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Jena
USA
195 Posts |
 Posted - 06/22/2008 : 22:51:25
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| I just need to be reassured I know sarno says it is in the divided mind but any more reassurance from my fellow friends on this forum would be great. Maybe it will even help newbies by reading this. Classic symptoms of anxiety- heart palpatations, shortness of breath, pounding heart, feelings of unreality, trembling, etc so many to name. Anyone familiar with being cured from anxiety and panic attacks using tms steps. |
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Jena
USA
195 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2008 : 22:57:10
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| forgot to mention the most common symptoms stomach nausea and pain. Also I dont have the link I dont know if anyone came across this website but it reminded me of sarno. Hundreds of people posted a list of their anxiety symptoms and the tests they've taken and their results were normal. Just proves tms even more. They thought they had a fatal disease which I sometimes convince myself I have at 23 yrs old. I'll try n find the site. Thanks for listening. |
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positivevibes
204 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2008 : 23:09:32
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quote:
Originally posted by Jena
forgot to mention the most common symptoms stomach nausea and pain. Also I dont have the link I dont know if anyone came across this website but it reminded me of sarno. Hundreds of people posted a list of their anxiety symptoms and the tests they've taken and their results were normal. Just proves tms even more. They thought they had a fatal disease which I sometimes convince myself I have at 23 yrs old. I'll try n find the site. Thanks for listening.
I replied to your other post, but I'll also reply here. Sometimes anxiety is caused by being Hyperthyroid. A simple blood test can tell you if your TSH is normal or is making you feel those symptoms. Too much caffeine or stimulants can also do that to you, too!
Aside from that...I know how you feel. About 5 years ago I suddenly had a major panic attack while driving on the freeway about 30 miles from home. It was terrifying. What I found especially scary was the feeling of "unreality." That was absolutely awful.
Once I realized what had happened, and was able to admit that I had a problem, I got some cognative behavior therapy. It really helped a lot. There was a workbook that my therapist had me use. If you want I'll find it and give you the title.
For me, the feeling of "unreality" happened because I was breathing too shallowly or sometimes even holding my breath for brief periods of time without realizing it! Now if I feel myself becoming anxious, I take several really good deep breaths, and consciously ensure that I'm breathing well. This has really helped.
Also, distraction strategies help. When you're going into a panic your mind focuses "inside yourself." So to counter-act that, you must focus on things outside yourself. For example, think of the lyrics of a song, think about objects and people around you, do math in your head -- anything to take the focus off your feelings.
I have conquered my panic attacks by about 95%. I'm still a bit afraid to drive on freeways in strange places. I suppose the experience traumatized me to some extent and it's difficult to get over it, because you're not sure if you can "trust yourself" again. My therapist pointed out to me that even though you feel like you're going to pass out, it's virtually impossible to do so when your body is in that state.
I hope this helps! :-)
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You are not your mind; you are not your thoughts. The incessant mental noise [of your thoughts] creates a false mind-made self that causes fear and suffering and prevents you from connecting with your true self and living in the Now. - Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now |
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Jena
USA
195 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2008 : 19:26:52
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| how exactly did u cure ur panic attacks? Yes ive had blood tests all normal. i suffer from hypochondria to but ive been better. |
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scottjmurray
266 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2008 : 01:22:39
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yeah i've had a lot of that kind of crap. the feelings of unreality, the fear, panic, craziness feelings, whatever. heart things, sure. it's all tms. same stuff.
i love how simple tms theory is. unacceptable emotions in the subconscious. ego, based on whatever stupid rules we've given it, finds said emotions unacceptable. emotions want to come out, therefore, ego invents distraction mechanisms to keep you occupied. flawless.
so yeah, same thing. you're probably just really pissed and sad at the world like the rest of us. lol.
