I thoroughly enjoyed this thread, as it has been my belief that sensitive, highly (or even mediumly intelligent) creatively minded people are prone to these problems. If you really are in the highest IQ bracket, I'm sure that is a problem, simply because not many can understand how you think, and that is lonely. They may believe your creative ideas are crazy, and they will be in the majority, and you will be in the minority. It was also interesting to find that the OCD's brain is 3xs more active than normal. Obsessing and over analysing is where the genius resides, is it not? They finally come to conclusions that others have missed. I agree that if we don't address the depression and panic then the panic returns, and vice versa...I believe it is a different kettle of fish than pure phobias or panic by itself. And I'm afraid there is a history of serious depression and other mental illness in my family. It is interesting that when I have been sufficiently treated for anxiety and panic, it is then that I become more focused on depression. I think that is where I am right now...I do not believe I am a hypocondriac, but I do believe that others may get that impression if they have not experienced all the things I have experienced personally. And if we do not analyse our exposure to our fears, where is the value of the CBT? We have to think about it quite regularly or the method will not work, according to this Panic Program. What I would like to say to end off with; I loved the movies, Patch Adams, and A Beautiful Mind, because it helped people see that highly intelligent people can also act "crazy?", how the sensitive intelligent package goes together with other great things; as well as their share of problems. Has anyone seen these movies, and what are your thougts about super intelligence with mental or emotional problems?

Hi all, just a theory here no proof, but my psychologist came up with it. Some people who experience panic disorder have a tendency towards an obsessional personality trait. Not anywhere near as severe as OCD or OCPD, just a trait. This can be both a helpful and bad thing for those people. On the bad side, anxiety and depression can quickly lead to panic as the obsessive thought pattern slides into repetitive, rigid thoughts that progressively get worse about say a physical symptom like "i cant breathe" etc. Also analytical thought processes combined with obsessive traits can certainly lead to over analysing ones thoughts, feelings and symptoms. On the positive side, intelligent, well educated obsessives are more likely to get educated about there disorder and form ordered strategies about how to deal with it, often quickly too. Woh Im sharing some of my therapy here :) Seriously though it is a hypothesis and has some validity in my case at least, so far. The other big side of things is positive thinking, and it very much indicates the relationship between anxiety and depression. For those of us who experience anxiety and depression, we are quite different to those who just get depression. For us our depression causes anxiety, or perhaps the anxiety causes depression, depending on the person. They are certainly co-existent though. We can learn to control the panic, and use meds and treatment to get out of it, but if we dont manage the anxiety and depression, the panic may well return. Anyway Im just rambling now. In summary, the obsessive trait combined with a strong education and perhaps high intelligence is definitely a combo that can lead to extremely high self expectations. High self expectations can often lead to anxiety and depression if not managed, and anxiety and depression can lead to panic. Perfectionism is another way of putting this, perhaps a more extreme way. Its just a thought. I didnt know I was depressed when I started getting panic attacks, but in retrospect I was very depressed. I guess I recognised the anxiety but I wasnt very aware of it. For me becoming aware of it, understanding what it was, and accepting it was the first step. This had to be co

SPIDER SENSE..i like that! i am very aware of my thoughts at all times. i have OCD and pet scans show that the ocd brain is like 3 times more active than a non-ocder. it is probably the same for us panickers too!

Hi I wouldnt say I was super inteligent. I am educated to degree level just like thousands of peope but I would say I am a quick thinker and extremely aware of my surroundings ( yes sensitive ) I can tend to predict the moods of other people very easily I describe my anxiety a bit like spidermans "Spider sense" exept mine isnt working properly because it can go off anywhere. So in answer to your qu I agree one side of the brain maybe lacking in some chemical/ nutrient. The other part maybe over compensating sending the anxiety spiralling out of control. I do think the only way to survive it is to tryto ignore it and just carry on as normal no metter how hard it is.

Are you super intelligent? Highly sensitive people, according to the book by that name, are typically gifted; now there are a whole range of gifted types, and perhaps; I was thinking that if our brain chemistry is speeded up somehow, hence the need for Seretonin Reuptake Inhibitors...SSRIs or SNRIs, and tranquilizers for bad nerves,anxiety etc., coming from various sources such as inheritance, past circumstances and horrible life experiences, plus a possible personality profile found in a smaller percentage of the population, which makes you feel like an outsider, all these can contribute to the panic or anxiety disorder. There is logical intelligence and random intelligence, and I believe the more creative random intelligence is found in people who have a great creative mind. Maybe that is why although we could be super intelligent, or at least a little more gifted than the average person, we could also have illogical thoughts that we know are illogical, and still suffer the consequences. Perhaps we are lacking more on the logical side of the brain that stops other people from having illogical panic? What do you think?

I THOUGHT I WOULD START US OFF I STARTED A NEW JOB RECENTLY IM SO SCARED IM A WARDEN IN CHARGE OF 70 OLD PEOPLE. TODAY I HAD PAINS IN MY CHST I HAVE NEVER HAD THEM BEFORE SO IMEDIATELY THIS THOUGHT ALLOWED THE ANXIOUS FEELINGS TO START TO RISE. [color=Red]INSTEAD OF RUNNING[/color]I just sat there and ignore it eventually it went away. I am proud that the feeling did pass. [color=Red]TextWhat did you do today that was amazing ?[/color]

If all us panic stressheads are of above average intelligent then why are we scared of going in shops driving a car ect ? Why do our bodies or brains mannifest real symptoms in our bodies like breathing, chest pains twitches Etc Do you think cured people are the people who dwell on it like us in this site ? Dont you think we should start a what we did well togay and how e coped with a symptom so we could all learn from AND HELP EACH OTHER? [color=Red]TextAND HELP EACH OTHER[/color]