Thank you for your reply. I think that if there is no break even for a few minutes then it must be one attack. I have had attacks roll in one after another but there was usually a break before the next one. Usually they were self induced by thinking about the last one and wondering when the next one would come and sure enough there it was. I hope you are getting better, no one should have to bare this. I hope the program is working for you too.

Davit. 

The pathway for information to the brain is not one simple straight path, and I want you to think of it as a path if it helps.

Along this pathway are recepters that gather information, but there not single. Think of them as being like the fingers on your hand, each one feeding to your wrist. And each wrist feeding into another finger along with many other fingers. Do you get the picture so far. So by the time this information gets to the brain there would be a lot of it. In a normal situation since most of this information is not neccesary, it is just there, (like breathing. heart rate. how close the walls are. how tight your socks are, etc.) so most of it gets dumped and only that which is absolutely neccesary gets through. You don't have to be able to feel your heart for it to work. (and most cirtainly not in your ears ) But during an emergancy you want as much information as you can get to make a good decission. (fight or flight) such as when a large truck is baring down on you in your lane. Here you only need to make one decision and that is how do I get out of the way. This is normal and the more information the quicker the decision. Some people actually like this feeling of being on the edge. OK. so the truck missed. Have a look around and get on with life. Panic is when there is no truck or there was a truck but you can't stop thinking about it or the truck was days ago and you just thought about it again. So now that you know what is happening, how do you deal with it. All this information tells you is that it's normal and that you're not dying. Now you have to learn how to convince your mind that its over or that it didn't happen in the first place, or that it just isn't that important. This is hard for an agrophobic to deal with. If its bad eneough you will need medication to shut out some of this excess information but beware of using it as a crutch. Try to stop it on your own.

Oh. and reward your self each time you succesfully do some thing you don't want to. Smile turn in a circle and shout " I won " " I won " I can do this. Now I leave it up to this program to teach you how to deal with the actuall panic.

Davit

In answer to your Question, "what does knowing this mean to me". Well for me it is very hard to fix something unless I know why it is broke. Also how can I know if it's fixed unless I know why it broke, how can I be sure it will stay fixed or how can I know when to expect it to break again. Now I know that there are things that will give me information overload. (eg. coffee chocolate wine etc.) This just means now I can pick when and when not to enjoy them and what to expect. When I go into a crowded grocery store and there is too much happening around me I know to focus on one thing and block out every thing else, if I can. Distraction can go a long way toward blocking out all the unwanted information. In a long lineup I look at people and imagine what type of dog they would be if they were dogs. I have often been asked what I'm smiling about. Don't do this if you are scared of dogs. For those of you that get tunnel vision and ringing ears, this is your minds way of dealing with excess information. It's normal, unpleasant but normal. As an aside to this I was told that long term use of Ativan interfears with the minds capability to judge what to discard. This is why the fuzzy thought process. Since I was addicted (4 years) I now have a path that my mind likes to use but it is full of anxiety and I am slowly tearing it up. This I refer to as being on the wrong path. And knowing I'm on the wrong path makes it easier to get back on the right one. There will always be anxiety, it's a product of the way we live. keeping anxiety from becoming panic is my goal. What I really want is to be able to tune out the annoying stuff so I can enjoy what is happening around me. And I want it bad enough to do it. That is the hard part, not giving in. Information is power.

Davit.

Your BP and pulse will go up so unless you are checking to see how fast you can make it go down then best to not check. Just to make you feel better mine used to go up to 180 over 100 or more and pulse would be around 120 or more. Not good for a guy my age. I bought a monitor so I could see how fast I could make it go down again.  It's called distracting to get my mind off other things. It doesn't work for every one. Oh by the way it's Ok as long as you don't exceed max BP for your age or condition.

Davit

I have trouble with culverts and I have learned to expand them in my mind till I can comfortably sit sideways in them. I don't like spiders and these I use a little Harry Potter magic on them. I visualize it or them shrinking till in a puff of smoke there gone. Poof it's gone and so is the reason to panic. 

Davit

I am about to leave this site. It is a good site but I don't fit in so any thing I might have to say other than the fact that panic can be cured or at least reduced to the point of acceptability. The reason I don't fit is that I am so different from all of you. I'm retired, I have no job related anxiety. I have some store anxiety but since I can cloose my time it doesn't count. I'm a cripple, and have hypertension, so I don't fly much. Last time I flew was by Air Ambulance. ( Lear jet ) I was drugged for the 55 minute trip. I live in a small village where every one knows and accepts and helps me, I'm only 15 minutes from any store and they're small. Driving doesn't bother me. I get all my exercise on an exercycle or bicycle because those I can do. My panic is so minor it's not worth counting now. It was major and was once a day for a few years. Now depression is a different storey. It sneaks in on me.  Right now I have Major depression, and I think it's from the lack of creative activity. I would love to be able to do something I like till I am so tired I sleep, but right now I am so enemic from having Staph infection I can't do much. I'm not on medication and probably should be. Some depression can only be cured with pills. Winter is coming and I will be spending a lot of time inside so I will buy a SAD lamp and see if it helps. I'm curious to see if panic and depression run together and hope some members will take the time to comment. Just posting this has put the depression in my face where I can deal with it. And of course I'm looking for other peoples ways of dealing with it. I'll still be reading posts so I hope to get some replies. Best of luck to everyone. 

