As we have discussed before, I have a mental illness described as Rapid-Cyclying Bi-Polar Disorder. This disorder has markedly changed my life, mostly for the positive, but also to the negative when I have let it take over my life and cloud my judgements. Bi-Polar Disorder has given me the insight to see the truth of my own self and increased my productivity and ability to create; particularly in its manic state. Bi-Polar describes a mental illness where you range between two states of being, depression and mania. It is somewhat controlled by psychiatric medications, and the rest must be controlled by your own inner strength and self-knowledge.
In the struggle to maintain a balance in my moods I have often chosen negative thoughts and impulses to take over and I have spent money foolishly and made poor judgements in the friends I have chosen. People who scammed me as so many of us elderly, disabled persons are, as we are rather naive and fundamentally are disposed to trust other human beings. I choose to give everyone trust until they have disappointed me, or stolen from me. This stance has often failed me and I am known as a sucker for sad stories, and as an easy mark for users. Since moving into The Ritz in October, I have managed to stay away from the users and bilkerers, and I am so happy and intend to keep my guard up against fake friends. But I digress, this is supposed to be a blog about Panic Attacks.
Almost every person I have met that has a mental illness, and many that do not have a mental disorder, have occasional (or in some cases daily) Panic Attacks. In a panic attack you become overcome by a sense of dread, and often it develops into a passionate, overwhelming sense that one of your loved ones is dying, or that you, yourself, are dying in the very instant of an attack. You become frantic in your pain and fearful thoughts and suddenly have great trouble breathing. You are absolutely consumed with the thoughts of a million tragedies all happening at once, and you go into an emotional overload that is both physical and psychological. Physically, you cannot breathe properly and are consumed by the fear of dying. You collapse on the floor (often) clawing at your throat and chest trying to get a breath of air, at the same time psychologically you are consumed with the fear that you or your loved one is in eminent danger of death. The fear and pain you are consumed with are very difficult to deal with and cause literal bodily and mental pain.
Most mental health workers do not like dealing with panic attacks because they seem so irrational to them. They seem to think that we choose to have panic attacks, but anyone who has ever had one spends the rest of their life dreading another occurrence and we try to rationalize what has just caused the last one we were in. Many times we are in public or semi-public places when they occur and that causes a fear of being in that place again. We start to avoid any place that is like the place we had our last attack. Some people elect to stay at home and never leave again so as to avoid the triggers that set off panic attacks. Unfortunately we do not know how panic attacks are triggered. They come out of nowhere and strike when you least expect it. You can be very relaxed when suddenly the discomforting thoughts begin to plague your mind and heart. In an instant you are in the middle of a panic attack and your breathing ability seems to vanish.
A seasoned mental health worker will bring you a paper bag to breath into, and will sooth and comfort you past the demons that are plaguing your mind and heart. After 15-30 minutes of an attack that mental health worker will have been able to lead you through the attack to a safe place beyond your irrational fears. However, most attacks do not occur around any mental health workers so the people around you also begin to freak out and are worried about your condition and sometimes call for emergency services. They are well-intentioned, but it is totally embarrassing to have an attack in public-another reason to stay at home where you can have your attack in private.
The driving force for panic attacks is an extremely high level of anxiety. In this present time, with so many out of work and starving, and with those so afraid for the futures of their families and friends, there has been a significant rise in panic attacks among folks that never thought of themselves as having emotional problems.
There is an answer to panic attacks and that is a daily dose of an anti-anxiety medication such as Klonopin or Valium, but most psychiatrists will not prescribe it for their patients as they view panic attacks as self-controllable and anti-anxiety drugs too dangerous for their health. Some doctors think that their patients will misuse the drug. Now they do not hesitate to prescribe anti-psychotic or mood-stabilizing drugs such as Abilify or Zoloft, or a string of other pharmaseuticals that all have virulent side-effects. But because the proper medications often tend to make you feel comfortable in your own skin, and panic attacks avoided, most psychiatrists or other medical doctors think that all you want is the positive feelings of the drug and are prejudiced against giving you a drug that "merely" makes you feel comfortable and able to be in control of your feelings. Attitudes like this often lead the poor patient to self-mutilation in order to rid themselves of the guilt and bad feelings that come about after a panic attack.
Panic attacks wreck havoc in your life and are the worst symptoms to bear. I am hoping by writing this article that more people's eyes will be opened to the pain and disability of panic attacks and when they meet a person in the midst of an attack will know to offer them comfort and a paper bag if the need arises. I would also wish to place the thought into any doctor's mind that might be reading this article, to re-think their stance on prescribing anti-anxiety medication to their patients who are often locked in a world of crippling pain and agoraphobia (fear of being outside of your home or safe place). The pain is very real and the fear that at any moment the next panic attack will start. You are in a state of constant anxiety and your dealings with life are stunted. Life without the help of anti-anxiety medication is pure hell and fear paralyzes your ability to have a productive life if you have any panic attacks at all.
Panic attacks create real, and long-lasting pain, and a disabling fear of recurrence of the symptoms. Please pass along the ideas in this article and perhaps one day soon the doctor's who prescribe anti-anxiety medication will do so without getting hung up on their fear of a patient misusing the drug and make the determination to prescribe by the level of fear and disability in their patient. Fortunately I have found such a wonderful doctor and I have been panic-attack free for several years now. Being free of panic attacks gives me the ability to lead a creative and productive life and I have come to love this practitioner of nurturing medicine.
