Phobias and Panic Attacks !!!!!!!

[Guest guest]

Phobias and panic attacks

Part of the 'fight or flight' response, panic is an essential part of the

body's defence system. But, occasionally, it becomes more serious, as with

irrational fears and panic attacks.

 

 

 

Most of us have panicked with good reason at some time. The traffic light goes

green, we start to cross the road, a car approaches fast and makes no sign of

braking. To panic in this situation is normal - we run, and fast.

But what if a perfectly harmless everyday experience creates the same

response. Or worse, if you experience panic for no apparent reason and

completely without warning. While some people enjoy being scared - think of

rollercoasters - it's quite a different thing if you have no idea why you're

scared or when it's going to stop.

Common phobias It's possible to be phobic about anything, but these are

particularly common fears:

 

Dental treatment

Flying

Blood

Social phobias

Agoraphobia (open spaces)

 

When a person with a phobia comes into contact with the thing they're

frightened of - or knows that they soon will - they develop some of the more

immediate physical symptoms of anxiety. Anxiety is made up of a long list of

symptoms, and different people develop different patterns of symptoms.

For many people, this is enough to make them completely avoid whatever they're

dreading - a whole life can become structured around avoiding the situation or

object. But sometimes it's unavoidable and a person with a phobia is forced into

a situation they fear. For example, years of someone not going to the dentist

ends in the need for emergency treatment, or someone suffers an accidental cut

or has to attend a meeting that can't be avoided. Panic often follows.

The word 'often' is important here - panic isn't inevitable, and it doesn't

always follow. Many people with a phobia surprise themselves and come through

the situation, even though they find it highly unpleasant.

Symptoms of panic attacks For those who do panic, the symptoms are:

 

Fast, pounding heartbeat

Difficulty catching your breath

Chest pain

Flushing and sweating

Feeling sick

Trembling

Dizziness

Dry mouth

Needing to go to the toilet

Feeling faint

 

This experience can be so intense that the person becomes convinced that

they're having a heart attack, which adds to their feeling of panic.

Some people also begin to feel that the reactions of their body are so extreme

and so out of control that they're simply an observer of it all.

Though they don't describe any kind of out-of-body experience, they do

describe feeling as though they become detached from what's going on, as though

the whole situation had taken on an unreal quality.

This is referred to as 'depersonalisation'. It sounds as though it may be a

relief from the panic attack, but it is, in fact, even more unpleasant.

There's another group of people who experience panic attacks apparently

spontaneously. This is often associated with general anxiety - ongoing,

grumbling symptoms coming to a peak. But panic attacks also occur out of the

blue. When this happens, the fear of it reoccurring in the same situation can

easily develop, leading to a phobia or general anxiety that becomes

self-feeding.

How many people are affected? Some phobias are more common than others. Up to

ten per cent of people a year experience a phobia of flying, dentists or of

blood. These are referred to as the simple phobias.

Social phobia is less common, affecting about 25 people in 1,000 each year.

Agoraphobia occurs in about 30 people in every 1,000 a year, and it's roughly

twice as frequent among women. Panic disorder affects between ten and 30 people

per 1,000 in a year - again, it's roughly twice as frequent among women.

What can I do to help myself? The first step is to break the vicious cycle

that builds up. Learning relaxation techniques is a good way to do this. Your

body instinctively becomes tense - it's not a response that we learn - and

relaxation also has to be consciously learned.

There are two types of relaxation exercise - 'guided fantasy' and 'muscle

tension'. Relaxation is not an immediate fix for the problem and, like all

skills, is only acquired through practice.

You can use the thought-monitoring charts to rate what goes through your mind

and how anxious you feel in a phobic situation. Then, using the relaxation

techniques, try to reduce your anxiety in the phobic situation. This takes

practice.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

I had horrible panic attacks for several years, age 20 to 30. In my case, and

this might be something for others to think about, I was not a confident person.

I had others all telling me what to do and telling me that my choices were not

good ones. This becomes embedded in one's phyche, and can be a part of the whole

anxiety/panic attack situation.

 

I overcame mine w/o drugs and did it on my own. First thing I did, was to

realize that I am not going to die when I do have one. Second thing I did, was

to say it out loud when it happened. And to try to make light of it. " I am just

having a panic attack and it will be over in a minute " . If I said it, I

confronted it, and it did pass and those around me understood what was happening

or at least, they knew it was something I understood. It really helped alot.

 

I also learned that it was fairly common in others and to talk to other people

who had the same experience and laugh about it and face it head on, helped alot.

To look at it and say " I is ONLY another panic attack " was a huge step in

overcoming it.

 

This was the beginning of my quest to learn about health, vitamins and herbs. I

began to buy books and read them thoroughly and diagnosed myself with so many

things (probably things that I didn't really have....) but at least trying to

help myself was giving me some sort of control over the thing. And was making me

feel as though I could do it and that I did have the means and brains to take

care of myself, and that others didn't need to tell me that my choices were

wrong.

 

My mom, bless her heart, was one of the main charactars who always was telling

me that my choices were not good. Even when I pursued health and vitamins, she

criticized it and told me I was going too far. I didn't listen to her, for once,

and kept on.

 

I moved away to another state, with my family. I went thru a mild depression and

needed medication to overcome it. But I faced it, looked it in the face and said

out loud " I CAN overcome this and I WILL " .

 

I also faced some of my fears. Public speaking was one. I became a tupperware

salesperson, an avon sales person, I took aerobics and became an aerobics

instructor, and I also ended up doing community theater as an actress. All of

this was a help in overcoming my fears and anxieties.

 

Large rooms full of people set off panic attacks as well. Walking down an aisle

at the grocery store. We tend to try to accuse the thing that we are facing,

when in fact, the problem is within ourselves.

 

Everyone can overcome it. It takes time, it takes confidence, it takes facing it

and admitting it is a problem, and also realizing it is just a small problem,

and not as huge as we see it. YOU are larger than the problem, you are a good

person and a giving person who can give something to this world, and that is

something we all need to realize.

 

Hope this helps someone who is in the same situation I used to be in. I am 53

years old now and never have anxiety/panic attacks anymore. I don't take

medication. You can do it too.

 

Marsha and the Yorkies

http://www.miracleyorkies.com

 

 

[Guest guest]

Marsha (of the yorkies) wrote:

 

<Hope this helps someone who is in the same situation

I used to be in. I am 53 years old now and never have

anxiety/panic attacks anymore.

I don't take medication. You can do it too.>

 

Marsha, that was a great post!

Congratulations, you are an inspiration.

 

Ien in the Kootenays

http://freegreenliving.com (blog)

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Thanks Ien

This whole list is an inspriation! Sharing is a healing factor in itself! )

 

Marsha and the Yorkies

http://www.miracleyorkies.com

 

 

[Guest guest]

Congratulations to someone that used cognitive

therapies to her great

success! Its not an easy thing to do but it does help

some if not completely for some people. For an

unmedicated response this is the most enduring and

effective way to gain control over your mind and

phobia. She gives Scientology type a run for their

money :-)

 

 

 

> Marsha (of the yorkies) wrote:

>

> <Hope this helps someone who is in the same situation

> I used to be in. I am 53 years old now and never have

> anxiety/panic attacks anymore.

> I don't take medication. You can do it too.>