Tony, that was brilliant because I have had the same problem for years and it's recently paid me a visit again. My mother always tells me that none of my fears have ever come true. One of my major fears is explosions of many different variations. I also feel as if I will lose control at times and then invent things in my mind to identify these feelings of los control. Amazing thigs, our minds. Our minds are very stron and can play tricks sometimes. But we also use them to help us cope. Thanks for sharing and if you have any questiond about my similar fears, feel free to ask. David

I think our minds are our worst enemy at times! I feel I have won the battle over panic (which reflected in my anxiety test results) but the anxiety still gets me. Overcoming the inner voice is hard and affirmations are good. The thing that helped me get over the panic was accepting my thoughts, not trying to escape them. For instance if I started feeling sick and thought I would vomit in front of everyone I would begin by saying 'I acknowledge that I am starting to feel anxious, I can tell because I am feeling this, this and thinking this..' then I move to 'I accept I am beginning to feel anxious and am ok with this, I have felt it before and I can get through it, it will pass with time'. I then check that I am not tense anywhere in my body, if I am holding something I losen my grip and let my legs and arms flop. Then I will try a few affirmations or move my thoughts to what I will have for dinner or what chores need to be done at home etc. It takes practice but if you really persevere, I beleive it can work for you!

Hello All, I don't really have a question, per se. It's more of a comment on what I have noticed. I guess I'm also looking for some feedback as well. Here goes... I've been dealing with anxiety/panic for nearly 15 years now, off and on. This program has been a great help to me. I do, however, seem to run into little snafus here and there. Lately I have been dealing with some anxiety and its dreadful symptoms. I just wanted to make a comment on how unbelievable all of our imaginations are. If I really want to I think I can scare myself over whatever I choose. It's quite remarkable! I suppose it's whatever I choose to focus on. And my mind can come up with some truly bizarre/laughable fears. Example, you say? This morning on the way to work I was in panic mode (for some reason... I had a great day yesterday). So I'm on the bus, commuting to work and feeling vulnerable. I start imagining the weirdest things!!! Like what if everything that I'm looking at out the bus window suddenly changed to, say, England. A cold, rainy England from the past. And it scared me. Why? I dunno! I started feeling like someone had hit me in the back of the head with a shovel. Why did I have this thought? I figured it out the other day. When I was in college a friend of mine had a brother who had an aneurysm. he was actually REALLY lucky and came out of it unscathed. BUT he said it felt like someone had hit him in the back of the head with a shovel. Now I think this thought is imprinted in my own head; even though I have no clue what THAT would feel like (thank God). Anyway, the point I'm trying to get it is that we have VERY powerful minds and imaginations. Whatever we choose to focus on and tell ourselves may not come to be; but the sensations we get from thinking about it can easily scare the heck out of us. I am posting here only to tell all of you that I have had about 12,324 symptoms to date- and none of them were actually valid. They pretty much all sprung from my imagination. Sure, there were reasons behind some of the symptoms (tension from worry, etc); but none of the FATAL illnesses have come to fruition. That should tell you something- and me something. Still, I continue to do battle with these inner demons from time to time. But I always have to remind myse