Posted by FredPotter on May 24, 2006, at 0:03:58
In reply to Re: GAD and Panic » Phil, posted by sciencegeek1230 on May 23, 2006, at 21:03:23
I feel for you sg! That was me and still is sometimes. I've had 42 years of it. Periodic sort of thing. The crises are at major life changes but it's only as I look back that I realise what I was and am scared of. It's panic over being lost, either abandoned or surrounded by people who expect things of me. Where's my Mum? Over the years I've persuaded myself that people are basically friendly. If I faint in a public place, there'll always be someone to help (unless you're in the Bronx perhaps).
I've found breathing low in the abdomen and letting it out through pursed lips helps when the fear is on me. Also Xanax taken in sufficient amounts, freely and when you need it. I would definitely not go down the drinking route like I did as it made me worse in the end. I've given that up now. There's also the distraction tricks like - notice three things you can see, 3 you can hear, 3 (not emotions) you can feel. Then 2 then 1.
I'm nearly 60 now and get anxious when I'm alone in the evening. The only thing that works is the one thing I can't face. Going out and being among people. Working towards a shared goal is the most therapeutic thing I can think of for either anxiety or depression. I need people like a plant needs water, just to have them near. Nothing more demanding
I was thinking of an extreme case, an atavistic example. There I am spear in hand, a-hunting sabre-toothed tigers. I get caught between 2 and can't run or attack so I freeze (not flight OR fight you notice). That's how my panic attacks are. Now a helpful hunter slips me a couple of Xanax. Not going to help much is it? Not even half a bottle of scotch will help. Nothing short of unconsciousness (maybe in the form of death) will take away the fear. Fear, being priority one is blasting through all other circuits.
And so I think ultimately the fear only really goes when what terrifies you is faced and dealt with. The problem is that we don't often know what we're afraid of. In the hunter scene above I'm lunch anyway so who cares?
Fred
poster:FredPotter
thread:647471
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060520/msgs/647637.html