As a child I was so afraid of spiders that I had to leave or was unable to enter a room where I saw one. I grew out my phobia of spiders as I grew up, but I was bitten by a Brown Recluse spider several years ago. It made me really sick for a few hours, and paralysis set in my arm and hand, after a few days, but after a round of antibiotics, I was OK...until I saw another one in my bathroom! I freaked out so badly that I began screaming, and was so paralyzed by fear that I couldn't move. Fortunately for me, my roomy had no such phobia, and after coaxing me out of the bathroom, took care of the spider.
I no longer fear spiders and don't even bother killing it if I see one in my house. Then, the other night, I felt a tingling sensation on the side of my leg, as if an insect was crawling on me. I looked, but nothing was there. The tingling stopped, then started again a few seconds later, and this time, the old familiar fear that it was a spider crawling on me rose up inside me, and a few seconds later, I panicked and began fighting off invisible spiders!
I had a phobia of spiders as a kid, and I've also had many panic attacks as an adult. Given the two scenarios above, which was a reaction to fear, and which was a panic attack reaction?
The answer is C. All of the above!
In the Brown Recluse episode, I had a valid reason to be afraid of the spider in the bathroom, and that fear triggered a panic attack. In the latter episode, the tingling was the onset of an untriggered panic attack exacerbated by an old phobia. The fear fed the panic, the panic fed the fear, and next thing I knew, I was waging war on invisible spiders! OK, so I didn't freak out that badly, but I could have if I didn't know how to prevent panic attacks.
Anxiety is rooted in fear; that's why panic attacks often start with a sudden sense of fear or unease. Then you may develop one or more other symptoms, such as blurred vision or lightheadedness. Panic kicks in when fear begins to control you, and they lead you on their merry dance down the Nightmare Path.
Do you think I'm too blithe about panic attacks to ever have had one? You're wrong. I've had such severe, untriggered panic attacks that I rolled my car, lost a husband, and had so many mind-blanking, sobbing-in-front-of-the-computer-monitor episodes that I could no longer work in a public setting.
Since I've been working from my home, though, I've learned a few things about how fear and panic attacks affect me, and with the help of learning correct breathing techniques, relaxation exercises and a few other helpful things, I'm now able to recognize the first symptoms of untriggered panic attacks and use the techniques to avoid having an attack. In fact, I found the answer to breaking the fear/panic cycle online!
Now, I'm able to work amongst other people, but I enjoy my online job so much, that I don't see why I should waste my gas money and time on two thirty-minute one-way commutes, to a job where I have a boss and earn 35 - 40% less! If I did that, I really would be crazy! And spiders? Live and let live!
Did you know that every 8 seconds someone in the US has a panic attack? True! And sometimes I'm one of them! How about you?
I've had panic attacks that have lasted 30+ minutes, and was absolutely certain I was having a heart attack! I couldn't breathe, I had chest and neck pains, my left arm hurt, yet at the same time was numb; how weird is that?. Although I still feel the symptoms of panic attack coming on, from time to time, I've learned how to take control of my thoughts and reactions, and have changed my lifestyle to drastically decrease the chances of panic attack.
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