I haven't been online much because I have been recovering from a bad flu bug but I am feeling a lot better now. However, today I was sitting on the sofa feeling relaxed and calm browsing the Internet when suddenly out of the blue I started feeling a bit dizzy which nearly triggered a panic attack and freaked me out. I have been suffering a bit of a headache around my temples and eyes which I am putting down as TMS because I had a bit of stress when shopping today. The dizziness is under control now since lying down on the sofa but I'm scared and feeling a bit on edge now. I suffer from anxiety and depression.
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Sudden dizziness
- Thread starter Artmuzz
- Start date
what were you thinking at that moment? were you worried about something?
Yeah when I was looking at something political which stressed me out a little but it wasn't a big deal and yet the abrupt dizziness came on and I freaked out and had to lie down.
What really worried you? think of that moment, can you tell if there was tension in your body? sometimes you are not aware of being in tension with our muscles.. simply because you're always like this and you do not notice it but if you're tense you could unconsciously communicate a message to your brain that alarms it and triggers a series of reactions until you get panicked. In my somatic work I understood day after day how fast a muscle goes into action when the message to the brain is "danger"..and for the sensitized people very little is enough .. just a little worry, because it is as if we had a light always on and often we do not notice anything until we panic but it's too late.
What I do as soon as I notice something that happens in my body like pain or some strange feeling that scares me is to listen to that feeling and while I do so I suspend every evaluation..as " oh my god what happens" or "here again "... I just look at what happens and let time pass until it all ends. In this way you can break the cycle of fear/worry- pain-more fear-more pain-panic. The secret is not to escape from your scary sensations but rather go to meet them.
Claire weekes says (and I advise you to read Hope and Help for your nerves):
"Fear causes an additional outpouring of adrenalin, so that a heart already stirred to palpitations becomes further excited, beats even more quickly, and the attack lasts longer. The sufferer may panic, thinking he is about to die. His hands sweat, his face burns, his fingers tingle with “pins and needles” while he waits for he knows not what.The attack eventually stops—it always does—and all may be well for a while. However, having had one frightening experience, he dreads another and for days remains tense and anxious, from time to time feeling his pulse. If the palpitations do not return he settles down, loses himself in his work and forgets the incident. If, however, he has a second attack, he really is concerned. Apparently the wretched thing has come to stay!
Not only is he afraid of palpitating, but he is also in a state of tension, wondering what further alarming experience may yet be in store for him. It is not long before tension, releasing more and more adrenalin, makes his stomach churn, his hands sweat, and his heart constantly beat quickly. He becomes even more afraid, and still more adrenalin is released. In other words, he becomes caught in the fear-adrenalin-fear cycle."
"The constant symptoms are those of sustained tension and fear, hence their chronicity; while the different recurring attacks are the result of varying intensity in sustained fear, hence their periodicity."
and more
"The treatment of all symptoms depends on a few simple rules. ..... Facing,Accepting,Floating,Letting time pass..."
I think that what she writes is true for anxiety but also for the pain that often comes because we are unconsciously tense.
I hope you find it useful.
I remember I was going into a day dream while browsing the net then I came to a page which was political which kind of took me by surprise but even though it made me slightly angry and stressed I didn't feel tense but my eyes were looking at the photos while I was in a day dream relaxed way and that's when the sudden abrupt dizziness appeared out from blue and I could feel a panic attack coming on which freaked me but I just allowed it to happen and it didn't come to anything. I've read a lot of Claire Weekes and she was very good.
there are many examples in that book.You can understand how to put the method into practice. when you feel dizzy and panic do you do as she wrote in the book? she also says that it is not easy and that it takes time before the unpleasant sensations go away forever. Do you listen to these feelings? are you with them all the time? or do you put yourself in tension by fear? you do not have to contract/refuse rather you have to release every muscle
and feel your pain without worrying, repeat it to yourself in those moments.. repeat to yourself that it is not dangerous and that it will end, because it is so! Sooner or later this security message will also come to your brain and then it will become automatic as it is now automatic the scheme of fear -pain-panic. In practice you have to replace a non-working scheme with one that makes you feel secure. You have to train.
Thanks for replies. I try to do as she wrote in the book when I feel dizziness but it is hard as my muscles automatically tense but I think I'm getting there with her technique. It is just that I am a natural worrier and I always think the worst when I feel dizzy but I feel Claire Weekes techniques are starting to work.
