230 Simply effective group cognitive behaviour therapy light-headedness, coming full circle to the one o'clock position. Because the sufferer from panic disorder keeps literally going round in circles with their symptoms, they often end up at the local A&E Department to be told usually that there is nothing wrong with their heart. Overcoming panic disorder involves breaking the circle in Figure 1 by challenging the reflex automatic catastrophic thoughts about unusual bodily sensations, four and eleven o'clock positions, and avoiding the 'safety' procedures, the eight o'clock position. 2. If you can think yourself into panic can it be that dangerous? Just read over the following of words: Breathless Suffocate Dizzy Faint Chest tight Heart attack Unreality Seizure or insane Numbness Stroke Palpitations Dying Lightheadedness Losing control Nausea Vomiting uncontrollably As you read through the above words, you may have noticed the beginning of symptoms of panic. If you can bring on such symptoms can they really be that serious? Can you bring on a stroke in the next few minutes just by thinking about it? 3. Being on 'sentry duty' for bodily sensations triggers an alarm Generally we only notice what we are looking for, e.g. when looking for a parking space we might not take in a partner's questions about what present to buy for whom but might take in the patrolling traffic warden. Focus just now on whether there are any pins and needles, numbness, warmth in your right big toe, now switch your attention to your left big toe and notice what sensations you have: warmth, numbness, pins and needles. When focusing on your left big toe you probably didn't notice what was happening to your right big toe. Leaving your camera on bodily sensations sets the scene for becoming alarmed about them. If a friend is holding a glass of wine you might say to them 'are you OK, only I noticed your hand shaking slightly there?', they might react somewhat abruptly with a denial that there is any shaking but then focus attention on their hand, hold the glass more tightly so as not to 'shake' and end up putting the glass down
230 Simply effective group cognitive behaviour therapy light-headedness, coming full circle to the one o'clock position. Because the sufferer from panic disorder keeps literally going round in circles with their symptoms, they often end up at the local A&E Department to be told usually that there is nothing wrong with their heart. Overcoming panic disorder involves breaking the circle in Figure 1 by challenging the reflex automatic catastrophic thoughts about unusual bodily sensations, four and eleven o'clock positions, and avoiding the 'safety' procedures, the eight o'clock position. 2. If you can think yourself into panic can it be that dangerous? Just read over the following of words: Breathless Suffocate Dizzy Faint Chest tight Heart attack Unreality Seizure or insane Numbness Stroke Palpitations Dying Lightheadedness Losing control Nausea Vomiting uncontrollably As you read through the above words, you may have noticed the beginning of symptoms of panic. If you can bring on such symptoms can they really be that serious? Can you bring on a stroke in the next few minutes just by thinking about it? 3. Being on 'sentry duty' for bodily sensations triggers an alarm Generally we only notice what we are looking for, e.g. when looking for a parking space we might not take in a partner's questions about what present to buy for whom but might take in the patrolling traffic warden. Focus just now on whether there are any pins and needles, numbness, warmth in your right big toe, now switch your attention to your left big toe and notice what sensations you have: warmth, numbness, pins and needles. When focusing on your left big toe you probably didn't notice what was happening to your right big toe. Leaving your camera on bodily sensations sets the scene for becoming alarmed about them. If a friend is holding a glass of wine you might say to them 'are you OK, only I noticed your hand shaking slightly there?', they might react somewhat abruptly with a denial that there is any shaking but then focus attention on their hand, hold the glass more tightly so as not to 'shake' and end up putting the glass down
Panic-Disorder-and-Agoraphobia-Survival-Manual-Word.docx