The Gift of Anxiety/Panic Attacks

So, here we are in the year 2010 and sadly, the number of people
experiencing Panic Attacks is on the rise to epidemic proportions!
From little kids to the elderly and everyone in between. Female or
male. No one is immune.

This is important because it wasn't long ago (maybe 10 years) that
they were not as common an occurrence as they are today. Today, it's
as common as rain. I can personally think of a number of situations
that have come up with people I either know or know of that have been
experiencing them just over the past month alone.

Probably all or most of us either know someone that has experienced
them or we ourselves have or still do. That's saying a lot if you
think about it. So many times we will hear of someone that was taken
to the hospital or the doctor only to find out (thankfully) that they
were just experiencing an Anxiety attack (Panic Attack) and everyone
breathes a sigh of relief that everything is alright. But the unusual
part is that we also shrug it off like it's no big deal. "A panic
attack? Oh, is that all?!" We act like it's no big deal but it is!

Panic Attacks are our body's way of sending off an alarm that
something is terribly wrong in our individual worlds. It's a smoke
alarm for the smoldering problem that is brewing inside us at that
moment and more than likely has been for quite a while. It's a warning
that we need to do something before the fire really gets going.

So what is happening???? Is our world so much more stressful than it
was 10 years ago?

The answer is YES!!!!!!

For a multitude of reasons. We live in a very stressful time. Fears
about the state of our country, fears about financial issues and job
losses, fears of H1N1 or some other diseases and a host of other
things. It seems that not much is secure these days. I think all of
this contributes to the problem but, I don't think that this is the
real reason.

I think the real epidemic is with our damaged self esteem and the
feeling that we're somehow trapped in a life or situation that we
don't want but don't feel that we can change. It's the feeling of
having no control of our own lives.

This, more often than not, has a lot to do with our past and present
relationships and the damage that we have suffered as a result of them.

Even if you're stressed from a busy life that you can't seem to keep
up with....how much of that is due to a feeling of needing to be
perfect or hearing the voices of criticism in your head from others
and then as a result, they become your own? Pretty soon, all you're
hearing is failure, failure, failure and you feel that you're not good
enough. The anxiety attacks come when this becomes chronic with no
signs of improvement in your own mind. Pretty soon, the criticism wins
and there is a feeling of having failed and having no control of our
lives.

But for many, the damage and loss of control comes from a far deeper
set of circumstances. Many of us have been severely wounded by past
and present relationships. Many with parents, or siblings. Many with
other people that had authority over us. Some with friends and many
with bad dating relationships or marriages.
These wounds go very deep and can often remain hidden in our day to
day lives but inevitably they will show up at some time. Often, Panic
attacks are the first sign. These wounds cause great scars in our self
esteem and can (and usually do) alter our lives immeasurably. We
barely know who we REALLY are.

We walk around in a haze of day to day duties until one day, I
believe, God says....ok, it's time now for a better life. I believe
that Panic attacks are the invitation to clean up all of the lies that
we've been told about ourselves, or face the hurts that have consumed
us, or to look honestly at the people or situations that have damaged
us so deeply and then to ultimately close those doors and move into
the lives we were meant to have.

Did you ever notice that when someone is about to tell you that they
experience panic attacks, they speak in an almost shamed whisper? They
are so embarrassed and think they're the only ones. They feel that it
will expose a weakness in them somehow. This adds insult to injury.
The panic attacks have to be pretty bad for someone to even admit they
have them to anyone else. Usually, after they take the chance and they
tell someone, they're met with "oh, I have those" or "oh, my cousin
has those and I know they're hard." They suddenly realize that they're
not alone! So don't suffer in silence. Tell someone that you trust.

Unfortunately there are some (who are probably the same ones causing
your panic attacks) who will shame you and act like they don't know
what you mean. For those rare few....you probably already knew deep
down that they weren't the ones that are there for you or would help
you....so don't go to them. Talk to someone else. Finding these people
isn't that hard at all because they are all around us. More people
care than you think!

Anxiety attacks are hard to go thru. They're scary too but they DO go
away. I've experienced them and occasionally still do. I have come to
think of them as a trusted friend that warns me when I need to work
through something that's hurting me and that I'm probably avoiding.

So as we face this season that can bring so much anxiety and hurt,
it's a good idea to start working on this now. Thanksgiving is next
week and will be here before you know it and Christmas right behind
that.
If you are suffering with anxiety attacks or just dealing with a lot
of deep hurts this holiday season....know that you are not alone and
in fact you are in the majority.

Don't feel ashamed and instead look at this time as a chance to
finally take back the control of your life!

There are no limits to what you can achieve!

And, on the other side of this deep valley, there is more happiness
and freedom than you can imagine right now. It's there for sure! Do
you really believe that God wants you to continue to feel like this?
Think of how much more you can achieve once you get to the life you
were meant to be living! And it can start now......

I will be including my email address in my blog posts throughout the
coming weeks with the intention of being available to anyone that may
have a question or a hurt or just needs a listening ear. Please feel
free to contact me and of course your privacy will be honored.
Due the unfortunate load of junk mail that I get because of my band
management job, I will need to list my address this way. Hope it makes
sense and i sincerely hope to hear from you if I can help in any way.

capturingwishes (at symbol) aol (dot com)

There are a few things that you can do to begin to take your life back
and to have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a very Merry Christmas.
Followed by the start of a great new year!

Let's start by telling ourselves the truth about what's bothering us.
The real truth. If you look deeply inside, the answer is there for
sure. To move forward you need to drain the poison that was put into
you. It really is poison and it is NOT truth. You need to trust and
believe that! You will also need to remind yourself of this often.

Next....start now to plan a new holiday tradition. Maybe you can go to
meet a friend at the movies or have dinner out with a bunch of good
friends. Maybe dinner at your place for everyone that doesn't have a
place to go for the holiday. There are more people hurting than you
realize and they would love to join you. New traditions (that you will
love) begin this way. Plan now.

The most important thing is to take care of yourself. You deserve it!
Start working on your new life now. Once you have faced the truth
about what's hurting you, you can move forward. Not that the hurt will
disappear. It comes up now and then but before you know it, it will
become unimportant in your life.

We can't control what others do or say but we have the beautiful
luxury to build a new life taking into account that we have overcome
some hard situations and now...we get to live our life the way we were
always meant to!

Love,
Kim