What is Your Symptom Orientation?

You cannot have a panic attack unless you react with fear and dread to the normal bodily sensations of adrenaline, shortness of breath, dizziness, heart pounding, rubbery legs, chest tightness, disorientation, weakness, tingling, blurred vision, hot flashes, sweats and inner trembling.

When you are in a panic state, you are locked into a negative orientation to bodily sensations.

When you feel shallow breathing, you may worry, “Will this be my last breath?”

When you feel rubbery legs, you may worry, “Will my legs give out?”

When you feel inner shakiness and disorientation, you may worry, “What If I snap and have a nervous breakdown.”

When you feel rapid heart pounding, you may worry, “What if my heart pounds out of my chest and my heart stops beating.”

You can also create panic with fighting-symptom thoughts.

You can think, “I canâ€t stand feeling this way one more second.  When will these symptoms go away?  Will I ever feel myself again? I am following all the steps and nothing is working.” These more subtle alarming thoughts can also fuel your panic attack symptoms.

Symptom Neutralization: Your Body Bit You.

The first powerful panic attack sensitized you to normal bodily sensations.  Now you walk around monitoring your body. You can notice subtle changes and react with fear to natural feelings that used to go unnoticed. You notice your heart beating when walking up a flight of stairs and become concerned about your heart. Without even realizing it, you have caused an accelerated heart rate by reacting with fear to the heart pounding.

Changing Your Negative Orientation to Your Body Occurs Through a Process of Symptom Reconditioning

It only takes one panic attack to create fear of panic attacks and body sensitization. A systematic training program is required to reverse the negative orientation acquired through experiencing one panic attack!

You Must Neutralize your Negative Bodily Reactions.

You must identify and study and eliminate your automatic negative reactions to your body. I call this process symptom purification.  The bodily sensations are not your problem.  Panic Attacks are caused by the automatic terror and dread reactions to your bodily sensations that occurs, often without you being fully aware of what you are doing.

Only After You Purify Bodily Sensations Through a Process of Symptom Reconditioning, Can You Move Toward Symptom Acceptance.   

Development of a Positive Orientation toward your Symptoms (Welcoming the Symptoms) is the last stage in takeCONTROL Training.

 The key point:  You cannot welcome panic attacks.   Welcome the purified bodily sensations of adrenaline only after they been neutralized and normalized. Then Feel the Feelings without Fear.

 The Three Factor takeCONTROL Training Stance: the Essence of the Six Step Training Method

1)      Be Symptom Ready-Are You Ready to Feel the Pure Symptoms Without Fear?

2)      Be Symptom Tough-Donâ€t Blink, Donâ€t Flinch, Donâ€t Pull Back One Inch.  Stare the Symptoms Down.

3)      Be Symptom Friendly-Welcome the Return of Symptoms for the Rest of Your Life.

Taken from the panicLINK Program, Phase One-takeCONTROL Training, Sessions 1, 2, 3 and 4.

 *This educational information should always be used in consultation with your doctor to confirm a diagnosis and review available treatments for panic disorder.

The ideas in this blog are developed from Dr. Blumbergâ€s panicLINK Program, Phase One-takeCONTROL Training, Sessions One through Four.  PanicLINK is a comprehensive, twelve session, four phase, multi-media educational program on panic disorder. The material in this Blog and the panicLINK Program are copyright protected by Out of the Blue Network, LLC. No permission is granted to reproduce this blog for commercial purposes. For more information about the panicLINK Program and the Free Trial Offer connect at http://whypanic.com/trial-offer-landing-page.

 

 

Call 1-800-366-6570 Now to See If You Qualify For a Free Trial of the panicLINK System.

Offer is Limited to First Ten Callers Who Fit the Panic Profile

Click the link below to see if you qualify.

http://whypanic.com/trial-offer-landing-page

 

• Are panic attacks running your life and boxing you into a corner?
• When you wake up in the morning, do you dread facing another day of heart pounding, lightheadedness, rubbery legs, shortness of breath, numbness and tingling?
• Despite being told by your doctor that you are in good physical health, do you continue to worry and dwell and question “What is causing me to feel this way? Did the doctor miss something?  Maybe there is an underlying serious undetected medical condition that will be discovered upon autopsy. Could these symptoms be signs of a heart attack, stroke or brain tumor? Will I faint in public or snap and have a nervous breakdown?”

