Stress Center Peer Support

Hi Razman,

I am going to give you the latest scientific theory about why we suffer from panic and anxiety. The way my therapist explained it to me was pretty simple. We have a structure in our brain called the amygdala. It is what controls our 'fight or flight" response. If it reaches a high level and stays there for too long, it can get stuck on the high level and we develop panic and/or anxiety because of the stress hormones it tells the brain to release. None of this information is ever mentioned by Lucinda or Dr. Fisher as best I remember. You can access more information about the amygdala and its role in fear and panic in an article by Doug Holt at the following website: serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1749. This site is also recommended by the Mayo Clinic, which states that 40,00,000 Americans suffer with anxiety disorders. Pretty big number!

That explains the physical aspect as well as we know it right now. Now to the question of how to reverse this "stuck point". It is not easy, because we get caught in a visicous cycle. We have negative, scary thoughts, over-react, etc and it fires up our amygdala, which causes the release of stress hormones, which fuel our negative, scary thoughts. It just goes round and round and makes us miserable. Cognitive behavioral therapy is the best tool we have now that is non-drug based and that is pretty much what the StressCenter.com program is. My therapist is into a more advanced method of cognitive behavioral therapy , where he believes you have to face the anxiety head on and let it run its course without any interventions like deep breathing techniques and just let the anxiety resolve on its own. That teaches the amygdala there is no danger. He does say that using meditation, deep breathing, muscle relaxation on a regular basis twice a day if fine, just don't use it as a crutch to run from the anxiety. The more you face your anxiety, or "float with it" as Lucinda calls it, the more it lessens. I fought my anxiety for a long time and did not accept it and so I stayed stuck.

Since you have done the program, you know what you are experiencing before a doctor visit is anticipatory anxiety. To get you through the first visit, i would break my therapist's rule and use a crutch like deep breathing and the tapes I mentioned to you. You should have a check-up to rule out anything like thyroid, mitral valve prolapse, hypoglycemia--several conditions give you anxiety. My therapist highly recommended that I do that before we went too far into therapy. His thinking was, "Why shell out a lot of money to a therapist if you have something physical?'

So now you know what your negative behaviors have caused physically--your amygdala is stuck in the "on" position. I have to tell you from experience that you get out of the program what you put into it. If you race through it, you won't get much benefit. You have to do the homework , change your ways of thinking and reacting, the relaxation tapes , exercise, cut out sugar and caffeine and make those behaviors a habit, or you will relapse. You have a genetic pre-dispostion to this disorder and have to keep on top of it. One of my friends on this forum, Tina Martin, has a good quote in one of her posts, "There is no free lunch".

Hope this has given you a scientific explanation of the "why" we get stuck in this negative cycle. Knowing about the amygdala didn't necessarily help me do any better, but it did give me a better understanding of what is going on.
Let us know how you do on that doctor visit.

take care, samcat

Razman, do you realize how lucky we are to have samcat with us? Brilliant, caring, knowledgeable. Together we can conquer anything. And if the hair is on fire we just hose it down.

Ha Ha Tina, that is funny about hosing down the hair! We have to laugh at this garbage sometimes. Maybe you should put that on the humor site. You still have me laughing.

Actually Razman, if worst comes to worst and you just do get really anxious in the doctor's office, just go up to the desk and tell them that something has come up and you have to reschedule. Sometimes, if you give yourself an out, then you are more willing to stay in the situation. You will probably feel nervous out in the waiting room, but find you can handle it by using your coping skills. Usually once the doctor gets in the room, I am busy talking with him/her and I don't feel anxious anymore. Your thoughts go off your anxiety and onto something else. That is one problem--we think about the anxiety too much and get stuck on it. Over thinking and fearing it keep it alive and we want it dead! So we do the paradoxical thing, which works--just accept that it is there, tell ourselves it is no big deal, it will pass and get into the present moment. That robs it of its momentum.

Razman
I think we all identify with ,you beeing afraid of doctors ,however i tell you what.
when i started with these feelings i lost count of how many doctor visits and hospitals i went to .
And i tell you what, beleive it or not it gave me piece off mind to know that what i was dealing with was not a medical issue but Phsicological,
And yes everytime i was sent to a test i was a nervouse wreck and is all natural to feel this way specialy when you don't know what the heck is wrong with you.
The truth is it was not untill i did all possible exams and even admited myself into a hospital and got checked from head to toe i didn;t have piece of mind.
Now i can concentrate on working in my program and know that soon ,will be all good.

thanks again samcat....based on your posts and knowledge, it sounds like you know a lot about this disorder...and coping skills to deal with it. can i assume that you went through this program? if so, how long ago, and how are you doing now? would love to hear about your situation. thanks, Raz

I am in this category too. I am terrified of Doctors incase they tell me I have a terminal illness. I am so embarrassed but I am 54 years old and have made a fool of myself by crying like a baby in a hospital hwen I was admitted suffering my first panic attack. I would give anything to be rid of this fear. I think there are many of us in this situation.

I am in a similar boat! I am working up the courage to get to the doctor to have a check up and maybe some blood work so that I can convince myself I'm not physically ill and that anxiety is causing all my issues. I'm hoping once I do that I can "push" a bit more in my recovery. It's that getting to the doctor thing that is hard!! Just wanted to share that I can relate to that fear! =)

I am in the same boat. Just made the appt for my annual physical, & I am so stressed out. I do this every year, & every year, I'm fine. Yet, I can't seem to get a grip. I don't know what to do. I've been like this for years.

At least you made the apt.!!! That is really a great accomplishment, so be proud of that!!! Since I'm in the same boat, I really don't have any advise for you other than practice the deep breathing and maybe reward yourself with something after you go!? My health anxiety didn't really get bad until after I had kids ... I think for me it is a fear of not being there for them or something. When is your apt.? Maybe you can come back and post how it all went and give some of us others courage to get to the dr. already!! =)

In laymens terms this is called 'White coat syndrome' my whole family had it and I have it too, but it depends on what doctor I get all scared to death over by seeing...my family physician is the one I feel most scared about??? My allergist - no problem, my psychologist - not an issue...even my dentist I don't get as excited as I do my family physican, I just feel completely scared to death...and my BP usually shows it...what I have done is bring a book or plug yourself into a set of earphones and listen to music while you are in the waiting room, all the way into the exam room if you need to, and while you are waiting in there do some breathing techniques and it will help, believe me....it will show on the BP scale....I'll go to my allergist and my BP is 110/70 and I'll walk into my FP and it will be 135/90 you figure it out...who do I perceive as danger vs the other? You have to get your head around 'what you think' is going to happen, which most of the time isn't anything anyway, and if it is, who cares you don't have any control over it anyway...that's the part that probably fuels the fire in us, not having any control over it...yet you must just clear it from your head....pray about it, that will help more so then you think.

So good luck at the doctors
Rev. Fred