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i'm not s#!t.
i'm champagne. |
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Jena
USA
195 Posts |
Posted - 06/25/2008 : 01:42:42
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| thanks for the reply. I'm actually laying in bed exhausted but can't sleep I am getting the unreality feelings and heart palpitations. I just want to sleep. I have such a long day tomorrow. My hypochondria kicks in and I begin to think tumor or cancer. Its 4 am. Whats my problem? I have to realize not everyone gets cancer or brain tumors! Ugh I wish they had a hypochondriac workbook. |
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positivevibes
204 Posts |
Posted - 06/25/2008 : 03:13:58
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quote:
Originally posted by Jena
thanks for the reply. I'm actually laying in bed exhausted but can't sleep I am getting the unreality feelings and heart palpitations. I just want to sleep. I have such a long day tomorrow. My hypochondria kicks in and I begin to think tumor or cancer. Its 4 am. Whats my problem? I have to realize not everyone gets cancer or brain tumors! Ugh I wish they had a hypochondriac workbook.
For me, the "feeling of unreality" is always caused by not breathing deeply enough. (When I found that out, it really surprised me. I had no idea that sometimes I was actually holding my breath!) In other words, I was breathing too shallowly. I suppose it has something to do with very mild oxygen deprivation to the brain. If I ever start to feel that very freaky "unreality" feeling I just try to take many slow deep breaths, and the feeling usually passes within a minute or two. I will say that to me, that "unreality" feeling was one of the scariest things I'd ever experienced. But now I know how to control it and how to prevent it -- I feel like I have some power over it.
You should get The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook by Edmund J. Bourne. I really think it could help you a lot!
How did I get over my panic attacks? Well, once I was able to admit that I actually had a problem (big step) I was angry that my stupid mind was making me afraid of driving and limiting my freedom and mobility. I've driven across the country! I used to commute 30 miles each way to work. Hell, I always thought of myself as a "free" person and I wasn't going to let this beat me down and turn me into an fearful agoraphobic person! No way in hell!
I sought out a therapist that specialized in Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). I saw him for about 3 to 4 months. Between some of the exercises in the workbook and talking to him about my fears (and getting encouragement from him, especially regarding setbacks) I was pretty much able to beat it. It was hard work and sometimes it was very scary, but I was determined to beat it. Every little step forward was a re-assurance. Sure, I had some setbacks along the way but overall the result was positive. Having the therapist to guide me really helped A LOT.
I will say that in retrospect, these panic attacks were very much a precursor to my realization that I have TMS, several years later. On the day when I had my first attack (which was the worst attack), I had been going through a LOT of very stressful emotional stuff and I was keeping a lot bottled up inside of me. It all makes perfect sense when I look at it in retrospect.
Jena, you need to learn to trust yourself and feel that everything is OK in your world. Those panic attacks shook my core belief about myself. I felt that I no longer could trust myself or that I no longer knew myself. Now I feel like everything is OK again. It's a huge mind-f*ck to go through something like this, but believe me, you CAN beat it!! Envision the person you WANT to be and do everything you can to become that person!
If reading Sarno doesn't do it for you, I would suggest The Power of Now, or other books in a similar vain that have been recommended on this board. But really that workbook I mention is great. I think you'd get a lot out of it and that it could help you a great deal!
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You are not your mind; you are not your thoughts. The incessant mental noise [of your thoughts] creates a false mind-made self that causes fear and suffering and prevents you from connecting with your true self and living in the Now. - Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now |
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Rooster
13 Posts |
Posted - 06/25/2008 : 03:29:43
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Jena
I second positivevibes suggestion about getting The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook by Edmund J. Bourne. It's a hefty book, but has loads of great stuff about how to cope with panic attacks, how to change that incessant voice in your head that tells you that you might have this or that illness etc. It really is worth a look. It's also very 'compatible' with TMS theory. |
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armchairlinguist
USA
1397 Posts |
Posted - 06/25/2008 : 11:22:16
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Another helpful book is Women and Anxiety. It has some great background and exercises for dealing with anxiety, although it focuses more on chronic than acute anxiety.
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It's not 100% belief that's required, but 100% commitment. |
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Hillbilly
USA
385 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2008 : 13:05:24
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Anxiety symptoms are simply symptoms of stress on steroids due to constant stress. The stress can be external, but mostly it is internal, and for it to interfere with your life to this level, you must have substantial fears about either your thoughts (hypochondiasis) or the sensations themselves.
