Floating
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karenLeigh
- Posts: 112
- Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 3:35 pm
I have read alot of post recently talking about floating or just float with it. I know it's a phrase. I know Lucinda talks about it too. I just don't understand what we are really suppose to do...when the panic attacks hit us. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?
"Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world".
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Guest
Karen,
This is one of the tough things to do for me. It takes some getting use to, but when you start doing it it will help tremendously with recovery.
When in a panic, sometimes the initial response to our panic attacks are:
Mental action:
Oh no, it's happening again. I have to stop it. I can't handle it if I have a panic attack. I hate this feeling! I'm going to pass out, die or go crazy. I have to find a way out. Etc.
Physical action:
Leave the situation when we are having a panic, etc.
These are a few examples of a response to panic that = FIGHT, not FLOAT.
Floating would be more like this:
Mental action: Okay, I am feeling some anxious feelings right now, and that's okay. It's normal to feel this way for a while when doing things that cause me the anxiety. I will accept that I feel anxious and just allow it to be here. It's uncomfortable physically, but it isn't going to hurt me. I can still function even if I feel spacey, dizzy, nauseous, etc. I will just try to float through this activity and ALLOW those symptoms to be there while I do it. I can still do it and feel this way. Eventually it will get easier and the panic will subside. I just need to breath and talk positively to myself and give the feelings permission to be there instead of fighting and trying to control them and make them go away.
Physical:
Instead of tensing up and hyperfocusing and cringing or trying to leave the situation...start to breath slowly. Get up and walk around or start back to your work task, etc. Try to continue with whatever you were doing....even with the symptoms.
One good example I heard on the tapes was when some lady woke up with a panic attack, her response was to just pull the covers over her head and go ahead and have it. ROLL with it, instead of fighting or trying to control it...do this mentally by the thoughts you are think giving it permission to be there and physically by the decision to just go through the panic instead of fighting it.
I don't know if this helps explain it or not. Writing this, I see how difficult it could be to grasp or explain!
This is one of the tough things to do for me. It takes some getting use to, but when you start doing it it will help tremendously with recovery.
When in a panic, sometimes the initial response to our panic attacks are:
Mental action:
Oh no, it's happening again. I have to stop it. I can't handle it if I have a panic attack. I hate this feeling! I'm going to pass out, die or go crazy. I have to find a way out. Etc.
Physical action:
Leave the situation when we are having a panic, etc.
These are a few examples of a response to panic that = FIGHT, not FLOAT.
Floating would be more like this:
Mental action: Okay, I am feeling some anxious feelings right now, and that's okay. It's normal to feel this way for a while when doing things that cause me the anxiety. I will accept that I feel anxious and just allow it to be here. It's uncomfortable physically, but it isn't going to hurt me. I can still function even if I feel spacey, dizzy, nauseous, etc. I will just try to float through this activity and ALLOW those symptoms to be there while I do it. I can still do it and feel this way. Eventually it will get easier and the panic will subside. I just need to breath and talk positively to myself and give the feelings permission to be there instead of fighting and trying to control them and make them go away.
Physical:
Instead of tensing up and hyperfocusing and cringing or trying to leave the situation...start to breath slowly. Get up and walk around or start back to your work task, etc. Try to continue with whatever you were doing....even with the symptoms.
One good example I heard on the tapes was when some lady woke up with a panic attack, her response was to just pull the covers over her head and go ahead and have it. ROLL with it, instead of fighting or trying to control it...do this mentally by the thoughts you are think giving it permission to be there and physically by the decision to just go through the panic instead of fighting it.
I don't know if this helps explain it or not. Writing this, I see how difficult it could be to grasp or explain!