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Panick Attack? Do this.

Discussion in 'Mindbody Video Library' started by Nattycakes, Jun 18, 2013.

  1. Nattycakes

    Nattycakes Peer Supporter

    Go with it! Accept it! :)



    Also, this website will help you understand anxiety better. Don't feed into it! It's worth the $10 you'll pay for a month access... I learned a lot.

    http://www.anxietycentre.com/
     
  2. Forest

    Forest Beloved Grand Eagle

    That's such a fascinating video. So have you tried that approach? Did it help? It seems so counterintuitive.
     
    Nattycakes likes this.
  3. gailnyc

    gailnyc Well known member

    That's amazing. "Observe" and "embrace" are much like Claire Weekes's "face" and "accept," but the "demand more" is interesting. I see my pain as a kind of physical manifestation of anxiety, so I think I will try this when I get a chance.
     
    Nattycakes likes this.
  4. Stock Trader

    Stock Trader Peer Supporter

    Mindfulness practice helped me get rid of my anxiety by applying these three elements: noticing the anxiety without judging or reacting to it, accepting it as just an anxiety, and letting it go. You can use the same approach for symptoms, emotions, thoughts or everyday life aspects such as walking and eating. When you repeat this exercise you are controlling your unconscious mind and diminishing it's power over you. At the end the divided mind becomes one mind once the battle is over.
     
    Nattycakes and Forest like this.
  5. Forest

    Forest Beloved Grand Eagle

    I'd be curious about whether you have had a chance to try this.
    I'd love to hear your experience, too, Anne.
    I think that's great advice. Stock Trader is a good person to pay attention to, as he has been making great progress recently. Thanks for sticking around and sharing what worked, ST.

    Being the highly driven sort of TMSer, I know that when I try to take a mindful approach, I often get stuck on the first step of noticing. I ask myself, did I notice enough? I think that that pretty much misses the piont, though. You just want a very basic sympathetic understanding and awareness of what is going on in your body and mind. Then you can accept and let go, as ST described.

    I guess I'm curious to hear about Anne and Gail's experiences because it seems so counterintuitive to ask for more of the thing that you are so afraid of. My hunch is that if you can get the courage to say, "okay, give me more," it sends a powerful signal to your unconscious that the anxiety is fundamentally harmless, which is true. To some degree, the panic attack is already giving you its worst, so if you ask for more, it can't deliver. And because the symptoms are harmless (very scary, but still harmless), you can lose your fear of them.

    Overall, I think that it is very important to think about the messages that we send to our unconscious minds. Do our actions and our thoughts tell our unconscious minds that we are healthy and strong or that we are weak and fragile? I think that the same thing can happen in journaling: when we journal about our past, are we telling ourselves that we are weak victims or that we have the self-efficacy to overcome everything that faces us? As Dr. Zafirides says, "Never doubt how truly powerful you are." I am truly amazed at what people have been able to overcome, and the first step often seems to be learning to believe in ourselves.

    Does that make sense? Do you think that that is how the approach in the video is supposed to work? I'd love to hear Nattycakes' take on all of this.
     
    Nattycakes likes this.
  6. chickenbone

    chickenbone Well known member

    This is really amazing. I have been doing something similar to this that I learned from reading Clare Weeks and Peter Levine. It really works, but is hard to get used to.

    Gail, Claire Weeks does actually mention about "trying to make the pain worse and it will usually get better" in her book. She says this is a way to discover that the pain can only get so bad and that is all.
     
    Nattycakes likes this.
  7. Nattycakes

    Nattycakes Peer Supporter

    I think that Stock Trader is right...

    Noticing without judging is crucial...

    Accepting that it is just anxiety is also important as well. I think that part of accepting the anxiety is also showing it NO fear. So if you say "bring it!" then you are showing your subconscious that you are not afraid. This thing ya'll got feeds off fear. Even though you may be inviting the physical symptoms.. You are consciously doing this type of thing without fear. This is just an exercise for an acute attack. You shouldn't try to feed your anxiety all day long by thinking, worrying, and obsessing over it. That's completely different.

    You know, acknowledging or egging on an ache or pain isn't the same thing as worrying and "obsessing" over it. It's telling your body that you know what type of sh*t it's up to and you're not gonna take it! It's empowering!!!

    And yes, you should go on about your day! Let it go!!! It is harmless.

    Where the harm comes from is the doubt and negative thoughts. The thing is, is our Sympathetic Nervous System is stuck on hiatus right now.

