thanks lisa! i am amygdala bound!

nurseboy: I'm at work right now so I can't chat too long. I took neurology in university because the human brain is pretty amazing! I had planned for what I learnt in my b.a. to help others. It was when school ended that my panic was the worst. It's hard to explain what specific steps I took to get me here today but investigating the brain and how specific parts worked in relation to anxiety and panic was a huge help- for me. Initially, I wanted the panic to stop, and then my goal was to stop being triggered at random when something made me remember my panic. Answer to your question: panic for me is like my brain becomes bombarded by way too many thoughts at once that don't have any connection to each other. It's like i can't choose what to think about. That would scare me and then the panic would come because of the fear I had of my bodily symptoms: heart racing, sweats, loose bowel, feet off the ground, detached, hearing sounded 'tinny'/ sort of far away... and then from there I'd go to panic. I know it's different for everybody though. Answer to your other question: my worst fear was going insane. I thought I would lose my children or that I wouldn't be able to love them if I went crazy. I tried three different therapist's before I found one that worked for me. I tried two different medications and each of them made my panic and symptoms worse. It was a combination between orthomolecular medicine and a great therapist who taught me how to think my way out of fear. Another great book is called "The Brain Chemistry Diet" (which isn't really about food) but about everyone's specific personality types and it's connection to our expression of anxiety and panic. I also was diagnosed with ocd because my brain would get stuck in a rut and this led to fear for me. I am a counsellor now and I stumbled upon this site when I was looking for an article for one of my clients. I had planned on therapy as a profession before my panic was at it's worst- coming through it in one piece helped me to specialize in something. For the counting and saying things backwards, I used them to specifically stop my cycle of panic. I'm not saying that I did them all the time to obsession/ compulsion. Honestly though, when I found that thinking my way out of fear worked for me,

Thanks so much for your help! What kind of psnic symptoms did you get? I fear going crazy and my mind just swims and i get really irritable...like a painless headache. is THIS panic program helpful? of course, i read it, but didn't do it. how do you chant? are you on meds? tell me more about this amygdala. i thought since i have ocd i was supposed to stop the counting and name games they are compulsions for me. i have so many questions for you! are you a counselor now?

nurseboy: when I finally kicked the panic cycle, I never wanted to discuss it with anyone... I didn't want to think about what I had been through because even the mention of it or if I heard someone else talk about it, I would start remembering, and this would trigger me into anxiety, fear and panic. I realized that if I was still hiding from it, I still had it... and for me I wanted to stop being triggered no matter what. I wanted my brain to know that that simple little word 'panic' didn't mean I HAD TO panic. In no way am I implying that you are hiding. I just wanted to explain that when it was on its way out, for me, not thinking about it, kept it away. I did exactly what my panic wanted me to do... I focused on it: but in a positive way by reaching out and teaching others how to stop their individual panic cycles. That is now my career. At the beginning of my work, there were nights that my anxiety (and even panic) did come back. I always use the same technique when I get to that spot. I get my brain busy- thinking instead of fearing. If I'm thinking about my body symptoms then I make more body symptoms- I would do challenging counting... 2 by 3 by 2 by 3 or harder 3 by 4 by 3 by 4.. another good one is spelling words backwards or saying words backwards... especially names; these aren't only difficult but it also makes me laugh. If I'm at home there's a great challenging game which is fast paced and hard it's at pogo games . com and it's called word descrambler. As soon as you're holding a writing utensil in your hand, your brain automatically becomes prepped for thinking. If your thinking brain is on (cortex) your fearing brain is off (amygdala). It is neurologically impossible for these two sites to be on at the same time. When I learnt this little fact, I used it. It takes adrenaline about 20 minutes to wear off so whenever I got to an anxiety/ panic point I knew I would need about 20 minutes to be in the clear. I don't go to panic anymore. The cue for me to start chillin', is if my mind won't slow down. It's all about fear. I don't fear the fact that my brain works fast- it always has, and I know that's just me. But, because I had to accept this part of myself, I no longer fear the tinyest symptom of anxiety which used to carry me into panic. Your ide

i don't use anything to control my panic. i have klonopin which i rarely take. i want to learn yoga or tai chi or something. i am a health care provider and have read about every method to help anxiety but i DO NOTHING. Mostly because it comes and goes and when it goes i don't want to be reminded of it..just want to pretend it never happened. any suggestions?

nurseboy: at my worst I did hear a voice- once. It scared the **** outta me. Remember that to be insane you wouldn't be questioning your thoughts. You are thinking rationally and still reaching out to others. You haven't closed in with only yourself. What techniques have you learnt to deal with the panic? Lisa

my anxiety gets so bad at times. i fear losing my mind and hearing voices that i find myself waiting for them to happen. they never come. sometimes i wish i would hear them and my fears would come true!