Kuvaus
INTRODUCTION
Steve wanted travel to Tenerife to see his mother’s new home, but he couldn’t fly. The mere thought of going into an aeroplane made him shake, sweat and when talking about this he became tearful: he couldn’t fly due to the fear of having a panic attack while on board and he felt silly admitting it.
In fact Steve’s life was restricted in almost all areas: his social life was almost none existent. He couldn’t go on outings with friends, let alone form intimate relationships. Steve couldn’t even travel on a bus and was signed off from work because of his panic attacks and low mood. He spent most of the time in his flat, where he felt relatively safe, but it wasn’t what he wanted and he felt lonely; blaming himself for letting his mum and friends down.
Tina had dreamed of becoming a novelist all her life and she started a university course in creative writing, but unfortunately she began having panic attacks while in lectures. She couldn’t focus on anything but on her symptoms: such as her pounding heart, feeling dizzy, sweating and a feeling that something was horribly wrong – although she was unsure what it was.
Tina didn’t attend her lectures for more than two months and eventually gave up due to the constant fear of having another panic attack; she then became depressed and hopeless.
Mark used to enjoy camping with friends. Then he had his first panic attacks. He felt weird, dizzy, and horrified that he might crash his car while he was driving on a long straight road. Due to this he started to avoid driving.
Mark could not let his friends drive either, as he became panicky. His heart began to beat really fast and he felt he was having a heart attack, or that he was going crazy He also felt that he wouldn’t be able to escape from the car if he needed to and somebody else was driving. So he stopped going camping but didn’t want to tell his friends the real reason, because he did not want them to think he was crazy, or somehow weak. Then he started to avoid his friends, although he hated himself for doing that.
There are thousands and thousands of stories like this. People plan their life, they dream of things like a dream job or a career, studies, meeting new people and so on. We all would like to live our life in a certain kind of way, but realities don’t always let us do what we really would like to. So we do what we can within the circumstances.
Do you suffer from panic attacks and do they restrict your life somehow? Do these panic attacks have some weird sensations, such as your heart suddenly beating faster than normal, feeling dizzy, difficulty in thinking, mind racing; fear of dying, losing control or going crazy – or just that something horrible may happen?
Do you then avoid some activities, situations or places? Are there some strategies you use to keep safe when having these symptoms? These may include: avoiding people, relaxation techniques, breathing techniques, distraction… If you do then the chances are that you suffer from severe anxiety and panic attacks, possibly a panic disorder which if not treated can lead to other kinds of problems such as depression. Even if you do manage to cope with the problem, but it limits what you can do, then you’re not living your life like you really want to.
The good news is that thousands of people have got rid of this life limiting problem in a short period of time. Steve, Tina and Mark are all real people, although their names have been changed. They all got rid of their panic. Not only this, but they also achieved what they really wanted to in their lives because avoiding panic doesn’t determine what they can do anymore. They didn’t need years of therapy for that, only a few weeks. You can now learn the exact methods they used and apply them to yourself.