    The anxiety is serving the same purpose as the pain.. Trying to divert your attention away from your repressed emotions. It is hard to feel ANYTHING else besides anxious while in this state.

    Also.. ***Make SURE you don't put a time frame on this anxiety thing*** When you feel it coming on, just don't show fear and know that it is harmless. After awhile it will lose its power.

    I'm still dealing with this, but I am making progress. So crazy how this TMS thing travels and works. I believe with every cell in my body that I have TMS.. Especially after dealing with this anxiety stuff. I mean.. I knew. But WOW. Just amazing to me the power of the mind!

    On a side note.. If I could have you all read one book... It would be "The Great Pain Deception" By Steve Ozanich.

    Absolutely fantastic! I'm still working on it.. Devouring it. But it is THE BEST BOOK EVER! I think this will help all of you guys in your journey. If I could tell you to do one thing, it would be to read Sarno's Healing Back Pain.. THEN be prepared to get your socks knocked off with this book. If you are currently suffering... You should get it on kindle STAT! I'm gonna buy this as gifts for people I know, that don't know, they know they have TMS (hahaha)...
     
    JanAtheCPA and Forest like this.
  8. Stock Trader

    Stock Trader Peer Supporter

    I totally agree! "Healing Back Pain" is like the opening pitcher in baseball and "The Great Pain Deception" is the closing pitcher. SteveO replies to all my emails, and the one advice I keep on mind at all time is when he stated that "Happiness first and healing will follow naturally." This concept applies to the rage/sooth ratio theory from the "Mind Body Prescription." Increase of happiness and doing things you enjoy overtakes the anger inside you. This is how people eventually heal from TMS. You will find out that that the spiritual part of his book is the most important part for healing.
     
    Forest likes this.
  9. Stock Trader

    Stock Trader Peer Supporter

    Another related video I found.

     
    gailnyc likes this.
  10. Forest

    Forest Beloved Grand Eagle

    Great post, Nattycakes! You sound like you are in a tremendous place for TMS healing.

    This is one of the wisest things I've ever heard about TMS: "Happiness first and healing will follow naturally." The mind and the body aren't separate, so if you can "get your mind straight," then your body will get straight as well. This means finding genuine enjoyment in life in spite of the pain. Just doing that will soothe the fires burning underneath, getting rid of the need for the pain. It's such a beautiful idea.
     
  11. Gigi

    Gigi Well known member

    Loved the video. It does sound similar to Claire Weekes' method. I think I process the "demand more" step when I consciously tell my subC "Do your worst!" The "trust" step for me is the knowledge that this method WORKS for me.

    When I first started the SEP, I was so confused because I kept reading books that seemed to offer contradictory advice: yell at your subC---or ignore it? Now I realize that it was a matter of sequencing. First I tell off my subC for reacting in an unhealthy way. Next I challenge it to give me all it's got...and then I move on to something else, and refuse to give it the attention it's craving.

    Wish I could've had someone explain to me at the beginning that the advice is NOT contradictory--just different steps in a winning sequence!!
     
    JanAtheCPA likes this.
  12. gailnyc

    gailnyc Well known member

    I had two panicky moments today. The first (I left my flash drive in a locked building) happened so fast I didn't even think of trying this method. But I thought of it after.

    The second (an upsetting therapy session) I did try the "demand more" part, but I forgot the first two parts. Maybe I should practice these when I am feeling okay so I can remember the steps during times of distress.

    The process seems to require solitude--what do you do if you're in a crowded place when you feel this way?
     
  13. Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021)

    Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021) Beloved Grand Eagle

    I had one doozey of a panic attack some years ago, brought on by worrying because I was out of a job,
    and my roommate kept telling me I was nervous and anxious about this or that. He made me worry about everything
    but none of it was the reason I was anxious. I was anxious because of repressed emotions going back to my childhood when my parents fought and argued so much, because of financial problems during the 1930s Great Depression. I now felt the same worries. I got a job and had no more panic attacks.

    Today if I get anxious or stressed out, I relax by deep breathing, meditation, living in the moment. A cup of hot milk relaxes more than any pills I've ever taken. Yoga and tai-chi exercise makes me feel good.
     
  14. Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021)

    Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021) Beloved Grand Eagle

    These two videos are wonderful for giving procedures for relieving anxiety, stress, and panic attacks.
    Thanks for posting them.

    Forest, it's so true: "Happiness first, and healing will follow naturally." Think happy thoughts, do happy things.

    penguins.jpg
     
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