Question:
I'm a 24-year-old girl and I've had panic attacks since I was 6 or 7
years old but they only started disrupting my life at the beginning of
1990. I've got phases when I feel okay but in Winter the panic attacks
start getting really bad and as a result I also get depressed. But even
when I've got a phase without bad attacks, I'm still not 100% alright, I
couldn't go on a bus or work or things like that. And it starts
upsetting me a lot because I feel I'll never lead a normal life and do
things normal people do and be independent and not have my life ruled by
panic attacks. I've been thinking of trying hypnosis for some time now
and I'd like to hear from people for who hypnosis has worked overcome
anxiety attacks or who can tell me more about the subject.
Answer:
Hypnoanalysis is the method of choice. I've done it successfully a few
times and unsuccessfully. The unsuccessful one was a woman who feared she
would have an attack of diarrhea and not be able to get to a bathroom. I
have had them require more than one session. A young man's ex told him if
he didn't join her religion he would die. His subconscious acted on that
and he had severe panic attacks. He was improved but still had them on
occasion and I would have him call me when one happened and I would
disconnect the fear.
Fear you will die, be hurt, be lost, be attacked, be embarrassed or what?
Do you have bad dreams? Be suspicious of scary movies, tricks older kids
played on you to scare you.Auto accidents can do it. You have to look at
the situations that tend to bring on the attacks.
I believe with the help of a friend you could cut them down or eliminate
them. I will send you instructions on how to do this if you ask. See what
other members of the net have to say. Bob Johnstone is probably your best
bet if he replies.
I know where you're coming from, I developed a version of the same
problem (panic disorder) last October while traveling. I tried to fight
it off for a few months (trying conventional psychotherapy - and
disliking intensely the therapist) but it got to a point by the Christmas
holidays where I was almost unable to function. For me, it also seemed
to have something to do with winter, and more specifically darkness, but
with other things as well.
What ended up happening was that I got a referral to a cognitive
therapist and the situation improved dramatically and quickly. I didn't
specifically *NOT* choose to use hypnosis, I really trusted this
professional, and this was the modality he happened to work in for panic,
so it was more a choice of the therapist than method for me. Also, when
something gets bad enough to the point where it starts to disrupt one's
life enough to feel one needs to go to the emergency room, one has a
*very* strong incentive to find help and *make* it work. In short, it
needed to get really bad for me to admit there was a problem that needed
fixing and be willing to fix it, but that's just my own stubbornness.
The panic attacks have not gone away, (yet ;-) but have diminished in
frequency and severity dramatically. I also know what to do about them
when I get them, and *most* of the time I can stop them before they get
out of hand. One of the bigger issues for me now is dealing with the
frustration and annoyance I feel with the problem, rather than the
problem itself ;-).