Donâ€t let another second tick by without taking charge and running panic attacks out of town.

I just spent the last 8 years putting my office in a box.  The panicLINK system is the home-based version of the exact Four Phase, 12 session program, that helped over 5000 panic disorder sufferers take control of panic attacks and live panic free.

Now I Want to Help You Get Your Life Back.

What’s included in the Free Trial Offer of the panicLINK system.

• A Comprehensive, Four Phase, Program, that teaches you how to put panic attacks behind you for good and guides you to a self-discovery of the four causes of panic attacks and the missing link to living panic free.
• Created by a Doctor, who trained with the top experts in the field of Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (CBT)

In Session Methodology

Each of the Twelve Sessions has four multi-media components synchronized to simulate the in office experience in the comfort of your own home.

• 12 Session Video Commentary prepares you for the upcoming session
• 12  Session Workbook Set with 452 pages (on CD-Rom) of hands-on patient-doctor interactions, graphs, charts, rich graphic support, exercises and behavioral assignments
• 12 Session Audio Program on 15 CDs brings each session to life with live personalized instructions
• 12 Session Guidebook (on CD-Rom) with the exact session by session handouts use by Dr. Blumberg in his private session wrap-up.

Watch, read, and hear exactly what I said to over 5000 patients in their private one-on-one session with me, session by session. Receive my personalized audio instructions to you.  Then review the exact handouts I give to my patients in their personal session wrap-up with me in the comfort on your own home.

Limited to First Ten Callers

I will put my office in a box and send it to your home.   You can test drive the entire program in the comfort of your home for 30 days FREE.   Thatâ€s Right….

I Will Send My Office to Your Home for a 30 Day Free Trial.

Stop Searching for the Answer in the Wrong Places, wasting time, money and needless suffering.

Regain peace of mind and free yourself from being a prisoner to panic attacks today.

Call 1-800-366-6570 Now.

Fear of Normal Bodily Sensations

Do you live in fear of a sudden surge of heart pounding, shortness of breath, dizziness, lightheadedness, weakness, rubbery legs, heavy head, inner trembling, nausea, lump in the throat, chest heaviness, numbness and tingling in your hands and feet, head pressure, cotton mouth, spacey, and disorientation?

Catastrophic Thinking and Doctor Doubt

Even though your family doctor has reassured you that you are in good physical health, do you continue to worry that the doctor missed something serious? When you feel the surge of physical feelings, do you continue to think heart attack, suffocate, die, lose my mind, go crazy, nervous breakdown, freak out, lose control, brain tumor, stroke, faint, collapse, fall down, and choke to death,

Situational Fear or Avoidance Patterns

Is anticipatory anxiety and “What if” thinking taking over your life?  Are you starting to arrange your life to avoid feeling the panic attack sensations?  Are you planning in advance how you can leave a situation if the dreaded panic attack symptoms strike unexpectedly? Do you worry about being trapped in a crowded mall, a long line, in heavy traffic on the highway, or in a business meeting? Is the fear of panic taking over your life? Donâ€t let panic drive you into a corner! Either you takeCONTROL of panic or panic takes control of you. Draw a line in the sand. Donâ€t blink, donâ€t shrink, donâ€t pull back one inch.  Stare your panic attack symptoms down and watch them turn into a fleeting flash of adrenaline.

*The Three Factor takeCONTROL Training Stance

Stop running scared! Adopt the Three Factor takeCONTROL Training Stance

1)      Be Symptom Ready.

Are you ready to feel all the normal bodily sensations of adrenaline without fear?

2)      Be Symptom Tough

Become a scientific observer.  Purify your symptoms. Remove any negative associations, threat or fears you have attached to the pure bodily sensations of adrenaline.

