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Posts created by Ariel273

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 29

Fear of Flying - Difficult Exposure

Hi everyone...this is Ariel271. I started a new account as I never received a password to my email and was never contacted after I reported it. Anyway, thank you very much for responding Ashley and Sunny. It was really helpful to see that other people can have as intense of a fear as I do when it comes to flying. I did read the first topics and one thing has stuck out in my mind..."Avoiding anything (including flying) will make it much worse." I have been making an effort to be more open to choosing flying over driving when it makes more sense to fly and to not think so much avoid trips with friends and family. I will read the exposure pages today, but I have been trying to replace any images I have of myself fearful while on a plane with images of being comfortable on an airplane. Like you said Sunny, positive self-talk can really help. All of your suggestions were great and I hope that I can try them out - I have spent most of the time on flights since my attack grasping the armrests tightly and trying not to go into overdrive. I'll keep working on replacing these images/thoughts with more positive ones.

I also went on a road trip this weekend and drove by myself. I got lost in a rural area where it was dark outside and had some panic symptoms/thoughts. I tried what you said and challenged them, and it really did help to relax me somewhat. After my first attack, I was having panic symptoms frequently in my daily life. Now it seems that I only have them when I travel: going away from home, getting lost, taking a subway, and heights.

I do have one question though: I have only had what I consider one "true" panic attack where I had heart racing, shaking, sweaty palms, chills, and thoughts that I was going crazy and going to die. Since I was a teenager though, I have had many episodes of chest pain, racing heartbeat for prolonged periods when stressed, and my body feeling really tense, especially my neck. (MD sent me to a cardiologist and all testing was fine.) Were these also panic attacks? I guess I have considered them panic symptoms, not attacks?

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 29

Panic Symptoms

Hi Tam,

I have also experienced my heart skipping or a feeling of "flipping" in my chest. I have heard that is more common in people with anxiety. If you think there may be something medically wrong, you could ask your doctor about it. I also had heart racing since I was in high school and was referred to a cardiologist who found nothing for years. It wasn't until I had a panic attack that I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. And just like it says in the first education sections, I think anyone who has panic is extra sensitive and intolerant to any physical symptoms. I think Sunny is right to recommend the relaxation exercises when you feel this way. Keep us posted!

Ariel

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 29

NERVOUS ON GOING NEW PLACES

Hi Teresa,

You are definitely not alone with having more trouble when going outside your comfort zone. I often feel fine when in my daily routine and struggle when I have to go on trips. I have been working hard to challenge my anxious thoughts to see how truthful they are. Maybe you can try to anticipate the anxious thoughts that you will have and try to challenge them in preparation to go. Also, positive self-talk seems to help. Just telling myself that I don't want this to run my life and that I can handle the situation can help (even if I don't believe it the first time, I start to the more I say it.) In the past, I have written down some of the positive self-talk phrases that mean a lot to me and looked at them when going outside my comfort zone. I know it is hard to talk yourself out of it when your body is going into overdrive. Good luck and keep us posted!

Ariel

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 29

ALL THINGS WILL PASS WITH TIME

Congratulations James!! Keep up the good work and let us know how its going! I also saw a 180 degree change when my doctor started me on medication - it really helped me live the life I wanted to and let me focus on learning more about panic disorder and what I needed to change to have long-term results.

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 29

new to this

Let us know how it goes! Panic is hard enough to deal with without your boss making life harder for you. I know it takes a lot of courage for anyone to face their fears and it is so great that you've started to do that at work. Good luck!

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 29

Fear of Flying - Difficult Exposure

Thanks for the encouragement about not having a panic attack when I got lost a few weeks ago Sunny. I went on another driving trip 5.5 hours away with a friend last weekend. Originally my panic seemed focused on flying, but now I seem to have panic symptoms on all trips. My friend was driving and there was a sign that we were going into a tunnel, then over a drawbridge. My heart immediately started racing, my palms got sweaty, and I felt overheated. I have never been afraid of tunnels or bridges before that panic attack on the plane. We got to the hotel and I couldn't pay attention to anything my friend was saying because I could only think "what if I can't handle driving all that by myself tomorrow." The feelings went away in a half hour as I kept trying to challenge them. The next day when driving it myself, the bridge was closed, the tunnel closed, and the GPS wasn't giving me an alternate route. Heart racing, sweating, and mind so fearful of not being able to handle it that I had trouble focusing in on a practical solution. I felt like I wanted to pull over and make someone come 5 hours to get me and never travel again. But then as always, I just followed the detour signs and it was fine. I am so sick of having this over-reaction after feeling so self-sufficient before and it is so scary how the panic symptoms affect my rational thinking to come up with normal solutions.

I read the exposure pages tonight and am trying to figure out how to make graded exposures to this. I can sit at the airport and picture the plane with mild anxiety, have been on a plane with mild-severe anxiety, and it just seems so much to have to do with my fatigue and stress level in how I am able to deal with it. To get to moderate anxiety, I generally have to be on the plane or traveling far from home, but I can't do that as frequently as I think I would need to. I do feel VERY fortunate to be able to do these things at all, but want to be able to without the fear. Any suggestions?

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 29

Scared

That's a great story about being a MC and its awesome how that's not a fear for you anymore! I had some success last night that I thought I would share too. One of my goals is to be able to stay at home at night for two hours and to be able to fall asleep when at home alone. Our home owner's association encourages us to set up house checks with the sheriff's office when we are going out of town. We had an incident over six months ago where the sheriff's office made an error in when they were supposed to check on our house and my husband and I woke up to a person/flash light on the deck outside our bedroom. Even though I have always had more anxiety at night, it got much worse after that, but especially if my husband is not home. I do find this is a hard goal to set up exposures for since I am newlywed and it would mean making my husband leave at night time. : ) But last night, he had a busy day and went to the gym late. I tried to relax and watch tv. I prepared myself before he left and everytime I would start to have an anxious thought, I would try to challenge it and it helped to label it with the descriptions in the program here. I felt anxious at times, but it never reached a panic level and I actually fell asleep for a couple minutes!! I still worry that every time won't be that successful, but if it was okay once, then I can hope to have more positive experiences!!

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 29

Stressful week

David,

It sounds like you have a plan in place with the appeal. Hopefully that plan will calm some of symptoms. Good luck and keep us posted on how it turns out!

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 29

Inspirational Quotes

Davit, I definitely have mantras too. When I was facing my biggest fear of getting on an airplane for the first time after a major panic attackon one, I made a list of phrases that I could keep telling myself on the plane - the most important being "I will not let panic limit me from doing what I want to do!"

Here are a couple of my favorite quotes:

Worrying does not empty tomorrow of it’s troubles, it empties today of it’s strength.

If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.

Ariel

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 29

Panic Symptoms

Hi Davit,

45 min-1 hr with it getting progressively worse with heart racing, grasping wherever I'm sitting, shaking, temperature disregulation, and thoughts that I am going to die and am going crazy. The doctor said if symptoms last that long, it is one panic attack after another, but it seems like one. Hope that helps.

Ariel

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