Chapter 6 - Dissecting a Panic Attack

Question 1

People don’t recognize that a Panic Attack consists of four different kinds of symptoms. It is very helpful to know this, because the symptoms don’t all work the same, and the different kinds of symptoms usually require differnt kinds of reactions in order to calm yourself.

Answer 1

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Question 2

The ability to break a panic atatck into its different parts as you experience it will become an important tool in your recovery. It will give you several advantages.

These advantages are as followed:

Answer 2

1. You will better understand what you’re up against when you experience a panic attack, and will feel less confused and over-whelmed
2. You will be better prepared to respond to the different parts of an attack in ways that effectively calm you, rather than further agitate you.
3. You will come to see that what we call a “panic attack” is not an attack at all, but a REACTION. This will make it much easier for you to take on the accepting attitude that you need to calm yourself.
4. Familiarity with the parts of an attack will help you to better observe what is going on during a panic attack. When you assume the role of OBSERVER, this helps to give you a little emotional distance from the turmoil of the attack. Simply speaking, when you experience a panic attack, you’re either going to assume the role of an observer or a victim. The observer’s better.

Question 3

THE FOUR PHYSICAL KINDS OF SYMPTOMS ARE:

Answer 3

1. PHYSICAL SENSATION
2. THOGUHTS
3. EMOTIONS
4. BEHAVIORS

Question 4

PHYSICAL SENSATIONS are probably the part of the panic attack that gets most of you attention. There are many physical sensations that people experience as part of a panic attack.

Question 5

Think about your first full-blown panic attack, or another major one you recall clearly, and list the physical symptoms you experienced.

Answer 5

1. Racing heart
2. Shaking legs
3. Blurry vision/Tunnel vision
4. Deep breathing

Question 6

THOUGHTS are an important part of a panic atatck, and are almost always misunderstood by the person experiencing the attack.

Question 7

What thoughts do you typically experience during a panic atatck? Including all the thoughts, especially the ones that sound terribly extreme and unrealistic now.

Answer 7

1. I’m goind to die/pass out/faint (Due to various resons such as no water, no food, etc..)

Question 8

An EMOTION is a “gut reaction,” an overall feeling about a perticular event or situation. Emotions are feelings such as glad, sad, mad, afraid, jealous, and so on. Emotions are difficult for many people to put into words.

Question 9

What emotions do you typically experience during a panic attack?

Answer 9

1. Fear/worry

Question 10

BEHAVIOURS differ from physical sensations, thoughts, and emotions in that they are what you do, rather than what you feel or think. They may be as subtle as eye movemet, or as obvious as bolting for the door.

Question 11

What behaviors do you engage in during a panic attack?

Answer 11

1. Screaming
2. Dialing friend/relative
3. Racing towards safety (depending on the situation)
4. Grabbing and holding tightly onto objects

Question 12

Panic behaviors are all responses to the panic trick. People experience discomfort and respond as if it were danger. These behaviors make the problem worse.

Question 13

Fleeing makes the problem worse because it reinforces the mistaken idea that you just barely escaped a terribly calamity, and it suggests that your luck may be running out. Withdrawing into yourself will lead you to become more focused on your discomfort and make it seem worse.

Question 14

One BIG problem people have with their thoughts is that on the moment of a panic attack, they fail to recognize that this symptom is just that - a symptom. It’s not a sixth sense that gives you advance warning of something that’s about to happen. It’s not a warning from you guardian angel. It’s just a way of being anxious.

Answer 14

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Question 15

The problem people have is that they automatically assume the thoughts is literally true, and their body responds as if it were true.

Question 16

When you have scary thoughts of death, insanity, and loss of control during a panic atatck, these are also symptoms that need to be interpreted. They are NOT about death or insanity any more than a man bitting his nails is about hunger or cannabilism.

Question 17

These THOUGHTS mean you’re nervous. Nothing more, nothing less. You’re nervious, or afraid, anxious, scared, etc..

Question 18

It’s hard to see the extent to which your thoughts were exaggerated and untrue until after the panic attack is over. The trick is to get a different perspective on your thoughts WHILE the attack is still going on. Developing the habit of noticing your thoughts, and making an interpretation of what they mean, rather than just taking them at face value will be a big step in this direction.

Answer 18

HMMMMMM…

Question 19

Thoughts are guesses of reality

Answer 19

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Question 20

Thoughts and Emotions are connected, but they are not the same.

Question 21

Emotions do not try to describe the real world, so they can’t be shown to be either true or false. They’re simply our reactions to what we think is the real world. Since they’re internal reactions, rather than descriptions of the world, there’s no “true or false” aspect to them. There’s nothing to test, no proof to obtain. Emotions need to be accepted, rather than tested or evaluated. When we resist our feelings, we’re essentially fighting or arguign with ourselves. That makes us feel more anxious. That’s not what you want to do during a panic attack.

Answer 21

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Question 22

People often blend Thoguhts and Emotions together as one. They “feel like they’re going to fall”. This blends thoughts and emotions making it difficult for you to respond. “I am going to fall” is not a feeling. It is a thought.

What usually happens here is a person:
a. observes physical sensations: “I am dizzy and hot. My left arm is tingly.”

b. has an automatic thought (makes an interpretation) about what those sensations mean: “what if I have a heart attack right here? I could faint!”

c. has an emotional reaction to the thought of fainting; feels afraid

Answer 22

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Question 23

Blending makes it MUCH harder to soothe yourself.