EarthQuake Panic

[Guest]

My panic attacks came back with a vengence about 6 years ago, on my 40th birthday, when we had a really big earthquake. I was in my favorite craft store when things began to shake. We all went outside and spent the next minute and a half trying to stand up while the ground before us rolled like ocean waves. After that, I was a mess. I would avoid stopping underneath bridges in case an earthquake shook and the bridge collapsed on top of me. I drove in the right lane and avoided highways in case I had to ditch.

I was able to recover a bit via counseling, but I never was able to get over my lifelong depression and need to please others. This program has helped me to go with the flow and ride through very stressful times.

Earthquakes are especially scary because they cannot be predicted. But neither can lots of things in this world that can hurt us. Worrying about earthquakes won't make them stop. Moving to a lower floor might help the swaying, but unless you want to avoid tall buildings in the future, you need to learn to deal with the worry. Tape 10 on 'what if thinking' has been very helpful to me (I'm a HUGE worrier).

Good luck.