Jumping Off the Roller Coaster of Panic Attacks and Anxiety

Lately, I’ve spoken to several friends and coworkers who are dealing with anxiety and panic attacks…to the level that they are on medication or considering it. It  made me think back to when I was in my twenties and I had panic attacks for several years, although I didn’t know what they were at the time. I experienced an unusual heartbeat–my heart would skip a beat and then pause and then there was a big beat that I really felt in my chest. Often, after that I would have palpitations or my heart would race. I was so scared and bewildered, but I was too scared to even find out what it was. I guess I thought I was having a heart attack and was going to die but didn’t want to know.

It got to the point that I was afraid to go out to the grocery store and stand in line, or sit quietly in church where I couldn’t “escape” when the feelings started. I was having such fear that I had episodes of hyperventilation and shaking all over my body. Not fun at all.

Ironically, when I became pregnant I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse and found out it is a very common but not serious condition. That helped me immediately to understand and not fear my heart irregularities. And then my cardiologist gave me the simplest tip to stop my heart racing–he told me to just hold my breath for a few seconds until my heart calms down. It works like a charm! Maybe this will help you or someone you know.

Anxiety continues to be a challenge at times, although I don’t experience panic attacks anymore. Usually, it’s a kind of nervousness that happens when I have to give a talk at a meeting, or discuss an emotional issue with a loved one. Since I prefer not to use medications if possible, I have tried many natural remedies and techniques over the years. These “vibrational medicine” remedies that I have found to be most effective are:

• Bach Rescue Remedy–one of 38 essential flower essences and formulas created by English physician, Dr. Edward Bach, in the 1930s. All 38 of the Bach Flower Remedies are officially recognized as homeopathic drugs in the Supplement to the Eighth Edition of the Homeopathic Pharmacopeia of the United States. They work by healing emotions from a vibrational level.
• Lavender aromatherapy–a form of complementary medicine that treats moods and emotions through the use of plant scents, called essential oils. Lavender is particularly helpful for calming and pain relief.
• Music therapy–using specially-designed calming music. Steven Halpern’s inner peace music is my modern favorite, and I also use several CDs with music by Bach and other classical artist’s to create specific moods and upliftment.

If you’ve tried these basic natural approaches and need additional support for relieving your anxiety and panic attacks, please consult with your health professional.

Quick Technique for Dealing with Overwhelm

The build-up of work-life stress reached a peak

On this particular day, I was feeling overwhelmed by workload and time demands of my work and my life.  My life felt out of balance and stressful. The litany of challenging things going on included:

• An impending hurricane and related anxious preparations
• A major convention was in town with traffic and security issues so our entire office was working remotely
• An office remodeling that has caused allergies and related illness, sick time and medical expenses
• Extra expenses from the last tropical storm for tree damage had stressed my budget
• Emotional challenges which resulted in ending a new dating relationship
• Committments to help a friend who is also stressed and unclear about what she wants with her website
• Parental health issues always on my mind
• Our normal office environment with an open plan has gotten progressively louder and more crowded as we add more staff.
• There is an emphasis on group fun activities on work time which take precious time away from my work schedule, but peer pressure makes me feel guilty or anti-social when I decline

I’m feeling stressed on a daily basis and it’s not improving. On a conference call with my boss and another coworker, I felt that she was unusually short and dismissive, almost rude. On the next conference call, I had the same feeling as she was short and seemed impatient with me. I hung up and felt distressed, anxious, angry, hurt, and somewhat embarrassed that I was treated that way by my boss in front of my peers…”jangly” as I describe this feeling.

A different approach is needed

“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” –Albert Einstein

I decided to try something new I’ve been studying. The Institute of HeartMath’s “Inner Ease” techniques for dealing with stress and anxiety and overwhelm. I used the Inner Ease technique for about 10 minutes to get myself calmed down and refocused from the heart.

Then I called my boss back and we had a heart-to-heart chat in which I was able to calmly and compassionately talk with her about how I felt. I had the insight to talk about the differences I perceive in our mental and communication styles, how they can complement each other and I asked how I might help make our work together go more smoothly. She was taken by surprise and seemed to genuinely be sorry that it appeared that she was frustrated, annoyed or impatient with me. She explained that she has issues at home with her two young kids and nanny, is feeling pressure to move things along more quickly from her boss, not getting the cooperation she expected from other teams, and is generally overwhelmed herself. I felt genuine care and compassion for her that I hadn’t felt in the past. I was able to recall those same feelings when I was a working mom with a small child. It seemed to totally reframe the attitude I had when I thought about our work together. It felt good.

It was a very positive experience that I honestly couldn’t have had from the state I was in and have been in for the last few months. In ten minutes, I was able to turn things around remarkably. I can’t wait to continue the practice regularly for deeper and more lasting results in all areas of my life!

 

Related articles

• Is Your Life Interfering with Your Work?
• Once in a Blue Moon – Global Coherence Meditation
• My favorite micro-vacation spot
• Solving the Work-Life Puzzle

My New Dog Dusty – Already Changed My Life

Adopting a Dog on National Dog Day

It comes as no surprise to most of my friends that I did end up adopting the wonderful 3-year-old Labradoodle I fostered over the weekend. I’ve renamed him Dusty in honor of his older “siblings” the venerable Duffy (Giant Schnauzer), Buster Brown (chocolate Lab), and Dixie Belle (black Lab-Chow mix).

Dusty the Labradoodle – curly

We had a great weekend, in spite of the severe weather in our Tampa, Florida area due to the outskirts of hurricane Irene raging up the east coast. On Sunday, in a brief window of sunshine, we trekked over to the Vinoy Park in downtown St. Petersburg and met some new dog friends at the dog park. He was on-leash the entire time, and he was a little skittish with some of the dogs, but it was fun. He seems to have a particular dislike for Golden Retrievers. I think he is still anxious and fearful from some kind of previous abuse. We walked by the downtown shops and cafes and found a yogurt shop that has frozen “yogurt” for dogs. He’s allowed inside. It was great fun!

As we sat at our table outside to eat our treats, lots of people passed by and commented on him. “Cute clip” one lady remarked at his recent grooming. He did look sharp. “What kind of a dog IS that?” asked several people unfamiliar with the Lab-Poodle mix. “May I pet your dog?” asked one sweet little girl. Regretably, I felt I should decline and explained that he was a rescue dog still in training. Her dad pulled her away and tried to explain a bit more about what that meant.

I think I have a new Sunday afternoon ritual of walking along Beach Drive and getting a frozen yogurt with Dusty.

But I realized if we are going to get out and be social, it would be helpful to have some sort of bandanna or vest for Dusty to let people know he’s not a bad dog, he’s just learning to be less fearful and to give him space.

I also gave him one of my own favorite treatments for anxiety:  Bach Rescue Remedy. That seemed to calm him down too. Isn’t it curious how I now have an anxious dog who will help me to become more of a calm, assertive pack leader, as Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer would say? I love how things work out.