Question
Dr.Braccio: My worrying sent me to kocasinan escort ilanları the emergency room. I thought I was going to die. My whole body was trembling, my heart was pounding and I had a splitting headache. I was told I had a panic attack and to quit worrying. I’d like to but I am a worrier and feel I should be. My mother and sisters are the same as me. We laugh and agree I have just taken worrying to a new level. My adult children and husband tell me to loosen up and stop seeing the worst possible outcome to everything. I know they’re right, but what can I do to change? I can’t have another panic attack. I have medication from my family physician but want to control my own feelings without it. I was actually worrying about an interview for a promotion my son was taking in Illinois when my panic attack began.
Answer
You need to relax, stop and smell the roses. Do not believe you “should” be a worrier. Life is too short to always be worrying and accepting it as a part of your life. By expecting the worst, you take worrying over small every day matters to the level of “catastrophic “ events.
You can change but it will be hard because you have been at it for years. Hopefully the fear of panic attacks can help you to change your outlook so it never happens again. As you have found, panic attacks are horrible and to be avoided.
Whether your son got the promotion or not, your getting a panic attack and going to the hospital over it had no impact on his interview and caused you needless emotional and physical agony.
The following are some suggestions to help to reduce the possibilities of having another panic attack.
1. Continue to meet with your physician about the use of medication. That may be necessary until you can take more control of your anxiety.
2. Eliminate “should” from your vocabulary. It infers a moral failure that you are not doing something you must do. This leads to useless guilt.
3. Replace the word “should” with a choice statement. For example, “I choose to help or not help my neighbor today”, versus, “I should help my neighbor”.
4. Smile and laugh when you feel intense and ready to worry.
5. Recognize all the worrying in the world will not change what happens.
6. Find joy in life everyday.
7. Use deep breathing, self-hypnosis, meditation, yoga, music or any other way to relax and put the “tiger” to sleep and bring out the peaceful “lamb” in you.
8. Recognize the emotional and physical cost of worrying. The trip to the hospital and the agony of a panic attack show you the havoc worry does to your body and mind.
9. Choose a worry time every day when you will worry and push worries away until that time This can be very helpful.
10. Exercising.
11. Talking with a friend.
11. Determine what you can realistically do day-by-day and do it.
12. If necessary, seek out a therapist experienced in panic attack treatment if you cannot effectively get over your anxiety and any resulting panic attacks.
Any questions or comments would be appreciated.