3)      Be Symptom Friendly

Embrace the burst of adrenaline as a natural part of living.  Associate the pure bodily sensations with normal arousal circumstances like vigorous exercise.

Look at Each Day as a Practice Opportunity to Apply the Three Factor takeCONTROL Training Stance.

1)      Look forward to embracing your favorite symptoms upon awakening every morning.

2)      Take your symptoms with you wherever you go.

3)      When you are out, never let a rise in symptoms scare you into leaving a “trapped situation” abruptly to get help or relief.

4)      Ride the wave of adrenaline without fear.

*This educational information should always be used in consultation with your doctor to confirm a diagnosis and review available treatments for panic disorder.

The ideas in this blog are developed from Dr. Blumbergâ€s panicLINK Program.  PanicLINK is a comprehensive, twelve session, four phase, multi-media educational program on panic disorder. The material in this Blog and the panicLINK Program are copyright protected by Out of the Blue Network, LLC. No permission is granted to reproduce this blog for commercial purposes. For more information about the panicLINK Program connect at www.whypanic.com.

The Fear of Fear
What distinguishes panic attacks from other types of fears and phobias? In a specific phobia of dogs, heights or air travel, the feared stimulus is external. In a dog phobia, if you escape or avoid the dog, your fear subsides. The exact opposite is true in panic disorder. In this condition, the fear is inside your body. The fear is internal. You suffer from a body phobia. If you try to run from your body, your symptoms will intensify.

Body Phobia
You suffer from a heart pounding phobia, a lightheadedness phobia, a shakiness phobia. The nastiest part of the “fear of fear” is you cannot escape or avoid being in your body. When you try to run from your heart pounding, what happens? Your heart pounds faster and faster. And the faster your heart pounds you more you run in fear of the heart pounding feeling.

The Vicious Cycle of Panic
When you show fear in the face of a dog, the dog does not grow bigger with larger teeth, closing in on you. When you show fear of heart pounding, the heart pounding can rapidly escalate causing more terror of heart pounding. The more you fear heart pounding, the faster your heart pounds. And the faster your heart pounds, the more you fear heart pounding. You can go through this vicious cycle of fear 50 times in 50 seconds. Each time you react with fear you set off the fight or flight response in your brain, signaling an emergency. Your brain listens to you and produces adrenaline to mobilize you for danger. If you believe you are in a life threatening situation, your brain believes you, even if you are wrong. Each time you react with fear to the heart pounding, the heart pounds faster. Each time your heart pounds faster, you react with even more fear than before. Each of the 50 one second alarm signals to the brain is more and more urgent, demanding more and more intense surges of adrenaline to flow through your body. Your body is over prepared for the Emergency that never happens. And you feel drained and exhausted when the fear finally subsides. At the end of the day, what happens? Nothing!

How to Extinguish the Mother of all Fears
You must shut down your catastrophic slide show to brain. You must shut down the false emergency messaging system….heart attack, stroke, brain tumor, lose control, faint, die, nervous breakdown. The only way to conquer your fear of bodily sensations is stop running. Hold ground. Feel the feeling without fear and watch the symptoms turn into a fleeting flash of adrenaline. Why? Heart pounding drinks adrenaline for breakfast. Stop feeding your symptoms with fear, and watch them leave as quickly as they come.

*This educational information should always be used in consultation with your doctor to confirm a diagnosis and review available treatments for panic disorder.
The ideas in this blog are developed from Dr. Blumbergâ€s panicLINK Program. PanicLINK is a comprehensive, twelve session, four phase, multi-media educational program on panic disorder. The material in this Blog and the panicLINK Program are copyright protected by Out of the Blue Network, LLC. No permission is granted to reproduce this blog for commercial purposes. For more information about the panicLINK Program connect at www.whypanic.com.

“I used medication to control my panic attacks for two years.  Now, I am planning a pregnancy and I want to be medication free during my pregnancy. I hope those awful panic attacks donâ€t come back into my life during my pregnancy.  What can I do to prevent a relapse? What If the panic attacks return with a vengeance when I go off my medication during my pregnancy?”