In the struggle to maintain a balance in my moods I have often chosen negative thoughts and impulses to take over and I have spent money foolishly and made poor judgements in the friends I have chosen. People who scammed me as so many of us elderly, disabled persons are, as we are rather naive and fundamentally are disposed to trust other human beings. I choose to give everyone trust until they have disappointed me, or stolen from me. This stance has often failed me and I am known as a sucker for sad stories, and as an easy mark for users. Since moving into The Ritz in October, I have managed to stay away from the users and bilkerers, and I am so happy and intend to keep my guard up against fake friends. But I digress, this is supposed to be a blog about Panic Attacks.
Almost every person I have met that has a mental illness, and many that do not have a mental disorder, have occasional (or in some cases daily) Panic Attacks. In a panic attack you become overcome by a sense of dread, and often it develops into a passionate, overwhelming sense that one of your loved ones is dying, or that you, yourself, are dying in the very instant of an attack. You become frantic in your pain and fearful thoughts and suddenly have great trouble breathing. You are absolutely consumed with the thoughts of a million tragedies all happening at once, and you go into an emotional overload that is both physical and psychological. Physically, you cannot breathe properly and are consumed by the fear of dying. You collapse on the floor (often) clawing at your throat and chest trying to get a breath of air, at the same time psychologically you are consumed with the fear that you or your loved one is in eminent danger of death. The fear and pain you are consumed with are very difficult to deal with and cause literal bodily and mental pain.
Most mental health workers do not like dealing with panic attacks because they seem so irrational to them. They seem to think that we choose to have panic attacks, but anyone who has ever had one spends the rest of their life dreading another occurrence and we try to rationalize what has just caused the last one we were in. Many times we are in public or semi-public places when they occur and that causes a fear of being in that place again. We start to avoid any place that is like the place we had our last attack. Some people elect to stay at home and never leave again so as to avoid the triggers that set off panic attacks. Unfortunately we do not know how panic attacks are triggered. They come out of nowhere and strike when you least expect it. You can be very relaxed when suddenly the discomforting thoughts begin to plague your mind and heart. In an instant you are in the middle of a panic attack and your breathing ability seems to vanish.
A seasoned mental health worker will bring you a paper bag to breath into, and will sooth and comfort you past the demons that are plaguing your mind and heart. After 15-30 minutes of an attack that mental health worker will have been able to lead you through the attack to a safe place beyond your irrational fears. However, most attacks do not occur around any mental health workers so the people around you also begin to freak out and are worried about your condition and sometimes call for emergency services. They are well-intentioned, but it is totally embarrassing to have an attack in public-another reason to stay at home where you can have your attack in private.
The driving force for panic attacks is an extremely high level of anxiety. In this present time, with so many out of work and starving, and with those so afraid for the futures of their families and friends, there has been a significant rise in panic attacks among folks that never thought of themselves as having emotional problems.
There is an answer to panic attacks and that is a daily dose of an anti-anxiety medication such as Klonopin or Valium, but most psychiatrists will not prescribe it for their patients as they view panic attacks as self-controllable and anti-anxiety drugs too dangerous for their health. Some doctors think that their patients will misuse the drug. Now they do not hesitate to prescribe anti-psychotic or mood-stabilizing drugs such as Abilify or Zoloft, or a string of other pharmaseuticals that all have virulent side-effects. But because the proper medications often tend to make you feel comfortable in your own skin, and panic attacks avoided, most psychiatrists or other medical doctors think that all you want is the positive feelings of the drug and are prejudiced against giving you a drug that "merely" makes you feel comfortable and able to be in control of your feelings. Attitudes like this often lead the poor patient to self-mutilation in order to rid themselves of the guilt and bad feelings that come about after a panic attack.
Panic attacks wreck havoc in your life and are the worst symptoms to bear. I am hoping by writing this article that more people's eyes will be opened to the pain and disability of panic attacks and when they meet a person in the midst of an attack will know to offer them comfort and a paper bag if the need arises. I would also wish to place the thought into any doctor's mind that might be reading this article, to re-think their stance on prescribing anti-anxiety medication to their patients who are often locked in a world of crippling pain and agoraphobia (fear of being outside of your home or safe place). The pain is very real and the fear that at any moment the next panic attack will start. You are in a state of constant anxiety and your dealings with life are stunted. Life without the help of anti-anxiety medication is pure hell and fear paralyzes your ability to have a productive life if you have any panic attacks at all.
Panic attacks create real, and long-lasting pain, and a disabling fear of recurrence of the symptoms. Please pass along the ideas in this article and perhaps one day soon the doctor's who prescribe anti-anxiety medication will do so without getting hung up on their fear of a patient misusing the drug and make the determination to prescribe by the level of fear and disability in their patient. Fortunately I have found such a wonderful doctor and I have been panic-attack free for several years now. Being free of panic attacks gives me the ability to lead a creative and productive life and I have come to love this practitioner of nurturing medicine.
No comments:
Post a Comment