Davit.

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Well so much for me sitting back and keeping my mouth shut. I'm glad paxil worked for you and it sounds as though you don't need it any more. Some times that is all it takes to get over a bad streatch. The only one I was ever able to stay on was celexa and that one I had to stop because of the sideaffects, The worst being muscle pain. The negative thought patterns are hard to get away from when there is so much negative happening around me. I love to garden but of course I can't do that in the winter. In winter I do woodwork and as I age my work has got smaller and more detailed, more concentration, less time to worry. I think I am managing most of the worries older people get like, am I getting fat and ugly, are people staring. Am I standing in the way. Do I look silly trying to get this parcel in the car. Where can I lean my cane. Where is the nearest washroom. At least I don't have to worry about my makeup. All just silly right. In july 2008 I had the world by the tail. The arthritis had gone into remission I had aquirred some money and was happily busilly spending it. Big plans. Then I shattered my femur. (upper leg bone just below hip). Well they fixed that but I got staph infection and spent 4 months in extreme pain on opiats. Getting off them was not easy. Now I have nerve damage and phantom pain plus real pain. The only good out of this is that I'm still alive. How do I deal with the limitations now. Hence the depression and some times it is bad. And Christmas is coming up soon. No tree this year. (maybe).  I think sculpture would be a very good pastime. Painting too, if it wasn't so messy. With a digital camera and a computer with a good photo edit program, that can be good too. But mostly people need to get out and socialise. (and get some sun light). The hard part is saying "this will be fun" instead of "this is a chore". Chores are just a fact of life.

Being a single person with only one income has left me too serious with too much concern for the next dollar. I am far too serious, I need to live a little. (I find most people are too seious, could it be a product of our lifestyle). I don't have a dog to walk any more (2 cats) so I go to the grocery store (general store) for conversation and licorice or cookies. I did think about getting a Chesapeke (can't spell that) but thought it would be unfair to it. A person needs someone or something to do things for. (hard to go against nature) Maybe we can talk other members into expressing what they do to stave off the winter blues that so easilly turn into depression. Hang in there, spring is only 5 months away.

Davit.

I haven't tryed that one with the spiders, hope it keeps working. I'll keep my fingers crossed also. At least there not elephants. Nothing is ridiculous if it works, remember this is all temperary till your cured.

Davit

You made me want to cry this morning. (afternoon for you, I'm 4 or more time zones away.) It brought back memories. I used to have this same thing so bad I wanted to die and get it over with. I know you want answers, but all I can say right now is that I and others are proof that you can make it go away. For some reason I always felt better after an attack untill the next one. and then wham there would be another. and for me the worst were always in the night. You will notice I said were. I still get some anxiety attacks but they never, absolutely never turn to panic attacks. Some times I feel like I'm on one side of a tall fence and there is a large barking dog that I can't see on the other side. But I know it can't get me. Here are a few things that worked for me and why!! Write it down. on paper on computer, no matter write it down! If you stare it in the face it becomes smaller. If you think you know what is getting you write it down, even if it temporarilly increases the panic. Oh and don't throw it away. you want to read it again in the morning so you can see that there really was no reason to panic rather than dwell on the fact that that you paniced and probably will again. The thing to do is make each one smaller till they fade away. Right here your saying easy for him to say. Remember I and others have been there. Box breathing! One of the things that can happen during a panic attack is that you slow down or stop breathing, or you breath so fast that you get dizzy. Box breathing will regulate the oxigen going to your brain. (hospitals put anxious patients on oxigen because it calms them. Personal experience). Count or better yet say on the intake, I'm Ok. and on the outtake I'm really Ok. Use your hands like the instructions say. The more things you have to concentrate on the less chance of thinking about panic. If you do this in bed then you are already there and you won't have to fear getting back in. Scalded milk. You can use the micro wave. scalding milk realeases Tryptophan, a mild tranquilizer. And as a last resort you can try going outside and getting cold. Freezing your buns off is good incentive to get back in bed and curl up. No thats not the last resort. The last is take medication if you have to, always with the thought in mind that it is temporary and you can reduce or quit it. 

Now for every one else out there, suggestions are needed here. What works for you?

And off the subject, I have found a product that makes me very happy again but I want to research it first before I talk about it. I want to be sure it's safe.  Wishing you all happiness, especially at this time of the year.

Davit.

I think the second half of your list is far more stressfull, after all they call for more change and activity but the stress would be less open than those in the first half. Eg., losing a job. Ok it happened, bango. Now fix it. Getting a promotion will have more hidden stressers. As an older person in failing health I have plenty of reason to be stressed. How do I deal with it. Simple, I fix what can be and live with what can't and look for the good side of every thing. And some times you have to ignore those things that don't have a good side. Life can be very funny if you know where to look.

Davit.