 

Medication-Free Methods of Eliminating Panic Attacks during Pregnancy

*Sally, a 22 year old married nurse, had relied on anti-anxiety medication to control her panic attacks for the past two years. Now, Sally was starting to talk with her husband about planning for a family.  She thought, “I donâ€t want to be on medication during my pregnancy.  What if I have a big setback when I go off my medication?  What if I canâ€t control my panic attacks during the pregnancy?”

Preparation for a Panic-Free Pregnancy without Medication

The Preparation Phase

As soon as Sally thought of a pregnancy without medication, a wave of lightheadedness, and head pressure swept over her.  Just the idea of suffering again with panic attacks was enough to trigger panic attack symptoms. She forgot how much she had relied on anti-anxiety medication to control her symptoms.  When you use medication to avoid an encounter with your panic attack symptoms, the underlying dread of another panic attack is always lingering in the background. If you dread panic attack symptoms, you trigger panic attack symptoms. Sally began to realize she had never learned how to control her panic attacks without her medication. Her fear of panic attacks was just as strong as they had ever been. She felt so vulnerable and weak, a victim to her panic attacks.

What Is Your Panic Profile?

When I asked Sally, “What are the panic attack symptoms you dread most?”

Sally replied, “Dizziness, heart pounding and chest pressure.”

Then, I asked her “What is your greatest fear about what would happen if the dizziness and heart pounding spiraled into a full-blown panic attack?”

Sally responded, “Die, have a heart attack and collapse.”

I asked Sally, “What is the worst that has ever happened from a panic attack.

Sally said, “Nothing!”

Doctor Blumbergâ€s Instructions to Sally

The Three Factor takeCONTROL Training Stance

First, develop the Three Factor takeCONTROL Training Stance so you are ready to take control of your panic attack symptoms without relying on medication.

Factor One: Be Symptom Ready:  Are you ready to feel the panic attack symptoms without fear?

Factor Two: Be Symptom Tough: Donâ€t blink or shrink when your symptoms come for a visit.

Factor Three: Be Symptom Friendly: Welcome your symptoms as natural normal feelings of adrenaline.

Then consult your family doctor. Under the supervision of your doctor, develop a plan. The plan will allow you gradually to increase your skill in applying the cognitive behavioral techniques I taught you to stop panic attacks, while decreasing your reliance on medication to control panic.

*This educational information should always be used in consultation with your doctor to confirm a diagnosis and review available treatments for panic disorder. References to real persons, places and events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be in any way libelous, defamatory or in any way factual.

The ideas in this blog are developed from Dr. Blumbergâ€s panicLINK Program.  PanicLINK is a comprehensive, twelve session, four phase, multi-media educational program on panic disorder. The material in this Blog and the panicLINK Program are copyright protected by Out of the Blue Network, LLC. No permission is granted to reproduce this blog for commercial purposes. For more information about the panicLINK Program connect at www.whypanic.com.

 

The Call from the Airport

*Yesterday, I received a frantic call from one of my patients.  Dorothy was at the airport, waiting to board a flight to attend her sisterâ€s wedding.  We had just started panicLINK training.  I had created a special audio program to help prepare her to take control of panic attacks on her flight to California.

She said in a desperate tone, “I lost my takeCONTROL training CD! What should I do?  I am thinking of canceling the flight.

The Doctorâ€s Exact takeCONTROL Training Phone Instructions

Doctor B: What is your greatest fear of what will happen on the flight to CA?

Dorothy: What if I lose control and go berserk…running up and down the aisles, screaming hysterically?

Doctor B: How many times have you gone berserk from a panic attack?

Dorothy: Never

Doctor B: What is the likelihood that you will go berserk this time? O%

The imagined fear of what will happen is far greater that what actually occurs in the triggering situation.

Dorothy, what is your most dreaded physical symptom?

Dorothy: Inner shakes.

Doctor B: Dorothy, you must ready yourself to feel the inner shakes on the plane without fear, knowing that no matter how intensely you shake, nothing worse will ever happen.  Be prepared to ride the shakiness and let the shakes get as strong as it wants and stay as long as it wants. This approach is the surest way to take control of panic attacks on the flight.

