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I am going to use my blog as a sounding board for an idea. I gladly welcome comments on what I write over the next few posts and with permission would like to use relevant stories. If you post a comment please bear in mind it may end up published elsewhere.
I have decided to write an e-book about panic disorder.
While this book is a ‘left field’ look at what I have figured out about me, it may just work for you to. I invite you to listen to my story and take what’s useful and leave what’s not behind.
This blog entry will form the basis of chapter six.
So what are the benefits of having anxiety?
The first benefit is that I know I can handle anything.
With anxiety or a panic attack there is a glass ceiling. In my experience there is a finite supply of the neuro-chemical that causes anxiety, which means if I am anxious, or jumping out of a plane, I feel roughly the same.
Which in turn means, if an action involves doing things I can physically or mentally do when I am having a panic attack I can do it.
In my case, I can still walk, I can still see, I can still talk to people. I can understand simple direct instructions and much more.
A predisposition towards anxiety and panic actually means that with some training I can be good at things which need razor sharp focus, tense muscles and unwavering concentration.
Chances are I would make a very good racing driver, boxer or even a comedian, look at Lee Evans for example.
I have learned that I literally get so far and no matter how frightened I am it doesn’t get any worse.
So if something is terrifying I can do it.
Bottom line…
I can do it.
In fact because I am practiced at dealing with the neuro-chemistry, I am at a distinct advantage. I personally believe anxiety is something human beings, who have it, should be embracing and learning to switch adrenalin to something useful like clarity maybe?
Okay to put everything in context, if you asked a snow boarding enthusiast if they would like to snow board every day for the rest of his life the chances are they may want time off.
And to help you to take time off I am going to look at some psychological tricks you can employ to manage anxiety.
The first one is to learn to meditate. You don’t need to reach thoughtless awareness. All you need do is get to a place where you are relaxed and you recognise your thoughts.
Meditate with the intention of becoming completely thoughtless, of being in an empty space without meaning. This will allow you to focus on your thoughts and recognise them as they come to you. Sounds paradoxical doesn’t it? It is not.
Typically in anxiety and panic disorders, the person experiencing the condition will be in a kind of day dream, locked into an almost obsessive thought pattern known as a vicious cycle.
Once started, it is very difficult to break out of.
Thoughts naturally occur in cycles anyway and typically an event will break even the most focused train of thought.
However, the physiology of anxiety, the presence of the neuro-chemical, will be a reminder to get right back on that thought as soon as whatever broke it has gone. For me, distraction therapy such as reading a book, or newspaper, or focusing on an external event simply doesn’t work once a vicious cycle is underway.
With a vicious cycle, the easiest thing to do is not to let one get started.
Break the train of thought before it starts.
So you probably want to know how to do it right?
If you spend time focusing on being relaxed and in thoughtless awareness, your thoughts will occupy a familiar space.
Monitor your thoughts.
Practice only indulging thoughts which are facts.
Avoid recollecting stories from the past.
If you have a thought like “wow, this is spooky/weird” then don’t start thinking of other times when things were spooky/weird. If you think about other times this happened, you will create more negative feelings, which will in turn trigger more negative thoughts.
Don’t think about why you shouldn’t be thinking the thought either, this is just as bad.
When the thought pops into your head, simply don’t allow yourself to consider it, drop it like a hot brick, move on to the next thought.
Ignore all statements such as:
I wonder if…
What if…
Only rely on what you perceive to be the truth with your senses, what is in the present right now, not your past experience or what might happen.
Of course the psychological tricks might not work immediately. These kind of exercises take commitment and practice, so what else can you do to manage anxiety?
Here’s an obvious one if you suffer from social phobias. Stay at home. Don’t go out. Communicate via the Internet, have your shopping delivered.
Find a safe person who understands what is going on with you. Get an advocate, or a mentor from a befriending service to help you.
If you suffer from anxiety from being alone, go out. Make sure you have people you can contact if you start to feel off.
Take medication.
Personally I am terrified of medicine because most of the time I have a paradoxical reaction to it and it can have the opposite effect and make my anxiety considerably worse.
However if you work with your doctor, you should be able to come up with a solution that works.
Why have I mentioned doctors before alternative therapies and natural medicines?
Because your doctor should be your first port of call.
If you’re suffering from symptoms of panic, it’s important to see a doctor to rule out the following possibilties:
Hyperthyroidism
Hypoglycemia
Medication withdrawal
Mitral valve prolapse, a minor cardiac problem that occurs when one of the heart’s valves doesn’t close correctly.
Stimulant use (amphetamines, cocaine, caffeine)
Please eliminate other illnesses that may cause similar symptoms before trying anything in this book, regardless of what you believe about modern medicine.
Alternative therapies that have worked for me in the past include:
Anything that is relaxing, my favourites are Bowen technique, Tai Chi and Yoga.
I recently read that Chamomile tea works when brewed very strongly, if you put 4 tea bags in a cup and make it like a syrup.
Hibiscus, Lavender and Sandalwood are all good too, as are Vervain and Valerian.
And what to avoid?
Alcohol, Amphetamines, Caffeine, Cannabis, Cocaine, Dairy products, Ecstasy, Flavourings, Guarana, Mercury fillings, Nicotine, Other recreational drugs, Preservatives, Processed foods, Refined Sugar, Wheat.
If you are serious about mastering anxiety, my final advice would be to have your mercury fillings removed (if you have them) and after doing a detox program to eliminate residual heavy metals from your system, eat a natural low carbohydrate diet of super foods, fruit, vegetables, white meat and drink only water.
Whatever you do, believe in it or don’t do it at all.
As I said in my book, ‘The Law Of Attraction states that thoughts (both conscious and unconscious) dictate the reality of your life, whether or not you are aware of it’.
It can also be stated that ‘What you think is what you feel’.
I don’t think I have written anything new here. I do however hope to have taken a new look at anxiety, and, perhaps explored a few things from different angles.
In the year 1600, Shakespeare gave Hamlet the following line “There is neither good nor ill but thinking makes it so”.
And here we are 400 years on with roughly the same struggle.
See you on the other side of the looking glass,
Despite having been diagnosed with panic disorder with agoraphobia in the past, I often wonder what the doctor could have been thinking.
