"What if" thinking

[bklynbee]

I am going to be going away this weekend. I currently barely leave my house at all so this going away for the weekend is really stressing me out. I will be staying at a friends house and the what if thinking is already starting. What if I get an attack in the car , what if i get an attack at her house and cant calm down. What if im going to have to go to the hospital and on and on and on. When I start thinking like this I try to think of the present moment that I am feeling ok and if something happens there I will deal with it when the time comes. I am already starting to say I am not going but I really dont want to let my friend down. I know in the sessions they say you need to confront the things that trigger the panic attacks and get through them. It is just such a horrible feeling when they happen especially when you are away from your safe place.

[Loveslife]

Well, I would take the opposite approach and think of the worst case scenario.
What if you do get a panic attack at your friend's house?
What would happen? What is the worst case scenario in a panic attack when you are away from home?

[bklynbee]

worst case I will have a major attack not be able to calm down and have to go to the hospital. I am trying to tell myself that this can happen just as well at home but it doesnt seem to be working.

[Loveslife]

Well, then that IS the worst case scenario. Would you rather have a panic attack with someone you care about and maybe even share a laugh or two, or have one alone and miserable and all by yourself.

[Loveslife]

PS
"What if you have a really super fun time?"

[bklynbee]

This is very true. I am going to try my hardest to go there. Thank you for the advice.

[Loveslife]

I hope you go, and I hope you have a lovely weekend.
Good Luck.

[bklynbee]

Anxiety won once again....already have the nervousness and cant sleep because im thinking about going tomorrow....really doubt I will be going..I am so tired of this already.

[Loveslife]

Can you employ "mindfulness" now? Your brain is off it's "track", so I would visualize a needle on a record player. Lift the needle and put it on a new track in your brain. This time, think of your friend, and laughter, and anything else that will comfort you.

Mindfulness is sort of an art. The idea is to focus on the smallest and tiniest images and really notice them. What do your eyelashes feel like when they flutter against your skin? Is your breath shallow or deep. How many colors are in one strand of your hair? Really, really focus.

This helps to refocus your brain. Try it.

[bklynbee]

This morning I woke up ok at first but after about an hour I thought I would come out of my skin. For the first time I actually thought to myself what can I do to kill myself and that really scared me. After that thought I just hysterically cried and now I am just totally exhausted. I will not be going to my friends house and I am having a ton of anxiety because my fiance is going to still go which means I will be here by myself the whole weekend. I am absolutely petrified and every time I think about it I get sick to my stomach. I do not know how I will make it through these next 2 days. I begged my fiance not to go but he is tired of putting his life on hold because of me.