Should I Cancel My Travel Plans?

Never let panic attacks cause you to cancel your trip! Canceling the flight is canceling your life. If you cancel your flight in the heat of a full-blown panic attack and feel relief as you return home, what have you done? You reinforced the idea that you would have gone berserk, if you had taken the flight. You never gave yourself the opportunity to prove to yourself that the inner shakiness is a natural normal sensation of adrenaline. You validated a false idea that if you are trapped in the sky, the shakiness could reach such a high intensity that you would go berserk.  You lost the opportunity to prove to yourself that you can take control of panic attacks, no matter where you are.

Avoidance Behavior Breeds More Fear and Avoidance

As a result of your avoidance of air travel, you might start to rely on escape and avoidance strategies to control panic attacks in other trapped situations. Your anticipatory anxiety could spread to other trapped situations.   You might think “What if I have a panic attack while trapped on the highway, on a bus, in a crowded mall, at a concert…?” You begin to fear panic attacks here, there and everywhere. It could take months to undo the negative impact of one split second decision. What are the consequences of one cancelled flight? You let a panic attack control your life.  You chose escape and avoidance as your method of panic control. Now, the fear of another attack could lead you to cancel a concert, a date, a dinner engagement.

The Choice Point

The next time you feel that intense surge of adrenaline rushing over you, what will you do?

• Run to a safe place
• Or Stand strong and feel the feelings without fear

*This educational information should always be used in consultation with your doctor to confirm a diagnosis and review available treatments for panic disorder. References to real persons, places and events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be in any way libelous, defamatory or in any way factual.

The ideas in this blog are developed from Dr. Blumbergâ€s panicLINK Program.  PanicLINK is a comprehensive, twelve session, four phase, multi-media educational program on panic disorder. The material in this Blog and the panicLINK Program are copyright protected by Out of the Blue Network, LLC. No permission is granted to reproduce this blog for commercial purposes. For more information about the panicLINK Program connect at www.whypanic.com.

Home Alone Panic Attacks

*Ever since the birth of her second child, Susan, a 34 year old married accountant, has been experiencing severe panic attacks “Out of the Blue.” Her first panic attack hit suddenly when she was home alone with her two children while her husband was away on a business trip.  Susan still remembers the sudden surge of weakness and lightheaded that swept over here late that night. She felt so weak and lightheaded that she became convinced she would collapse and be unable to take care of her children.  She called her mother at 2:00AM to come over and stay with her, just in case she needed immediate help.

Phobic Companion If I Need Help

From that time on, Susan has avoided staying home alone overnight with her two children.  When her husband announces plans for business travel, a surge of adrenaline flashes through her body.  Immediately, she starts to plan to make arrangements for a friend or family member to stay over.  If that is not possible, she actually moves out of her home into the home of a Phobic Companion, friend or family member while her husband is out of town. Avoidance of being home alone with her children is the only way Susan has been able to find peace of mind and comfort that help is available when panic strikes at night. Susan is so sick and tired of worrying about unexpected panic attacks and arranging her life to avoid being alone.  She says “I canâ€t stand one more minute of living in fear.”

Home Alone Thoughts Trigger Panic Attack Symptoms

The following is a sample of Susanâ€s thoughts when she thinks of staying home alone with her children overnight;

• What if I feel so dizzy and lightheaded that I faint? Who will be there to take care of my children?
• What if my husband has an unexpected business trip and I cannot find anyone to stay with me overnight?
• What can I do to stop these dreadful attacks at night? I try to stay busy and distract myself, but the fear of the panic attacks always pops into my mind?

The Cause of Home Alone Panic Attacks; Guilt by Association

That first panic attack “Out of the Blue” can be so terrifying, it can stick in your mind.  If you leave or escape the situation where you encounter panic, in the height of terror, and find relief when you reach a place of perceived safety, the escaped situation can become connected to panic attacks. The place where you had your first panic attack, where ever it is, can become emotionally associated with panic attacks.  In essence, for Susan, the Situation, Home Alone, has become a secondary panic attack trigger. Just the thought of staying home alone overnight with her two children triggers anticipatory anxiety, the fear of panic and panic attack symptoms.

