A paradigm attack

Okay, as a person whose had a very debilitating history with anxiety/ panic attacks, I'm pretty good at spotting people having the silent torture. Yesterday I was spending time with my dad, and I noticed right away that he was anxious by the way he tapped his steering wheel at the red light. I asked him if he was anxious, and he said that he gets that way sometimes when he drinks three cups of coffee. I then went into the issue more; I asked for a full list of how he was feeling and he told me, just jittery, feels like he needs to be completed with different projects, spacey, buzzy, and his lips and tongue were tingling. I asked him if that scared him, and he looks at me confused and replies, "no, of course not" he then goes on and says that anyone would feel this way if they had 3 cups of coffee (I drink 6-8 cups a day now) and that he's felt like that many times throughout his life. He then inputs, "not as bad as what you've experienced", to which I replied, "That's exactly what I experienced". I could tell he was taken back.

I found it very interesting that my dad -who is the most laid back person ever- was experiencing these exact symptoms that would have previously convinced me to think I was dying, yet he was completely unafraid and even scoffed at the idea of being such.

These feeling we feel are very natural when someone is under the influence of stress, be it external, internal, or via stimulants such as coffee. Yet, we've all (here) have had that one moment where we felt totally out of control and it changed our paradigm of these completely non-life threatening symptoms into our greatest fear. One of the reasons I don't suffer panic attacks anymore, by the grace of God, is that I have changed the way I look at these symptoms. I still have a lot of the symptoms, but I'm completely at ease in them. I was unable to drink one cup of coffee a few months ago, without being thrown into a horrible 4-6 hour panic-attack, yet now, I drink a very unhealthy amount of it (6-8 cups/day of strong coffee).

This is just my mid-term study-break revelation that I wanted to share with the rest of you. What you're going through is very real and will always be the response to stress, but you can control your paradigm and what you give your energy to, and how you interpret stressful situations. It's not overnight, but you'll get there. Read some of my old posts.. Read or listen to Stephen Covey's, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and you can skip to the "circle of influence" section and see how this all ties in. The more you control what you can control, the more you can control.

[Jeff1943]

You are conquoring your anxiety because you have learnt to conquor fear by looking at things from a different perspective. Too many spend their time trying to change the things they cannot change and not finding the courage to change the things they can.

Thank you for this post, Rockster, an excellent contribution that should help many who pass this way.

[Hidden in reply to Jeff1943]

Thank you Jeff!

[Icanbeathis2016]

Great post

[Hidden in reply to Icanbeathis2016]

Thanks!

[Agora1]

rockster321, The Serenity Prayer is up on my wall where I can read it everyday as well as

having found a thick gold band that has the whole prayer written on it. The words keep me

balanced. The ring is on me everyday as a reminder that I can't change everything in life and

must learn to accept the things I can. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you

[Hidden in reply to Agora1]

Very cool Agora1. These constant reminders are great, especially in times of extreme fear. God bless you too, and thank you for all you do here.

[Agora1 in reply to Hidden]

You too rockster321. Your belief in God is enlightening as well as comforting in your responses. Thank you for your inputs.

[Mireyaozzieg]

Great post

[Elizabeth04]

Amen. Your so right

[mooner04]

Have the will to win and the good grace to accept it as another day at the office. Great post thanks. I tend to build up like a pressure cooker and in my mind alcohol becomes a way to get some relief but of course it just makes me worse. But the unwanted thoughts and feelings become so overwhelming that any.....any relief just for 10 minutes becomes paramount. 1st pint I'm slightly relieved but half way through it I start to worry that I'm travelling the same desperate path again!!!!

[Hidden in reply to mooner04]

I can relate to the unwanted thoughts building and building until it consumes your every crevice of thought. Stay strong and know that alcohol can keep you on that same path.