Association is the process of your mind looking for answers to a thought by going through your memory looking for things that fit the pattern of the thought. Panic is the process of latching onto an associated thought but not the real answer to the the triggering thought. EG. you wake up tangled in the sheets. The associated thought could be anything claustrophobic that scares you instead of the actual one which is that the sheets are too tight. Why does this happen. It is tendency. All things all day end up in memory. If it has been a negative day you will have a negative tendency. This is my shopping bag analogy. What you can get out of the bag is what you put in it. It snow balls because if you start doing this every night then no matter how much positive you put in the bag during the day those negative thoughts in the evening are going to be on top and most accessible. You have to go to sleep convinced you won't panic and if this doesn't work then you need something to make you sleep because you need positives in your shopping bag to change the tendency from negative to positive. (CBT) Once you get a few nights of waking up to a positive association or a positive thought the panic will stop. You also need something to neutralize the negative associated thought. Such as realizing that you really are just tangled if that is what it was. It takes a few tries but like all things CBT repetition is the key.
Davit.
Ps. My association was stuck in a culvert. My neutralizer was visualizing the culvert bigger and me smaller. End of reason for panic, end of attack.
Waking up afraid is annoiying and tends to happen with panic disorder. I can relate very much to your feelings (especially about driving to work), and yes, I have had to go back and start my lessons over in this program and even started taking notes and saving them so I could return to them. When in the moment of fear, I have found that it is effective to consider what you are afraid about and decide whether or not the perceived threat is real or simply perceived. This is in lesson 3 of this program I believe ... but it is very effective because one you know what you are afraid about, you can move forward to face those fears and tell them what to do with themselves because they do not have power over you :)
Something that I do when I wake up afraid is reflect on what I did and ate the night before and decide it perhaps I need to start a new, more relaxing routine before bed. What were you thinking about before you fell asleep? This can be something that fell into your subconscious while you were sleeping and is trying to get back into your conscious thinking. Don't dispair, fear is only as dangerous as you allow it to be.
Others have said they did parts or the whole program more than once. There is no reason not too. CBT as you know is changing negative to positive but repetition is what it takes to keep it where you can use it. Therefore, no skipping over parts. No moving on till you understand where you are working at present. If it starts to get confusing it is better to go back and do it again. The object is to get better, not get finished. It doesn't matter how long it takes. Believe me once you are better all the time you spent will seem like no time at all. Freedom makes it all worth while.
I am feeling much better now - thank you. I got a ride in to work with a family member who lives down the road. It seems silly (now) but I think that my anxiety this morning was a result of sleeping with our space heater on all night. I felt super dehydrated - which is my biggest trigger/fear. My first panic attack coincided with a hospital visit for dehydration.
As a result, I skipped my coffee and am having a much better morning.
It's nice to have a reason to restart and to follow the program a little more closely.
Focus on relaxation techniques to calm your body and mind today. Some members have restarted the program and found it to be helpful. Do what you feel is right for you.
Hi everyone. I woke up feeling afraid this morning. I am nervous about driving to work. This is all new to me and I am logging on to get direction on how best to start my day so I can have one. Usually my panic attacks happen later in the day. Any suggestions? I feel like I need to start over at the beginning of the lessons. Has anyone every done that? Peace to all of you.
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