How To Eliminate Situational Home Alone Panic?

Four Essential Elements Necessary to Eliminate Situational Panic

• First, Susan must prove to herself that her False Catastrophic Thought “Faint when I am home alone with my children” will never come true.
• Then, Susan must re-enter and remain in the feared home alone situation while continuing to challenge her dreaded fear of fainting and not being able to take care of her children.
• The panic –anxiety must subside while Susan stays in the triggering situation.
• The reduction in the panic anxiety while staying home alone with her children must occur because Susan is convinced her anxiety attack symptoms will not cause fainting.

The above are essential elements in eliminating panic attacks in triggering situations.

Situational Panic vs. Core Panic

Situational panic attacks like being home alone with your children are secondary triggers.  Even when you conquer panic attacks in your situational triggers, you can still be hit with a surprise attack.  Identifying and understanding the emotional causes of panic disorder is essential to eliminating surprise attacks and staying panic-free for life.

*This educational information should always be used in consultation with your doctor to confirm a diagnosis and review available treatments for panic disorder. References to real persons, places and events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be in any way libelous, defamatory or in any way factual.

The ideas in this blog are developed from Dr. Blumbergâ€s panicLINK Program.  PanicLINK is a comprehensive, twelve session, four phase, multi-media educational program on panic disorder. The material in this Blog and the panicLINK Program are copyright protected by Out of the Blue Network, LLC. No permission is granted to reproduce this blog for commercial purposes. For more information about the panicLINK Program connect at www.whypanic.com.

How Many Medical Doctors Do I Have to See?

*Karen, a 33 year old married school teacher and mother of 3 young children, had been feeling “constant” lightheadedness, weakness and nausea for several weeks on end? When her family Doctor could not find a medical cause for her complaints, he referred her to an Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Specialist for a further medical investigation. Karen was sick of feeling sick and just wanted a concrete answer for the “awful feelings” that would not leave her body.  After an extensive work up with her ENT specialist, the Doctor told her the tests were within normal limits. She then returned to her Family Doctor feeling more confused and discouraged than ever.  All she wanted was an explanation for the unbearable nausea she suffered with every day.

What is the Cause of Medically Unexplained Symptoms?

Her Family Doctor was eager to get to the bottom of her complaints and immediately referred her to a Gastroenterologist (GI). Karen was beginning to feel like a ping pong ball. The GI Doctor conducted his own evaluation.  Karen waited apprehensively for the results for two weeks, convinced the Doctor would discover some dreaded disease progressing throughout her body. When the Doctor called and left a message that the tests all were within normal limits, Karen got fed up! She immediately scheduled a visit with her Family Doctor, who continued on a search for medical causes. Next, he immediately arranged for a Neurology consult.  Karen was getting very frustrated and discouraged. She began to take matters into her own hands.  She started researching causing for Medically Unexplained Symptoms.

Panic Attack Symptoms with No Beginning and No End!

She discovered her symptoms were some of the same symptoms commonly reported in panic attacks.  But these were not panic attacks with a beginning and an end.  The nausea, lightheaded and drained feelings were there when she woke up in the morning and she took these same symptoms to bed with her at night.  “Could constant symptoms be part of panic disorder?” she wondered.

Dr. Blumbergâ€s Commentary

My panic disorder patients often complain of “a constant symptom” or symptom constellation. When conducting a cognitive-behavioral analysis, we observe a specific symptom-thought pattern.  You feel nausea and you think “Why do I feel nausea all the time?” without realizing that the dwelling distressing thought “What is causing my nausea?” is actually activating the flight or flight response and producing adrenaline which feeds the nausea feeling.  You can walk around wondering why you feel such awful sick feelings without even recognizing how you are feedings the feelings with subtle fearful thoughts.  Dwelling thoughts are not as easy to detect as the more classic False Catastrophic Thoughts of Die, Heart Attack, Faint and Lose My Mind typical of intense panic attacks.  While these dwelling thoughts are more embedded they can produce more prolonged periods of suffering with panic attack symptoms.

