I don't know if that helps or not.

thanks for the replies.

Blessings and be well.

Blessings and be well.

Pudge....You are exactly correct..you must make time for meditation and anything else that eases the anxiety.  We are worth the effort.  Stay focused and be well.

Irene, I just want to say thank you for being here. Every time I read one of your posts, it brings my anxiety level down a notch or two.  {{{{{Hugs}}}}}

I have had a hard time pretty much throughout my life since I had my first pa at 13 yrs. old.  I hope (and pray) that post-menopause will bring me peace,finally.

Maybe not, but I am hoping.

Thank you for sharing your story with us. I didn't have much anxiety until I turned 45 and had a whopper of a panic attack in my car. I went down hill from there with so many symptoms that I didn't even want to get up off the sofa for fear of having a heart attack.  It's been a 4 year climb back up since.  I remember the horrid feeling of waiting in a checkout line, or being in a restaurant, or just being in a store.......I thought i'd die.  I forced myself to keep going even though I felt terrible, and i've moved past most of my agoraphobia problems except for the driving.  Being in control of that much steel scares the h*ll out of me, when I feel so lightheaded, like I could pass out any time.  If I can jump this hurdle, I think i'll be home free.  :)

I admire the fact that both of you drive or have driven.  This hurdle I've never been able to overcome.  I do have my learner's (renewed for the past 25 yrs. hehe) but I find it so difficult to practise.  I just clam right up and feel overwhelmed with information when I'm behind the wheel.  As a passenger, I'm much better.If the panic hadn't hit me in my early teens, I'm sure I would have had my license by now.I hate not being able to do this.Any suggestions? What works for you?

So, maybe the panic attacks are our bodies trying to get adreneline?

This is a curious question, one that I'll write down to ask my doctor.

I know I have to fight this agoraphobia, and want to thank all of you for helping me. Your experiences are much appreciated.  :)

* A cell phone makes me feel that I can reach help if I need to;

*always allow enough time to get where you're going so you don't feel rushed;

*if you start to feel the panic build up - find the first available (safe) spot to pull off the road. Do some deep breathing and let the panic die down, then get back on the road.  

*I always make sure my family knows I'm going somewhere in case I need to call for assistance,

*as soon as you feel any panic, try to divert your thoughts to something else...the scenery, what to have for supper, what you need at the store...anything to keep your mind off the "what if's" that start flooding our minds at the first sign of panic.

These are a few ideas that have worked for me.  I'm not saying I can drive hundreds of miles by myself, but I have managed to drive at least 35 miles to the next big city by myself, and I've been able to go more places on my own, which is very liberating.  That may not sound like much to some, but after feeling trapped in my home town for years, I feel pretty good about it.  I didn't learn this on my own, I went to an anxiety/panic workshop at the local counseling service, which was a 6 week course on how to overcome anxiety and panic attacks - and by the way, they used the workbook by Dr. Edmond Bourne.

Bronwyn Fox has been a guest in Power Surge a few times. You will find her transcripts in the Library. They're well worth the time to read because her suggestions are excellent. There's also a link to her book, which I highly recommend, lower down in this message.

Browyn Fox suffered with panic disorder/Agoraphobia for four years. Through her own research, she developed techniques that led to her own cure 11 years ago and went on to become a major force in educating the Australian mental health system to better recognize and treat anxiety disorders. She co-founded and became CEO of the Panic Anxiety Disorder Association in Australia and conducts workshops for those suffering from anxiety disorders.

Bronwyn is the author of the book, Power Over Panic: Freedom From Panic / Anxiety Related Disorders.

Dissociation

1. Everything is unreal

Q. I do have panic attacks, but before they start I get a feeling that nothing is real, including myself. I sometimes feel as if I am standing behind myself and it is really frightening. I can also feel really dizzy which only makes everything worse. I do panic, but I panic as a result of these feelings. No one seems to understand what I am saying. They think that it is all part of the attack, but it isn't. Stop these unreal feelings and I won't panic.

2. Triggering panic attacks

Q. I am someone who suffers from panic disorder and generalised anxiety. Your theories on dissociation and how these detached/spacey feelings trigger panic attacks really struck a chord with me. Dissociation is one of my biggest symptoms. I am currently taking a drug to control my panic attacks. In general I am more relaxed, however, it does nothing to help the dissociation. In fact, I would say the drug makes me feel more spacey/bewildered and detached. Now that I realize this is a major panic trigger, is there anything I can do or tell myself while in this state to halt my panic attacks?

A. These are the Derealisation and depersonalisation symptoms. Derealisation is the experience of 'that nothing seems real' and depersonalisation is the experience of feeling 'detached from the body'. They are common panic attacks symptoms and are part of the range of sensations relating to the ability to dissociate.

We have found over the years, dissociation is playing a major role in spontaneous panic attacks. Those of us who do dissociate have had this ability since we were children, although many of us have forgotten we did it as children. It seems some of us 'grow' out of it but when as adults we experience major stress and/or are not eating or sleeping properly, this ability is activated once again.

The research on dissociation is now speculating that some people with panic disorder, dissociate first and then panic or become anxious. A theory we are in complete agreement with.

The ability to dissociate is on a scale 0- 10.

0 = people who have no dissociative experiences to 10 which maybe indicative of Dissociative Identity Disorder. People with Panic Disorder don't have DID and measure about 4 -5 on the scale. Other words for Dissociation, include depersonalisation, Derealisation, self hypnotic trance, altered states of consciousness. When people dissociate they get a variety of symptoms, including 'feeling detached from the body - out of body' experiences', not feeling real, seeing their environment through a white or a grey mist, stationary objects may appear to move, tunnel vision, sometimes they may feel an electric shock move through the body, or a 'whoosh' of intense burning heat, a burning tingling heat or a feeling of intense energy moving through the body. It is quite easy to induce this state in people who are vulnerable to them.

The major way we do this during the day is by staring. Either out of a window, at the wall, TV, computer, book etc. Staring can induce a trance state and most of the dissociative 'symptoms' show the trance states we can reach are quite deep. Fluorescent lighting also appears to be a cause for the trance states. The research on nocturnal panic attacks shows they happen on the change of consciousness from dreaming sleep to deep sleep or deep sleep back to dreaming. This is similar to the change in consciousness when we induce the trance states during the day.

The essence of all of this is to be (a) aware of how we can induce these states during our normal daily activity and why they happen at night, and ( border=0 alt=cool.gif /> lose our fear of them so we don't panic.

We teach people why there is nothing to be frightened of by this ability and that they are not going insane. After all, we as individuals are proof we don't go insane. If that was going to happen it would have happened to us a along time ago!

We also teach people to become aware on a moment to moment basis if they need to, of how it happens and how it can happen so easily. When people can see this, we teach them to work with their thinking and not buy into the panic/anxiety thoughts, 'What's happening to me'...'I'm going insane' etc. We all put ourselves under more stress by the way we think about our symptoms. This only makes us more vulnerable to it happening. The harder we resist it, the worse it becomes.

Meditation is also a great way to desensitise ourselves to the various trance states plus a great way to practice non resistance and working with thoughts.

Bronwyn's last transcript can be found by clicking here.

You can also ask her questions directly by visiting her Ask The Panic-Anxiety Expert area and posting a question to her to which you will receive a response via E.mail and will be posted on her area as well. You can also look through her archived answers to read other questions and answers from people suffering from panic attacks/disorder and anxiety.

Dearest