I had another small dizzy spell yesterday after sneezing which only lasted a few seconds then an hour later I came down with another cold when I felt a sore throat coming on and my nose started feeling stuffy. I am a bit worried I came down with another cold considering I just recovered from a bad flu and cold bug a couple of weeks ago.
Last edited:
andy64tms
Well known member
Hi Mary80,
thankyou for posting this extract from Claire Weeks book 'Hope and Help for your Nerves'. It was just what I needed to help my wife with her new situation (post stroke concerns).
Also I have been reluctant form many years to recognize anxiety as a problem for myself, and for some reason shredded my anxiety notes last summer in a fit of denial. I have just ordered it on Amazon.
Thank you JanCPA for also bringing this author to my attention in past posts.
Claire Weeks
"Fear causes an additional outpouring of adrenalin, so that a heart already stirred to palpitations becomes further excited, beats even more quickly, and the attack lasts longer. The sufferer may panic, thinking he is about to die. His hands sweat, his face burns, his fingers tingle with “pins and needles” while he waits for he knows not what.The attack eventually stops—it always does—and all may be well for a while. However, having had one frightening experience, he dreads another and for days remains tense and anxious, from time to time feeling his pulse. If the palpitations do not return he settles down, loses himself in his work and forgets the incident. If, however, he has a second attack, he really is concerned. Apparently the wretched thing has come to stay!
Not only is he afraid of palpitating, but he is also in a state of tension, wondering what further alarming experience may yet be in store for him. It is not long before tension, releasing more and more adrenalin, makes his stomach churn, his hands sweat, and his heart constantly beat quickly. He becomes even more afraid, and still more adrenalin is released. In other words, he becomes caught in the fear-adrenalin-fear cycle."
"The constant symptoms are those of sustained tension and fear, hence their chronicity; while the different recurring attacks are the result of varying intensity in sustained fear, hence their periodicity."
and more
"The treatment of all symptoms depends on a few simple rules. ..... Facing,Accepting,Floating,Letting time pass..."
thankyou for posting this extract from Claire Weeks book 'Hope and Help for your Nerves'. It was just what I needed to help my wife with her new situation (post stroke concerns).
Also I have been reluctant form many years to recognize anxiety as a problem for myself, and for some reason shredded my anxiety notes last summer in a fit of denial. I have just ordered it on Amazon.
Thank you JanCPA for also bringing this author to my attention in past posts.
Claire Weeks
"Fear causes an additional outpouring of adrenalin, so that a heart already stirred to palpitations becomes further excited, beats even more quickly, and the attack lasts longer. The sufferer may panic, thinking he is about to die. His hands sweat, his face burns, his fingers tingle with “pins and needles” while he waits for he knows not what.The attack eventually stops—it always does—and all may be well for a while. However, having had one frightening experience, he dreads another and for days remains tense and anxious, from time to time feeling his pulse. If the palpitations do not return he settles down, loses himself in his work and forgets the incident. If, however, he has a second attack, he really is concerned. Apparently the wretched thing has come to stay!
Not only is he afraid of palpitating, but he is also in a state of tension, wondering what further alarming experience may yet be in store for him. It is not long before tension, releasing more and more adrenalin, makes his stomach churn, his hands sweat, and his heart constantly beat quickly. He becomes even more afraid, and still more adrenalin is released. In other words, he becomes caught in the fear-adrenalin-fear cycle."
"The constant symptoms are those of sustained tension and fear, hence their chronicity; while the different recurring attacks are the result of varying intensity in sustained fear, hence their periodicity."
and more
"The treatment of all symptoms depends on a few simple rules. ..... Facing,Accepting,Floating,Letting time pass..."
Hi
I'm trying to practice what she writes for my problems and it's really very hard to stay calm and let the pain and anxiety pass away, but I do not give up. This book was recommended to me in this forum and I thank you for this FERN..thank you so much fern
Read it is full of examples, each of us can find something useful...she explains everything from a medical standpoint and it's very comforting.
I read about her and she suffered from panic attacks and she has studied a lot .. she explains in a very simple way...
I try to follow what she says step by step and I am confident. I noticed that is what Alan Gordon also says in the program on day 4 " breaking the pain cycle"
""" The Fear Behind the Pain
Pain is a danger signal. And in the case of neural pathway pain, the way we react determines whether this signal stays on or switches off. When we react to pain with fear, it reinforces a sense of danger, and the pain persists.
Fear is the fuel for the pain."""
See the video !!!
What he's saying link up to what she wrote . Training is very important.
I also think how you think. I worry about my health.. but we have to learn to let go pain and fear.