The Benefits of Early Diagnosis of Panic Disorder in Medical Settings

Naturally, we never want to miss a medical diagnosis for Medically Unexplained Symptoms. Therefore, a thorough and extensive medical investigation must be undertaken.  There are three potential diagnostic possibilities for Medically Unexplained Symptoms; (1) a medical diagnosis (2) a psychological diagnosis, like panic disorder and (3) both a medical diagnosis and a psychological diagnosis.

Improve Recognition Rates of Panic Disorder

Panic disorder can be a progressive condition, leading to more intense somatic distress over time and sometimes disabling symptoms.  The introduction of brief effective diagnostic procedures for panic disorder and patient education early in the diagnostic process can enhance early recognition of panic disorder and improve their quality of care. Given the well documented low detection rates of panic disorder in emergency medicine, primary care and cardiology practice, there is a ripe opportunity to improve recognition and the overall quality of care of panic disorder patients.

*This educational information should always be used in consultation with your doctor to confirm a diagnosis and review available treatments for panic disorder. References to real persons, places and events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be in any way libelous, defamatory or in any way factual.

The ideas in this blog are developed from Dr. Blumbergâ€s panicLINK Program.  PanicLINK is a comprehensive, twelve session, four phase, multi-media educational program on panic disorder. The material in this Blog and the panicLINK Program are copyright protected by Out of the Blue Network, LLC. No permission is granted to reproduce this blog for commercial purposes. For more information about the panicLINK Program connect at www.whypanic.com.

This educational information should be used in consultation with your doctor to confirm a diagnosis and to review available treatments for panic disorder.

THE MIND-BODY CHECKLIST FOR PANIC ONLY

Do You Fit The Panic Profile?

1. Do you live in fear of panic symptoms?
   Do you wake up in the morning wondering “Will my heart pound today?”
2. Worry about panic symptoms can trigger symptoms
   Sometimes can you worry so much about getting heart pounding that you trigger it?
3. Trapped situations where you canâ€t get out trigger symptoms
   Do you worry about getting sick when you are far away from home?
4. Distraction, getting busy, getting your mind on something else leads to a lowering of symptoms
   When you distract yourself, does your heart pounding lessens?
5. When you feel symptoms, does worry about the symptoms make them stronger?
   When you get afraid that your heart pounding will damage your heart, does your heart pound faster?

DR. BLUMBERGâ€S COMMENTARY ON THE MIND-BODY CHECKLIST
One of the cardinal features of panic disorder is the phobia of normal bodily sensations. Panic sufferers have a “heart pounding phobia, a dizziness phobia, a there/not there disorientation phobia.” Panic disorder is very different from a simple phobia where the individual fears a specific type of situation like heights, dogs, or air travel. In simple phobias, the catastrophic thinking is about a disaster triggered by facing the situation. For example, it is very common for the person with a dog phobia to think, “What if the dog attacks me?”  The fear of being attacked by a dog does not make the dog more massive, more aggressive, or have sharper teeth.

Panic Disorder-A Phobia of Normal Bodily Sensations

In panic disorder, when you react with fearful thinking about what is happening in your body, like “my heart is pounding so fast I think I am having a heart attack,” this fearful (catastrophic) thinking actually causes the heart pounding to intensify. With panic disorder, the fearful focus is completely centered inwardly on how you feel in your body. Your fearful attention on your body actually can cause the heart to pound faster. This special feature of panic disorder – “The Fear of Fear” (Claire Weekes “Hope and Help for Your Nerves”) – leads many patients to start using distraction (listening to the radio, calling a friend or family member) as a temporary relief from panic attacks even before they learn the TakeControl Training Method.

Distraction Feeds The Body Phobia

The problem is that distraction is an incorrect method of taking control of panic. You are feeding your phobia by trying to run from your body.  Just as running from a dog is not the treatment for a dog phobia, running from your body is not the treatment for panic disorder. However, the point of the Mind-Body Checklist is to demonstrate the relationship between fearful thinking and your bodily sensations.  Once you see this relationship you come one step closer to confirming a diagnosis of panic disorder.

