’m saying that the fear of my panic attacks (in my case, I’m not generalising) was a realistic fear, though exaggerated as a child would feel it (the much-vaunted 3 year old within). As I’m so much better these days (and yes Xanax helps) and as my illness recedes into the past, this explanation seems to become clearer and more plausible. Does anyone else think our panic-fears are real? I’m not condemning the rest of Bourne’s book, some of it looks good. Peace Fred
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