If you were to go on a roller coaster with a friend, the two of you would experience much the same bodily reactions. The difference would be how you interpret the symptoms. You may see it as terror and avoid it ever happening again. She might label it "excitement" and seek it out every so often to get the adrenaline rush.
I cured myself of anxiety and pain (I believe strongly that the muscle pain we call TMS is simple muscle tension borne from anxious living) by simply understanding that what I was feeling were nothing more than stress symptoms. The thing that kept them coming was constantly guarding against them, avoiding things and people, and thereby creating stress responses all day, every day in my body through mental fixation.
I suspect that you are in this same cycle, and once you recognize it, you can easily break free, so long as you really believe that there is nothing wrong with you. If you continue to think that something is wrong, your body will stay on high alert and your symptoms will perpetuate on their own. It takes a while for the body to calm itself from the beating we give it in the midst of sustained worry, but rest assured you have not done irreparable harm.
I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.
Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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Jena
USA
195 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2008 : 18:29:35
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positive your therapist gave you like homework to do? All my therapist explains for me to do is keep a journal like Sarno and maybe write a time line of when my anxiety began. I really appreciate all the lists of books everyones mentioned and I am def going to buy them! I dont feel very stressed out about anything though I dont understand why I am having such bad anxiety. The only thing that comes to my mind is I was dating a man for 2 years and we broke up 1 year ago and he cheated on me and emotionally abused me etc. I truly loved him and after we broke up I couldnt believe everything i heard he did to me after we broke up and i was devastated deeply. I spoke a lot about whta happened with family and friends so I didnt think anything would get repressed now I am worrying did it?
So scott your cured of anxiety? How did you know it wasnt something more serious?Hillbilly the excitement your speaking of on a rollar coaster isnt really what i experience this is more of a scary sickening feeling rather than exciting. I feel like i am going to just die. I havent suffered any panic attacks however i cant shake this feeling of unable to breath! its everyday! is this tms? |
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positivevibes
204 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2008 : 20:07:58
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You ask about "homework."
My therapist gave me homework, which was "drive on the freeway" since that's where my panic attacks began, and were centered. I gradually began driving to slightly more "challenging" places out of my "comfort zone," (e.g., in the middle lane instead of the far right...2 miles further than usual, etc). Eventually I was able to drive 100 miles (way out of my comfort zone) in the far left lane at 75 mph and feel fine. Any time the anxiety and doubt began to well up, I made sure I was breathing well and used some of the techniques we had discussed in our sessions (many are in the book).
He also told me it was OK to "fail," in other words, if one driving session didn't go so well it was OK and I would just try again (in other words, he told me to be easy on myself and forgive myself, and concentrate on the successes not the failures).
Other homework involved reading parts of the book, doing breathing exercises, etc.
It took several months of hard work, but I was pretty much able to beat it. The difficult thing with the "driving anxiety" was that I was really busy and didn't have time to take all these long drives constantly. That's probably why it still hangs around a little bit -- it was hard to constantly work on it and make it totally disappear. But every time I begin to feel it, I remind myself of all the successful drives I've had, use a few coping techniques, and I'm fine.
I never used to be an anxious person (a worrier yes, but not anxious like that), so the whole experience was very weird for me.
I wonder sometimes if my stage of life (begining to go into menopause) has anything to do with it. I've talked to several women around my age (late 40s) who I found were going through similar things -- having anxiety for the first time in their lives, etc. Of course you are much younger than that, so I'm sure it doesn't apply to you, Jena!
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You are not your mind; you are not your thoughts. The incessant mental noise [of your thoughts] creates a false mind-made self that causes fear and suffering and prevents you from connecting with your true self and living in the Now. - Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now |
Edited by - positivevibes on 06/30/2008 20:08:36 |
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Jena
USA
195 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2008 : 11:57:04
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| I dont think I can get homework like yours because I dont suffer from that kind of anxiety, I always think I have some fatal illness so I cant really get out of my own body if you know what i mean? Or take a drive and face my fear when my fear is disease what do I do than? You know what I mean? lol I dont know ... ugh happiness and peace of mind seems so far away |
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anxiety and panic attacks are tms right
