Thank-you Davit and Samantha
A past success?
Well, I used to have such intense panic attacks, that it got to the point that I couldn't go into ANY store for fear that I had to stand in line. I avoided restaurants, malls, theatres, and much of my driving. The lowest point was when I was pregnant and on a trip to my FAVOURITE place in the world - the Oregon Coast. I was hit with a horrible attack in a familiar store and had to leave my family so that I could go back to the hotel. I was distraught because this was the ultimate place where I was always happy and here was that darn panic monster ruining it for me.
So, I worked hard at systematically exposing myself to various situations. It took me months, but to make a long story short, each exposure proved to me that I wasn't going to pass out and throw up in front of a bunch of strangers! I can now go into malls and big box stores. I drive places that used to scare the poop out me. I go to events that I would have had to drag myself to.
It's not perfect, but when I look back on where I was 2 years ago, I see a HUGE difference. As you work through panic attacks, you learn what works for you and then you can use these techniques on subsequent attacks. As uncomfortable as it seems, push yourself a bit (every day or two), just out of that comfort zone and celebrate your successes tenfold. For example, if you make it through a panicky situation for ten minutes longer than last time...buy yourself something nice, call up a friend and tell them how proud you are, etc.
This is not an easy thing to overcome, so I think that when we are so used to feeling helpless and weak, we should realize that we are actually incredibly strong people because we are facing huge challenges and every success is major! Every little step forward leads to a huge distance in the long run.
Go team! LOL