The ideas in this Blog are developed from Dr. Blumberg’s panicLINK Program.  PanicLINK is a twelve session, four phase, multi-media educational, comprehensive program on panic disorder. The material in this Blog and the panicLINK Program are copyright protected by Out of the Blue Network, LLC.  No permission is granted to reproduce this Blog for commercial purposes. For more information about panicLINK connect at www.whypanic.com.

*Panic Disorder: The Fear of Normal Bodily Sensations

For no apparent reason, “Out of the Blue”, an intense wave of physical sensations surge through your body. Heart pounding, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, heat waves, rubbery legs, a lump in your throat and numbness and tingling in your head and face overtake you.  Naturally, you think the worst is happening!  Terrifying thoughts of heart attack, stroke, suffocate, collapse, choke to death, croak and crack up, race through your mind.  Before you know it, your body is vibrating with terror and fear and the physical symptoms are so intense you find yourself in your local Emergency Room. Even when the ER Doctor reassures you that you are fine, you life has been changed forever.  You live in fear and dread of those bodily sensations of heart pounding and shortness of breath.  Anytime you feel a twinge in your body, you worry that another panic attack is imminent.  Those bodily sensations of heart pounding and shallow breathing that used to be your friend and went unnoticed when you engaged in physical exercise, now have become your enemy. Now, you live in fear of heart racing, shortness of breath and all of those bodily changes that you now associate with impending doom.  After your first panic attack, you develop a body phobia and live in fear of normal bodily sensations.

Distraction-Running Scared From Normal Bodily Sensations

Your first instinct, at the sign of any symptoms of a panic attack, is to do anything to stop the panic from escalating into a full-blown panic attack. You quickly discover that shifting your focus of attention off of your body and the panic experience temporarily can short circuit a panic attack. You develop a broad range of maneuvers of distraction. Without realizing it, you start running from your body in fear of the feared bodily sensations.  But, how can you run from your body, when it is everywhere you go?

13 Distraction Acts Not to Take When a Panic Attack Strikes

• Listen to music
• Watch TV
• Read a Book
• Call someone on your cell phone
• Go exercise
• Practice relaxation
• Picture a relaxation scene
• Drink alcohol and use drugs
• Eat food
• Splash water on your face
• Drink water
• Meditate
• Run out of a situation to a place of “perceived safety”

Why Does Distraction Strengthen Your Fear of Panic Attacks?

Distraction Can Cause Even More Intense Panic Attacks In The Long Run

Shifting your attention away from the feared bodily sensation of heart pounding may provide a temporary reduction in heart pounding symptoms.  Distraction is a form of avoiding or escaping the feared heart pounding. If a dog phobic runs from a dog, the fear of dogs heightens. If a panic attack victim runs from heart pounding, the fear of heart pounding intensifies even further. You begin to depend on distraction as your method of panic attack relief.  What will you do the next time you feel the dreaded heart pounding? What if you forget your cell phone or water bottle or you cannot escape the situation?   The heart pounding will surge with greater strength than ever before!

What Should You Do the Next Time You Feel Adrenaline Surging Through Your Body?

• Continue to Engage in What You Are Doing.
• Donâ€t Blink. Donâ€t Shrink. Donâ€t Pull Back One Inch.
• Feel the Feeling Without Fear.
• Watch the Feelings Turn into Fleeting Flashes of Adrenaline.

The ideas in this blog are developed from Dr. Blumbergâ€s panicLINK Program.  PanicLINK is a comprehensive, twelve session, four phase, multi-media educational program on panic disorder. The material in this Blog and the panicLINK Program are copyright protected by Out of the Blue Network, LLC. No permission is granted to reproduce this blog for commercial purposes. For more information about the panicLINK Program, connect at www.whypanic.com.

* This educational information should always be used in consultation with your doctor to confirm a diagnosis and review available treatments for panic disorder.