Posted by noa on March 3, 2003, at 18:59:53
In reply to Re: My literal mind can't grasp this., posted by mair on March 2, 2003, at 13:17:34
Mair, yes, more or less, that is what I mean by an "amygdala attack". I get flooded and anxious and can't articulate anything. It is like a panic attack. It feels to me like I can't find the thoughts or the words. We kind of talk around it too, and this has helped. I like that my therapist "respects" the attack for what it is and has worked with me to accept it in me. This has actually helped me, over time, to begin to be able to describe what it feels like, and this leads to being able to slowly be able to "catch" my thoughts.
In the outside world, when I have an "amygdala attack" (it isn't a real term) I started crying, and react out of proportion. I'll get upset at something at work, or in a business interaction. Kind of like panic. It is like the trigger takes me instantly to a place where I feel flooded with all the bad feelings I have about myself. I usually try to flee and hide, although sometimes I "fight"--not really fight but get a little hostile, and even as I hear the words coming out of my mouth I know it is a big mistake. Which is why, of course, I prefer Flight to fight! But even the crying and blubbering hostility makes me feel so out of control and ashamed, that the feelings only multiply!!
poster:noa
thread:204842
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20030203/msgs/205603.html